[Kabar-indonesia] Grief, Love, Loss: Two Nations Remember [by SMH and The Australian]

[JoyoNews at aol.com]

also: 2 The Australian reports: 'Frenzy' of travel warnings rile island;
and Bali bombing families return to mourn

Sydney Morning Herald
Monday, October 2, 2006

Grief, Love, Loss: Two Nations Remember

by Mark Forbes in Jakarta, Amilia Rosa 
in Jimbaran Bay and AAP

photo: Seeking solace … mourners at yesterday's memorial 
for the victims of last year's blasts at Jimbaran. Reuters

VICTIMS of the suicide bombs that ripped through Jimbaran Bay's beach one 
year ago wept as they scattered frangipani and rose petals across its gentle 
waves.

Twenty-three people, including the three bombers, died in the second attack 
on Bali by the terrorist network Jemaah Islamiah.

Yesterday morning 40 Australian survivors and family members of victims 
joined about 50 local victims and dignitaries to commemorate the first anniversary 
of the attacks on the beachside cafes that circle the bay.

The Newcastle residents Colin and Fiona Zwolinski, and Jennifer Williamson, 
and the West Australian Brendan Fitzgerald were killed in the blasts, and a 
further 17 Australians were injured.

After the official ceremony near the beach, a small group, guarded by a 
cordon of police, walked to the site of the blasts. The Zwolinskis' children, Ben 
and Isaac, and Mrs Williamson's daughter, Megan, were among the mourners. They 
wept, held hands and prayed as a waitress injured in the attacks recounted the 
events.

In Newcastle yesterday, more than 300 people attended a memorial service at 
St Joseph's Catholic Church, where Monsignor Allan Hart urged the community to 
look forward and learn to forgive. Tony Purkiss, who lost most of his sight in 
both eyes, and his wife, Mary-Anne, who lost her right eye, attended as did 
Jennifer Williamson's husband, Bruce, and members of the Zwolinski family.

Aleta Lederwasch, 22, who suffered shrapnel wounds to her legs while sitting 
opposite the Zwolinskis, said she was no longer angry, but felt sorry for the 
bombers.

"I've learnt a lot from the experience - trying to understand things - but 
the actual bombers were young and impressionable.

"If they had grown up in the same loving community that I have, I don't think 
it would have happened."

The Prime Minister, John Howard, offered his "deepest sympathies and 
heartfelt condolences" in a statement.

Speaking at the Bali ceremony, the Australian ambassador to Indonesia, Bill 
Farmer, expressed grief at the devastating effect of the attacks on so many 
lives.

"Grief and loss are deep and raw," Mr Farmer said. "But we gather here also 
to show we are determined as people, as governments to look to the future."

An Indonesian survivor, Heru Djatmiko, thanked Australia for evacuating his 
nanny - paralysed by one of the blasts while she minded his children that 
night. After medical treatment she is beginning to walk again, he said.

Mr Djatmiko cried as he dedicated his speech to his mother and nephew Arthur, 
who died in the attacks.

"I don't think anyone can accept losing their loved ones in such a tragedy," 
he said. "But we are here today not to remember how they died; we are here to 
remember how they lived."

Following the ceremony, Mr Farmer said Australia would continue to warn its 
citizens against travelling to Bali, although he contradicted claims from 
American intelligence assessments that Jemaah Islamiah presented a growing threat 
to Australians.

The group was weaker than it was one year ago, he said.

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The Australian
Monday, October 2, 2006

'Frenzy' of warnings riles island

Steve Creedy, Aviation writer 

AUSTRALIA has been accused of discriminating against Bali with an "ongoing 
frenzy" of travel warnings that have slashed Australian tourism to the island by 
25 per cent.

On the anniversary of the Jimbaran Bay and Kuta restaurant bombings, the Bali 
Tourism Board has complained to the Australian Government, asking it to tone 
down warnings by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade against travel to 
Indonesia because of potential terrorist attacks. The complaint may take on 
greater urgency after Garuda Indonesia confirmed over the weekend it was 
considering halting all direct flights to Bali from Australia's east coast next 
March. 

In a letter to Australia's ambassador to Indonesia, tourism board chairman 
Bagus Sudibya blamed the downturn of visitors to the island on the "ongoing 
frenzy of warnings about Bali being unsafe". 

Mr Sudibya acknowledged the two terrorist bombings and loss of life on the 
island, but said the warnings did not reflect measures to dramatically improve 
the safety and security of visitors. 

"There are clearly other regions and cities throughout the world with greater 
security issues than Bali - Britain being one of them - but the travel 
advisories for such places are vastly 'toned down', issued with far less frequency, 
or indeed reduced overnight in the case of Thailand last week," he said. 

A DFAT spokeswoman said the ambassador in Jakarta, Bill Farmer, would respond 
directly to the letter, but Australia did not apologise for the warnings, 
which were based on credible sources.

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The Australian
Monday, October 2, 2006

Bali bombing families return to mourn

Stephen Fitzpatrick, Bali 

TEENAGE orphans Ben and Isaac Zwolinski, and fellow Novocastrian Megan 
Williamson, led an emotional tribute yesterday to the victims of last year's Bali 
bombings, placing frangipani posies on the spot where their parents fell.
Ben and Isaac's parents, Colin and Fiona Zwolinski, and Megan's mother, Jenny 
Williamson, were killed a year ago yesterday when a suicide attacker 
detonated a bomb in his backpack at Jimbaran Bay. 

A second bomber struck just a few metres away, killing several Indonesians, 
including the mother and cousin of Qantas operations manager Heru Djatmiko. Mr 
Djatmiko's nanny, Putu Swadesi, suffered such severe spinal injuries doctors 
declared she would never walk again. 

Proving them wrong, Ms Swadesi arrived at the morning ceremony unassisted, 
taking a seat at the back of the small crowd and limping the short way to the 
beach for private prayers at the Menega Cafe, where her world erupted so 
violently last October. 

She is due to return to Perth this week to have operations on her shattered 
eardrums. 

After the service, groups of Australians made their way down the beach to the 
Nyoman Cafe, where nine Newcastle families who were holidaying together had 
been eating at the moment of the attack. 

Some, such as the Zwolinski brothers and Ms Williamson and her boyfriend 
Michael Brown, held each other tearfully. Others waded into the shallow waters of 
a gentle surf, tossing floral tributes at the waves. 

About 40 Australians applied for government funding to travel to Bali for the 
hour-long event in the grounds of the InterContinental hotel, facing on to 
Jimbaran Bay. 

The family of Perth teenager Brendan Fitzgerald, who was killed in a 
simultaneous attack on Raja's restaurant in Kuta square, did not make the trip to 
Bali, saying they preferred to visit their son at his grave. 

The only injury victim to take part directly in yesterday's service, Mr 
Djatmiko, read a short statement thanking the Australian Government for its help 
after the attacks. A message from John Howard offered "deepest sympathies and 
heartfelt condolences" and ambassador Bill Farmer promised to "bring these 
people to justice". 

The atrocity was planned by Jemaah Islamiah strategist Noordin M. Top and 
explosives expert Azahari bin Hussin, who was shot dead in a police raid on his 
east Java hideout. 

Top remains on the run, the target of Indonesia's biggest manhunt. There are 
fears that with what has become known as an annual bomb season, an attack 
could be imminent. Mr Farmer said it was "up to Australians to make their own 
judgment" about whether to come to Bali.

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Joyo Indonesia News Service
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