‘No one wants to see that’: Australians dismayed at vision of blasts, terrorists at Bali event

Denpasar: Australians in Bali have been left shocked at footage of the 2002 bombings carnage and of the terrorists who plotted them being played on big screens during a 20th anniversary commemoration ceremony on Wednesday night.

Survivors and family and friends of the 202 people who died in the Kuta nightclub bombings gathered in front of the memorial to victims, across the road from the site of the former Sari Club, for an official Indonesian service to coincide with the moment when the deadly explosions occurred two decades ago.

Victims’ families during the commemoration ceremony of the 20th anniversary of the attack at the 2002 Bali Bombing Memorial monument.Credit:Getty

But attendees were stunned and upset by vision from the terror attack and its immediate aftermath screened to the crowd on two giant screens throughout that time, just after 11pm, when the bombings took place.

The documentary-style video, which lasted more than 10 minutes, included repeated footage of the inferno after the blasts, bystanders in a daze and audio of people yelling in panic. It also included shots of those behind the bombings, among them a smiling Amrozi, who was executed by firing squad in 2008 with co-conspirators Imam Samudra and Mukhlas.

In another part of the vision played, Bali bomb maker Umar Patek was shown at an Indonesian flag raising ceremony as the country’s former national police chief Da’i Bachtiar spoke on camera about the merits of deradicalisation.

People pray during the commemoration ceremony of the 20th anniversary of the attack in Bali that killed 88 Australians. Credit:Getty

Jessica O’Grady of Geelong, who was on the Sari Club dancefloor when the car bomb exploded outside 20 years ago, walked out in tears when the footage of the venue in flames was on screen.

“We’ve been to many anniversaries here and up until that point every single one of them had been beautiful and respectful and today had been a really, really nice day up until that point. I just cannot believe that they showed that,” she said.

“Nobody needs to see that. We lived through that. We were right here.”

Her friend Kirra Clarke, who was a first responder after the attack, was also dismayed.

“[They were] speaking about it being a homage to the families, how can that be?” she said. “No one wants to see that. It’s hard enough to see the sanitised version. Can you imagine if that’s your loved one in that site, and we’re here to pay respect and they show that?”

Onlookers watch vision of the Bali bombing aftermath on a big screen at the 20th anniversary memorial of the event in Kuta, Bali.Credit:Chris Barrett

The event, which followed an earlier Indonesian-run peace ceremony at the memorial in the afternoon and an Australian government-organised tribute at its consulate-general in Denpasar, was attended by Indonesia Home Affairs Minister Tito Karnavian and National Police Chief Listyo Sigit Prabowo, who placed flowers at the monument.

There were also Australian officials there including Penny Williams, the ambassador to Indonesia, and representatives from other countries.

Speeches from Indonesia President Joko Widodo and former Australian prime minister John Howard were beamed over the two big screens to start proceedings.

Widodo said “we all must unite against terrorism”, describing the Bali bombings as a “barbaric act clearly aimed at creating provocation and terror in the midst of society”.

The video package, titled “Harmony in Diversity”, was presented as a documentation of Indonesia’s success in tracking down and convicting the culprits and tackling extremism in recent years. It also included a clip of a plane flying into one of the World Trade Centre towers in New York City on September 11, 2001.

The handling of the event appeared to be another example of the sometimes divergent outlooks between Indonesia and Australia on sensitive political and cultural issues.

But siblings Lesley Reynolds and Jeff Marshall of Adelaide, who lost their father Bob Marshall in the attack, said they found it deeply confronting.

Australia flag is seen during the commemoration in Bali.Credit:Getty

“When they put up that footage of the bombings and the bombers and everything, it just took us straight back. There is some of that footage we haven’t even seen,” Reynolds said.

“They missed the timeline [as well]. I feel really disappointed and let down.”

Marshall said: “It was hard to watch. I just put my head down. I couldn’t watch it. We stayed around tonight because we thought tonight was about Australians, the 88 people who died, and there is nothing. All we got was bombs and carnage. Those guys [the perpetrators] should never be shown again. They’ve been executed and they’re out of our lives. Now they’re throwing them in our faces. It’s crazy.”

Some Australians at the site said they were also unhappy they were not permitted to enter the land of the former Sari Club to light a candle at the time of the bombings 20 years ago because it was being used on Wednesday night as a car park for vehicles ferrying government officials.

The sight on screen of Patek, who has been made eligible for parole 11 years into his 20-year prison, also went down poorly.

The former Jemaah Islamiyah bomb maker has been held up by Indonesian police as a model for reforming extremists and could soon walk free if his release is ticked off by the Indonesian government.

“I walked out in disbelief when I saw Umar Patek and Ali Imron [who was sentenced to life in jail over the bombings] and the explosion. At 11.05pm on the 20th anniversary, I thought ‘this can’t be happening’,” said Melbourne man Jan Laczynski, who was in Bali on the night of the attack and lost friends.

“I’m a hardened person. I’ve met all these terrorists in a courtroom, face to face in a documentary. I’m shocked and I don’t shock easily. I saw girls crying in front of me. I couldn’t believe it.“

Candles were lit during the late-night service to remember the victims and there was also a poem read about love and pluralism, accompanied by dancers.

– with Amilia Rosa

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