After Osama Bin Laden's Death Bali on High Alert

(5/7/2011)

In anticipation of possible terror attacks following the killing of Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan, Bali police have deployed 8,000 personnel to keep the island safe and secure placing the island under a high alert "Siaga Satu" status.

Quoted in Beritabali.com, the newly installed spokesman of the Bali police, Hariadi, said the large security contingent is being focused on tourist sites together with the entry ports by sea and air.

Hariadi said that generally the security situation in Bali remains "conducive."

Earlier, governor Made Mangku Pastika called on village leaders across Bali to be on the alert, especially with any suspicious "outsiders."

According to Antara Bali, the regional military commander for the Udayana Military Command in Bali, Major General Rachmat Budiyanto, has issued orders for tighter security at buildings housing foreign nationals in Bali. Said Budiyanto: "In Bali, there are tens of foreign consulates, and representative offices of international bodies, international hotels and restaurants, and many foreign tourists, as well. This is a good thing but at the same time it makes this region vulnerable, so we must give special attention to security at these places."

Speaking in the days immediately after the killing of Osama Bin Laden by U.S. Forces in Pakistan, Budiyanto warned that terrorism had found new forms and tools and, as such, remained a threat to the community. Adding: "We must remain alert and anticipate any possibility. We will continue intensifying information and intelligence networks to prevent any undesired happenings."

In October 2002 the U.S. Consulate in Bali was the target of a failed bombing attempt that saw a devise explode a few hundred feet before the entrance to the consulate.

The intensified security footing in Bali following Osama's death is part of a nation-wide alert ordered by Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.