Cautiously, Indonesia Celebrates
Celebrations marking the end of Islam's fasting month went ahead amid tight security Wednesday despite fears that Indonesia's Christians would seek revenge for a series of deadly church bombings.
Thousands of police and soldiers were deployed in Jakarta and other cities, and security forces stood guard at mosques and churches in the world's most populous Muslim nation.
Officials here had worried that mosques might be targeted in revenge attacks, but no religious violence was reported on Wednesday, the first day of the two-day Muslim religious holiday Eid al-Fitr.
Three days earlier, on Christmas Eve, explosions at Christian churches in nine Indonesian cities killed 15 people.
It was one of the most coordinated terrorist attacks to hit Indonesia, which has been troubled by years of civil unrest. President Abdurrahman Wahid said he feared provocateurs were trying to spark violence between the Muslim majority and Christian minority as a way of destabilizing his government.
Muslims make up about 90 percent of Indonesia's 210 million people. In the wake of the bombings, church leaders called on Christians not to seek revenge against Muslims during the holiday.
Media reports said a church in Kudus, a district 120 miles southeast of Jakarta, was slightly damaged in an arson attack on Tuesday, but no other attacks were reported against either side.
On Tuesday night, as Ramadan ended, hundreds of thousands of people ignored official calls to stay at home and instead poured into the streets to celebrate. Many banged drums and set off firecrackers after evening prayers.
The next morning, Jakarta's streets were quiet. Guards searched bags and used metal detectors to check thousands of worshippers who entered the city's main Istiqual mosque. Security was also tight at the nearby state palace, where Wahid meet thousands of well-wishers.
No one has taken responsibility for Sunday's blasts. Police have arrested four suspects and detained dozens of others for questioning.
"We have not come to a conclusion about which group is responsible or the motive," National Police Chief Gen. Suroyo Bimantoro said.
Elsewhere Wednesday, media reports said rebels in Indonesia's restive Irian Jaya province had captured two members of the federal security forces.
The state Antara news agency said some 20 guerrillas belonging to the Free Papua Movement mounted a raid on Tor Atas district, near the provincial capital, Jayapura. They apprehended two police sergeants guarding the local church, the agency said.
A police spokesman in Jayapura said the security forces were searching for the missing men.
Irian Jaya, some 2,500 miles west of Jakarta, is a former Dutch colony.
Insurgents there have been battling for independence since Indonesia occupied the province in 1963. Calls to secede have grown in the region in recent months, and a series of rebel flag-raising protests and clashes with security forces hve left dozens dead.
In a travel warning issued Tuesday, the State Department urged U.S. citizens to defer nonessential visits to Indonesia and all travel to Aceh, Maluku, Papua and West Timor.
Those Americans who must travel there, or are already there, should be extremely careful, the department said
And, it said, without elaboration, "The U.S. Embassy has had indications that this wave of bombings may continue and that U.S. interests may be targeted."