The Jakarta Post, October 03, 2005
World condemns Bali blasts
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
World leaders condemned a wave of attacks by suspected suicide bombers on Bali
that left at least 22 people dead and pledged to support Indonesia in its fight against
terrorism.
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan on late Saturday said he was
"dismayed that Bali has yet again been the scene of terrorist outrage", almost three
years after the October 2002 bombings, which killed 202 people including 88
Australian tourists and devastated the island's resort economy.
The U.S. also condemned Saturday's bombings in Bali.
"The United States condemns the terrorist bombings today in Bali that claimed
innocent lives and injured many more. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families
of the victims, and we wish a speedy recovery to those injured," U.S. Secretary of
State Condoleezza Rice said in a statement.
The U.S. Embassy in Jakarta said on Sunday that it was contributing US$50,000 to
the hospitals in Bali through the Indonesian Red Cross.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair denounced the attacks.
"I condemn in the strongest terms today's appalling attacks in Bali. Our thoughts are
with the victims and their families," Blair said in a statement, which was sent to The
Jakarta Post by the British Embassy in Jakarta on Sunday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin sent Russia's condolences on Sunday to Indonesia
following explosions in Bali.
Putin described the attack as "barbaric" and said it underscored the need to pursue
international efforts to combat terrorism.
China on Sunday said the Bali bombings were a terrorist act and sent a message to
the Indonesian government offering support and sympathy, the Foreign Ministry said.
"We strongly condemn this terrorist act," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong
Quan said in a statement on the ministry's website.
The Japanese Embassy in Jakarta said Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi had sent a
message to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono offering his condolences to the
deceased and the bereaved and also to express his heartfelt sympathies to those
injured.
"Prime Minister Koizumi also expressed his intention to support Indonesia's efforts
investigating this case and in preventing a recurrence," the embassy said in a press
release sent to the Post.
Australian Prime Minister John Howard said on Sunday the latest Bali bombings were
an attempt to wreck Indonesia's fledgling democracy.
"It should be seen for what it is -- an indiscriminate attempt to undermine democratic
Indonesia," Howard said. "I see this primarily as an attack on Indonesia and the
democratic instincts of the Indonesian people."
The Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) denounced on Sunday the deadly
bombings as "terrorist acts" which contradicted Islamic teachings.
The Bali attacks were "terrorist acts which totally contradict the teachings of Islam...
and harm Islamic values which call for tolerance and coexistence," said an OIC
statement issued at its headquarters in the Red Sea city of Jeddah.
Messages of condemnation and support have been flooding in from across the world --
including Germany, France, New Zealand, Pakistan, Singapore, the Philippines,
Thailand, Malaysia, and Cambodia -- since Saturday.
In a defiant mood, several foreign dignitaries were in Bali on Sunday despite the
deadly bombings.
Susilo and an unexpected guest, Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian, arrived in Bali on
Sunday. Chen, whose plane landed at 10 a.m. in Bali due to a typhoon in Taiwan, left
at 6 p.m.
Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong is scheduled to arrive in Denpasar on
Monday.
Australian Health Minister Tony Abbott and Czech Minister of Transportation and
Deputy Prime Minister Milan Simonovsky were also in Bali on Sunday.
All contents copyright © of The Jakarta Post.
|
