Indonesian Military Intensifies Security Ahead of IOC Summit

Jakarta, (Antara)- The Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI) Commander General Gatot Nurmantyo has instructed to adopt tighter security measures for the fifth Extraordinary Summit of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) scheduled in Jakarta on March 6-7, 2016.

"Any form of vulnerability must not be tolerated. If, there is a hint of vulnerability, then the officers must implement security measures in accordance with the existing procedures," the general stated while leading a roll call of the officers in charge of protecting the VVIPs attending the summit, here, Tuesday.

Some 57 member countries of the OIC will participate in the summit initiated by Indonesia, he remarked.

"This task of the officers is not a routine and regular one, but a crucial task as it directly concerns the honor and reputation of Indonesia at the international level. I will personally lead it along with the security apparatuses of the Jakarta Military Command and the Jakarta Police," he affirmed.

Nurmantyo ordered the personnel to stay alert for any indications of terror acts.

The ceremony was attended by 10,150 military and police officers. Chiefs of Staff of the Army General Mulyono, the Navy Admiral Ade Supandi, and the Air Force Marshall Agus Supriatna were also present at the event.

The security measures will encompass anticipating traffic accidents, anarchic rallies, riots, terror acts, sabotage, conventional and transnational crimes, hostage situations, kidnappings, ambushes, and bombings.

Nurmantyo specifically laid emphasis on the need to implement optimal preventive measures. The former Army chief of staff also called on the personnel to not hesitate to take repressive and stern actions as their final option.

Indonesia, as the host of the OIC Extraordinary Summit on Palestine and Al Quds, has also invited the United Nations (UN) Permanent Security Council to attend the meeting.

Invitations were sent to permanent members of the UN Security Council in China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Thailand, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Russia, and the Republic of Central Africa are also invited to the summit as observer states.(*)