Tight security and good intentions keep Christmas safe
Despite past history of religious conflict, and travel advisories warning against travel to Indonesia, Christmas passed without incident. The main concern in Bali was a repeat of the bombing in 2002 & 2005. Across the country local tensions were a worry, but tight security and good intentions by all concerned meant the holiday was festive rather than restive.
Here’s more form the Jakarta Post.
A peaceful Yuletide season despite warnings
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Christians across the country observed Christmas peacefully Monday despite an earlier warning from Western countries of possible terror attacks.
Christians marked the day as thousands of police and troops provided tight security for churches nationwide.
The Australian government warned its citizens last week against traveling to Indonesia, citing a “credible” threat of terrorist attacks there over the Christmas and New Year period.
Earlier, the United States also issued a similar warning.
Despite this, Christmas was observed without incident in the country’s traditional sectarian hot spots.
In Palu, the capital city of restive Central Sulawesi, Christians thronged churches ringed with security barricades and police.
In Ambon, Maluku, where sectarian conflict raged for more than two years from 1999-2001, Christians and Muslims even joined together to celebrate a heartwarming Christmas Eve.
Muslims from two neighborhoods in Ambon took part in a motorcycle rally involving Christians on Sunday.
In other parts of the country the weather, not terror, proved the largest disruption, with thousands of Christians in North Sumatra and Aceh having to celebrate Christmas in tents after they were affected by flooding and landslides.
In the predominantly Hindu island of Bali, happy Christians flocked to churches in Denpasar and the beachside tourist haven of Kuta.
“It’s a beautiful day. So far there hasn’t been any single security disturbance. The celebration went as solemnly and smoothly as we always expected it would,” Bali Police spokesman Sr. Com. A.S. Reniban said.
Security was significantly tighter around churches on the island, with police erecting road blocks on main roads leading to the Maranatha Church and St. Joseph’s Catholic Church.
In Magelang, Central Java, Christians celebrated Christmas near the volcanic Mt. Merapi in a typical Javanese way.
Christmas carols were sung accompanied by the gamelan, while singers and musicians were dressed in traditional costumes.
In Jakarta, 18,000 police, including sharp-shooters and bomb squads, were deployed to guard the city’s 1,200 churches. No security incidents were reported.
“There haven’t been any incidents. We hope to keep this (tight security) up until Idul Adha and the New Year,” city police spokesman Sr. Comr. I Ketut Untung Yoga Ana said Monday.