World condemns Bali blasts
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.