JakartaPost/AFP-Oct 12, 2022
Hundreds of mourners and survivors commemorated on Wednesday the 20th anniversary of the bombings that killed more than 200 people in Bali. Grieving families, attack survivors and representatives from several embassies will attend a memorial in Bali’s popular tourist hub of Kuta, where Al-Qaeda-linked militants detonated bombs at a bar and nightclub on October 12, 2002. The candlelight vigil will be held at a monument built meters from the site of the blasts by victims’ family members to mark Southeast Asia’s deadliest terrorist attack and remember the 202 victims. Most were foreign holidaymakers from more than 20 countries but Australia suffered the biggest loss, with 88 dead. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told a memorial service in Sydney Wednesday that the horror of the bombings was swiftly countered by incredible acts of self-sacrifice and bravery. In Bali, the Australian consulate also held a memorial service attended by ambassador to Indonesia Penny Williams and assistant minister for foreign affairs Tim Watts. Relatives and survivors held a moment of silence before laying flowers and wreaths in the consulate’s memorial garden. President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo will address families later in the day by video and former Australian prime minister John Howard will deliver a speech. In Canberra, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong attended a memorial ceremony with Indonesia’s ambassador Siswo Pramono. Indonesia, the world’s biggest Muslim-majority nation, has long struggled with Islamist militancy. All the leading perpetrators of the Bali attacks were either executed, killed by police or jailed. Read more at: https://www.thejakartapost.com/indonesia/2022/10/12/mourners-mark-20th-anniversary-of-bali-bombings.html.
