Grieving victims, families remember Bali blasts ( 2003-10-13 09:03) (Agencies)
Sobbing and clutching pictures of loved ones,
survivors of the Bali bombings and hundreds of relatives paid tribute Sunday to
the 202 people killed, amid warnings that Muslim militants could strike again.
At a Christian service attended by 2,000 people on a limestone escarpment
overlooking Kuta Beach, and on the spot where Indonesian Muslim militants blew
up two nightclubs exactly a year ago, mourners struggled to make sense of the
atrocity.
Surfers paddle away
from Kuta beach during sunset after a memorial service for the Bali
bombing victims on the beach on Indonesia's resort island of Bali October
12, 2003. [Reuters]
Relatives from Australia and around the world placed flowers, photos and
candles to remember their dead in front of the bomb site in the heart of the
famous Kuta Beach strip.
Floral wreaths were also stacked up against a stone memorial across the road
bearing the names of 202 dead from 22 countries, 88 of them Australians. The
Balinese honored their own losses, burning incense and leaving offerings of
food.
For many, the emotion of returning to this fabled isle has been raw. There
has also been defiance.
"If we hadn't come back they would have won. It goes to show they can't beat
the Australian spirit. We'll keep on coming and sticking it up their face," said
Jason Madden, 31, who lost seven friends from Perth's Kingsley Cats football
team.
Indonesia has blamed Jemaah Islamiah, the southeast Asian militant group
linked to al Qaeda, for the worst act of terror since the Sept. 11, 2001,
strikes on the United States.
Security experts say it is only a matter of time before Jemaah Islamiah
strikes again somewhere in Indonesia.
Ceremonies ended at 11:08 p.m., the exact time a massive car bomb brought
holidays to a hellish end one year ago.
Foreign tourists
attend a memorial service in Bali, Oct. 12, 2003. The service was
conducted Sunday to commemorate the first anniversary of the Bali
bombings, which killed 202 people, including 88 Australians.
[Reuters]
Hundreds of relatives stood for several minutes to reflect, some on the dirt
of the vacant lot that used to be the Sari Club. The only sound was that of
muffled weeping.
Sunday was also a day of remembrance in Australia, where flags flew at
half-mast to remember the country's 88 victims.
Australian Prime Minister John Howard and senior leaders from Indonesia, the
world's most populous Muslim country, took part in the Bali memorial service. Up
to 800 survivors and relatives were among the 2,000 people present.
Chief security minister Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono vowed to fight terrorism.
About 40 people have been caught in connection with the Bali blasts and 20
sentenced, including three to death.
Indonesia has warned that Muslim militants are planning more attacks but
insisted the mainly Hindu enclave of Bali is safe.
Heavily armed police and sniffer dogs were on patrol.
"DIABOLICAL MEN"
"These diabolical men and their brand of evil simply have no place in our
society. They belong in our darkest dungeons, locked away deep beneath our
children's playgrounds. History will condemn them for ever," Yudhoyono told the
congregation.
New Zealand Foreign Minister Phil Goff told Reuters that while Jemaah
Islamiah had suffered defeats, it was still active.
"It would be foolish to ignore the fact that the organization still exists,
is still planning. To keep the world safe, to keep the region safe you have to
keep hammering it before it can carry out its next planned attack," Goff said.
In London, 800 people attended a memorial service in the church of St
Martin's in the Field for the bomb victims, which included 28 Britons. It was
preceded by the release of 202 white balloons.
Attending were the Duke of Kent, representing Queen Elizabeth, Foreign
Secretary Jack Straw and Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell together with relatives
and survivors.
Muslim and Hindu faith leaders also attended the Christian remembrance
service.
In the somber atmosphere of Bali's Garuda Wisnu Cultural Park, about 20
minutes drive from Kuta and bordered by towering limestone blocks, Australian
military chaplain Richard Thompson gently urged families at the service to
accept their suffering.
The service ended with the singing of "Waltzing Matilda," a much-loved
Australian song written in the late 19th century.
Just before sunset, Howard lit candles along with more than 1,000 people on
Kuta Beach and watched scores of surfers paddle their boards, laden with floral
bouquets, out to sea.
Against the backdrop of the sinking sun, the surfers made a circle with their
boards and tossed the flowers into it.
Watching them on the shore were Australians in singlets and shorts, Balinese
in traditional costumes and Indonesian Muslims, including women in headscarves.
Indonesia did not make Oct. 12 a national day of remembrance, and President
Megawati Sukarnoputri did not come for the ceremonies.
