Bali Tourism News

Solemn ceremony recalls Bali bombings

October 2nd, 2007

Australians and Indonesians gathered to lay red, yellow and white flowers at the base of a wooden cross, in a solemn ceremony to mark the 2005 Bali terrorist bombings.

Four Australians were among 20 victims killed in the blasts, when three suicide bombers attacked popular seafood cafes at Jimbaran Beach and a busy restaurant in Kuta.

Representatives of the three countries which lost lives in the bombings - Australia, Indonesia and Japan - laid wreaths at the base of the wooden cross, in the new memorial garden at the Australian consulate in Bali.
Around 50 guests in the low-key service then lined up to place individual flowers at the cross, built after the 2002 blasts to commemorate the 202, including 88 Australians, who were killed in the bombings.

Tight security surrounded the service, which was intentionally low-key for security reasons.

No Australian relatives or friends of the victims attended the commemoration, although two Indonesian victims attended and spoke of their continuing pain.

Australians Simone Forrest, and her daughter Ilanah, were outside Raja’s restaurant when it exploded exactly two years ago.

It was twice lucky for Ilanah, who had been inside the Sari Club on October 12, 2002, when a bomb tore through the nightclub. She escaped without injury.

Her mother Simone, said attending the memorial was part of the healing process.

“It’s a funny feeling but you just have to come,” Simone Forrest said.

“We were over here for the memorial of the first bombing and we ended up getting caught in the second.

“We were outside Raja’s restaurant in Kuta when the bomb went off.

“We were just really lucky.”

She said the family was also keen to show support for the Balinese.

The combined impact of two terrorist attacks in three years devastated Bali’s tourism-dependent economy, and while tourist numbers have recovered and hit record levels this year, Australian visitors are still slow to return.

Australia’s Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer, in a statement in Canberra, said Australia and Indonesia remained committed to defeating terrorism.

“The perpetrators of these terrible attacks follow their own twisted ideology of hate, which has no place in either Australia or Indonesia,” he said.

“Australia and Indonesia together remain committed to defeating terrorism and upholding the values of democracy, diversity and compassion.”

Next week, Australians will again gather in Bali to mark the fifth anniversary of the October 12, 2002, nightclub blasts in Kuta, where 202 people died, including the 88 Australians.

“My thoughts are with the survivors and the families who lost loved ones on those sad days,” he said.

Mr Downer at the weekend said Australia would not appeal to Indonesia to stop the executions of three men convicted of playing key roles in the 2002 Bali bombings.

Source: http://www.theage.com.au

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