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Pastika urges vigilance ahead of APEC Summit

Bali Governor Made Mangku Pastika has asked all security forces on the island to step up their intelligence operations ahead of the APEC Summit slated to be held early October

Ni Komang Erviani (The Jakarta Post)
Denpasar
Fri, September 20, 2013

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Pastika urges vigilance  ahead of APEC Summit

B

ali Governor Made Mangku Pastika has asked all security forces on the island to step up their intelligence operations ahead of the APEC Summit slated to be held early October. Pastika, who is a retired three-star police general, reminded that early detection was the key to preventing security threats from materializing.

'€œEarly detection is made possible only through thorough and tireless intelligence gathering,'€ he said.

Pastika, who earned international recognition for his successful role as the chief of a multi-national task force that investigated and arrested al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorists responsible for the infamous 2002 Bali bombings, said that security threats would always exist and that criminal elements would always try to exploit vulnerabilities in security arrangements.

'€œTerrorists will always look for a chance to send their message to the world. The APEC Summit is clearly seen by them as one of those chances and that is why we should always be vigilant,'€ he stressed.

He urged members of the country'€™s intelligence services to work harder and better in the coming weeks to identify any signs of potential trouble and threats.

On Tuesday, the National Intelligence Agency (BIN) Bali office chief, Col. Budiarjo, said that the intelligence community had increased their operations since the start of the much-contested Miss World 2013 pageant earlier this month. Intelligence operatives had been deployed to strategic points across the island, including all gateways.

Separately, the provincial Coordinating Forum for the Prevention of Terrorism (FKPT) head, Gede Putu Jaya Suartama, assured that security on the island had been beefed up and that all security personnel were on a level of high alert and preparedness.

FKPT members are drawn from various stakeholders, including the police, the administration and religious leaders. The main task of the forum is building a cooperative network with local communities that will enable them to detect the existence of radical ideas and launch efforts to counter them.

Suartama added that the forum had established a partnership with customary villages, an influential force in contemporary Bali. The island has more than 1,400 customary villages. Each village has its own pecalang (traditional guard), the size of which ranges from 100 to 200 personnel. These pecalang are valuable intelligence assets since they are very familiar with the terrain and social dynamics of their respective areas.

Following a string of fatal shootings targeting police officers in Jakarta, security forces on the island had carried out special operations at the island'€™s official ports and numerous community ports along the northern and southern coastline to prevent known criminals, firearms and explosives from entering the resort island.

'€œIn cooperation with the police we have tightened security at major and small fishing ports to prevent irresponsible people from gaining entry. We want to ensure that all places in Bali are safe enough to be visited by the delegates,'€ Udayana Military Command spokesman Col. Wing Handoko said on Thursday. He added that VIP and VVIP delegates would receive round-the-clock security details throughout their stay in Bali, including when they travel outside the heavily guarded Nusa Dua enclave.

'€œThe military will be responsible for the heads of states'€™ and VVIP'€™s security arrangements while the police will be tasked with providing security to ministers, senior-ranking officials and other VIP figures.'€

Those without an official ID card issued by Udayana Military Command would not be allowed to enter Nusa Dua enclave during the summit. Furthermore, only registered vehicles could enter the area and most of the traffic inside Nusa Dua will comprise VVIP motorcades and shuttle buses provided by the organizer.

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