Passersby complain about bag check

Passersby complain about bag check

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Tue, 09/08/2009 12:29 PM  |  Headlines

 

 

A new security measure introduced by the Australian Embassy in Jakarta requiring people walking in front of the building to have their bags checked has led to several complaints from pedestrians.

 

"Excuse me, Sir. I have to check your bag," said an Indonesian security guard to a pedestrian, who explained that he just wanted to walk past the embassy, not enter it.

 

"I understand Sir, but I still have to check your bag. This is our rule," said the security officer, who claimed to work for a private security company hired by the Australian embassy.

 

Another pedestrian said the bag check was too much.

 

"As far as I am aware, the sidewalk comes under Indonesia's jurisdiction. Why do the Australians control the people walking here?" he told The Jakarta Post.

 

Office employees working around the embassy have become used to the procedure, most likely due to the countless bag checks required to enter malls, government buildings or corporate centers across the city.
Aryo Bhawono, an employee from a nearby company, said he preferred using the pedestrian bridge to cross the street, avoid the embassy, then return to the other side.

 

"I'm sick of it *the security*. I feel like I am living in a war zone," Aryo said.

 

On Sept. 9, 2004, a one-ton car bomb was detonated outside the Australian Embassy, killing nine people and wounding around 150. Noordin M. Top - the fugitive terrorist wanted over July's hotel bombings - was named a suspect at the time.

 

A security guard at the embassy, who requested anonymity, said the policy was introduced about one month ago.

 

"It may have been due to the July twin bombings at the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels," he told the Post.

 

Despite past and recent terrorist attacks, the new measure still irked some in a rush for work.

 

"It cost me five important minutes, crucial when I am rushing for a deadline. They drive me crazy. Sometimes they open my bag, look inside, then leave it open," Purborini, an office employee, told the Post.

 

Foreign Ministry spokesman Teuku Faizasyah said he was unaware of the new measure at the embassy.

 

"I don't know whether the embassy has informed us about the bag check. However, we will definitely follow up this information with the Australian government as well as the Jakarta administration," he told the Post. Teuku said the sidewalk came under Indonesia's jurisdiction.

 

"Checking the bags of passing pedestrians may be too much. It could disturb pedestrians' convenience," he said.

 

When asked for comment, Australian Embassy spokesman Michael Kachel wrote in an email that the embassy could not comment publicly about internal security measures.

 

Following several bomb attacks in Indonesia, a number of other embassies have also beefed up their security measures.

(bbs)
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/09/08/passersby-complain-about-bag-check.html