Indonesian anti-terror squad to provide Christmas security
The Indonesian police chief has reassured Christians that stringent security measures will be in place during Christmas to ward off possible terror attacks by Muslim hardliners.
Dec 22, 2016

By Katharina R. Lestari
The Indonesian police chief has reassured Christians that stringent security measures will be in place during Christmas to ward off possible terror attacks by Muslim hardliners.
Members of the anti-terror squad Densus 88 will be on hand to meet any threat, Tito Karnavian said on Dec 10.
The police chief was speaking after the arrest earlier that day of four people linked to the so-called Islamic State (IS).
Densus 88 arrested three people, including a woman, in Bekasi, West Java, for allegedly plotting to bomb the presidential palace in Jakarta, while another man was arrested in Karanganyar, Central Java.
According to police, the four suspects had links to Bahrun Naim, leader of the Katibah Nusantara militant group, a regional affiliate of Islamic State.
“I hope Christians will not be afraid to attend Christmas celebrations,” Tribunnews.com quoted Karnavian as saying on Dec 10, in Medan, in North Sumatra province.
Suspected Islamic State members attacked and injured a Catholic priest in Medan on Aug 18 and a Protestant church in East Kalimantan in November, where an infant was killed and three others suffered burns.
Capuchin Archbishop Anicetus Bongsu Antonius Sinaga of Medan, whose priest was attacked in the August incident, welcomed the police chief’s assurances.
He also thanked the police chief for security arrangements set up in the aftermath of the attack on Capuchin Father Albertus S. Pandiangan when he was delivering a sermon in St Joseph Church Medan. The assailant unsuccessfully tried to set off a bomb in his backpack during the attack.
“There are at least two policemen guarding churches on Sundays since the church attack,” Bishop Sinaga told ucanews.com.
Emanuel Dapa Loka, a parishioner of St. Clara Church in Bekasi, West Java, said it is sad that religious activities have to be guarded by heavily armed people.
But this is the reality in the country these days, he said.
His church expects more than 9,000 parishioners to attend Masses this Christmas.
“Because of recent events in this country, I welcome police efforts [to deploy anti terror squad] to provide protection.” --ucanews. com
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