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Mourners remember Bali victims
KUTA, Indonesia (CNN) -- Thousands of mourners have offered prayers and shed tears as they paid tribute to the 202 people killed in the Bali nightclub bombings a year ago. A choir of Australian and Indonesian school children sang at a morning ceremony at a spectacular hilltop memorial carved into cliffs and overlooking the Kuta township as survivors and relatives of victims remembered those who died in the October 12 twin blasts. Australian Prime Minister John Howard led about 1,800 people at the early service, the first of many taking place on Sunday and culminating in a small solemn Balinese ceremony at the bombings site at 11:08 p.m. (1508 GMT) -- the time of the blasts. At that moment a year ago, two bombs at popular nightspots on Kuta's busy Legian Street, one at Paddy's Bar and a later bigger explosion from a car bomb outside the Sari Club, would eventually leave 202 people from 22 nations dead. It was the worst terrorist attack since the September 11 strikes in the United States. Australia suffered the most, losing 88 of its citizens. (Australia mourns victims) "Yours is a loss that can never be recovered," Howard told mourners at the service. "We haven't forgotten you, we never will." Most of the mourners in Bali on Sunday were from Australia, but relatives and friends of victims also made the journey from Portugal, South Africa, Brazil, the United States and Britain. The names of those killed were read out and 22 candles were lit in a pool of remembrance representing each nation's loss. Friends and family cast flowers into the pool -- many overcome and stricken with their grief. Howard spoke about his country's profound sense of loss and nationhood after the attacks. "It has taught us a number of things about ourselves, it has taught us about our strengths and it has taught us about the need to cooperate with others in the ongoing fight against the terrible deeds and the terrible hatred that caused so much pain," he said. Hundreds of police guarded the Garuda Wisnu Cultural Park, where the ceremony was held.
Later in another ceremony, hundreds took part in a parade through Kuta to the blast sites as well as several vigils on Kuta's famous picturesque beach. Howard also visited the site of the bombings in Kuta on Sunday, laying a wreath at a memorial between the Sari Club and Paddy's Bar. At the site of the bigger blast at the Sari Club, mourning Balinese families also performed their own simple ceremonies to remember the dead. During the final vigil at exactly 11:08 p.m. -- one year after the moment the bombs exploded -- families of the victims scattered flowers and observed a moment of silence. A permanent memorial featuring an altar, 22 flags, and a wall of granite and limestone engraved with the 202 victims' names will stand at the site of the blasts. Massive security measures were put in place for Sunday's services, with nearly half of Bali's 5,000-strong police force on alert. In London, about 800 people attended a memorial service for the bomb victims, which included 28 Britons. Outside the service, held at the church of St. Martin's in the Field, 202 white balloons were released in Trafalgar Square. Joining relatives and survivors at the service were Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell and the Duke of Kent, representing Queen Elizabeth. Muslim and Hindu leaders also attended the Christian service. 'We will hunt them'The Bali attacks -- as well as the August 5 suicide bombing at the J. W. Marriott Hotel in Jakarta that killed 12 people -- have been blamed on Jemaah Islamiyah -- terror network al Qaeda's arm in Southeast Asia. Four key militants involved in the blasts have been arrested and sentenced -- three to death -- while dozens of others have also been convicted. ('No regrets,' says bomber | Bali bombers)
Indonesian Security Minister Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono vowed that his nation would be resolute in its quest to hunt down those responsible. "Many of the terrorists have been caught, put behind bars, put on trial and sentenced by our courts. Some are still on the run, but make no mistake: We will hunt them, we will find them and bring them to justice," he said at the morning service. "Their brand of evil simply has no place in our society." "They belong in our darkest dungeons, locked away deep beneath our children's playgrounds. History will condemn them forever." Despite a massive security crackdown in Indonesia several key suspects remain at large, leading to warnings from analysts and security experts that it is only a matter of time before the Jemaah Islamiyah group strikes again. There were fresh warnings on Saturday that militants could strike in Indonesia again and had developed new tactics and techniques. Bali Police Chief I Made Mangku Pastika said that though Bali was safe, militants were planning more attacks and had built two bombs. (Full story)
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