Bali deploys 8,000 policemen to safeguard Christmas festivities

[News_Editor]

Bali deploys 8,000 policemen to safeguard Christmas festivities

2010-12-24 05:56:53 GMT+7 (ICT)

BALI, INDONESIA (BNO NEWS) -- Bali Deputy Police Chief Komang Udayana on Thursday announced that 8,000 police officers were deployed to safeguard Christmas and New Year's eve festivities, the Jakarta Globe reported.

The police officers were deployed at various churches and tourist spots. Security will also be tightened at entry points in Bali such as Ngurah Rai International Airport and the Gilimanuk Harbor. Police forces will also guard Kuta, Nusa Dua and Sanur, the busiest tourist spots.

Komang added that police forces will be supported by the pecalang, the community security personnel, as well as by the Indonesian military. Bali, an Indonesian island that is visited by thousands of tourists each end of the year, currently has all hotels fully booked.

Perry Markus, head of Bali's Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association, informed that from December 20 and up to January, there is no accommodation available on the island. This is a significant improvement over 2009 figures, when hotels were booked an average 70 percent during holidays.

Despite the increased security deployment on the tourist paradise island, the Bali police department said that there is no indication of an increased threat of a terrorist attack. Indonesia is trying to restore its reputation on the island after two major terror attacks during the last decade.

In October 2002, suicide bombings marred Bali's reputation as a peaceful tourist resort when 292 people were killed during the terrorist acts in Kuta. Most of the deceased were foreign nationals.

Three years later, three coordinated attacks were perpetrated in Kuta and Jimbaran. The October 2005 blasts killed 26 individuals and left over 100 injured.

Indonesia is an Islam-majority country, and attacks against Christians and their places of worship are not uncommon.

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