Indonesian security forces were ordered to their highest level of alert yesterday as the world?s most populous Muslim nation celebrated independence day less than two weeks after a deadly bomb attack on a luxury hotel. Soldiers in camouflage with assault rifles or machine-guns guarded street corners and the entrances to malls, hotels and government buildings in the capital Jakarta amid warnings of more attacks by radicals. ?The order for us is ?alert one?. That is the emergency level,? national police spokesman Zainuri Lubis told Reuters. ?For this independence day, we are securing Jakarta and other provinces in the ?alert one? status.?

Some 230,000 police were on duty throughout the country, working alongside thousands of soldiers and undercover intelligence agents to foil any possible attacks by militant groups, he said.

Security was particularly tight at the presidential palace where President Megawati Sukarnoputri reviewed troops at a special ceremony attended by ministers, foreign diplomats and hundreds of VIP guests. The celebration comes nearly two weeks after a suicide bomber blew up a car packed with explosives in the courtyard of the luxury JW Marriott Hotel in central Jakarta, killing 12 people and wounding 150.

It was the second major bombing in less than a year, following last year?s Bali nightclub blasts that killed 202 people, 88 of them Australians.

Australia and New Zealand have warned of possible fresh militant strikes on soft targets, including Jakarta shopping malls and hotels, over the weekend. Several Western countries, including the United States, have warned their citizens to avoid public places.

Dozens of Jakarta hotels and apartment buildings where foreigners live have bolstered security with armed police guards, barbed wire and sandbag barricades.

Despite the heavy security presence, thousands of Indonesians strolled, picnicked and played games in parks around the capital. Indonesian red and white flags fluttered from lampposts, balconies and the backs of cars and motorcycles.

Telly Nathalia

Dan Eaton