Govt Calls For Interfaith Tolerance in Bali Bombings’ 22nd Anniversary

BADUNG – Acting Bali Governor Sang Made Mahendra Jaya called for interfaith tolerance and harmony among community members on the 22nd anniversary of the 2002 Bali bombings.

During the memorial at the Bali Bombings Monument in the Kuta area here on Saturday, he said the tragedy is a moment of reflection for the people to embolden their spirit in promoting peace.

“Let this tragedy be our call to continue promoting tolerance and love among the people,” Jaya stated in written remarks read out at the event by Bali’s National and Political Unity Agency Head I Gusti Ngurah Wiryanata.

Jaya said the tragedy caused immeasurable pain to all people, especially those falling victim to the blasts, and their families.

Rather than continue living with the pain, they are encouraged to make peace with it and make it a source of power and transformation for the common good.

“We will never forget what happened in Bali on October 12, 2002, and it will be our momentum to give peace another chance to arise,” the acting governor said.

During the memorial, Jaya offered prayers not only for the victims, their families and relatives, but also for world peace and cessation of conflicts in various parts of the world.

He expressed hope that the love for peace and tolerance will make the “light of peace continue shining in Bali, in Indonesia, and throughout the world.”

On the evening of October 12, 2002, two popular nightclubs in Kuta, Bali, were attacked in a series of bombings perpetrated by terrorists. The scale of the tragedy was recorded as the worst terror attack in Indonesia’s history.

The bombing claimed the lives of 202 people, including 88 Australians.

The UN Security Council issued Resolution 1438 on October 14, 2002 specifically to condemn the attack that it called “a threat to international peace and security.”

The Indonesian Government subsequently arrested the suspects involved in the bombing. Three of the convicts — Amrozi, Imam Samudra and Mukhlas alias Ali Ghufron — were executed in 2008. (ANT)