World blasts Bali bombing

2005-10-02 07:48

Hong Kong - World leaders condemned a wave of attacks by suspected suicide bombers on Bali that left at least 26 people dead, and pledged to support Indonesia in its fight against terrorism.

The blasts tore through three packed tourist restaurants on the Indonesian resort island on Saturday evening, creating all-too-familiar scenes of bloody chaos just days before the third anniversary of the nightclub attacks there.

Officials said tourists from Britain, the United States, Australia, Japan and South Korea were among the dead and the scores of injured.

Messages of condemnation and support flooded in from across the world, including Britain, the United States, France, Japan and Australia, which insisted it was not the target of the attacks, unlike in the 2002 blasts.

"I think we should see this as primarily an attempt to wreak havoc and cause fear and create instability inside Indonesia," said Australian Prime Minister John Howard.

He said the attacks bore the hallmarks of Jemaah Islamiyah, the al-Qaeda-linked Southeast Asian organisation that carried out the October 12, 2002 Bali blasts that killed 202 people.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said he was dismayed that the island - a popular destination for Western holidaymakers - had once again become a target of indiscriminate violence.

"The Secretary-General strongly condemns today's bombings on the Indonesian island of Bali," a statement issued by his spokesperson said.

"He sends his deepest sympathy to the injured and the bereaved of many nationalities as well as to the Indonesian government.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair also denounced the "appalling attacks".

"We stand by Indonesia at this very difficult time," said Blair.

"I offer our full support to the people of Bali as they recover from another atrocity so soon after the 2002 attack," he said. "The British government stands ready to help in any way we can."

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice echoed Blair's words.

"The United States condemns the terrorist bombings today in Bali that claimed innocent lives and injured many more," she said in a statement.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims, and we wish a speedy recovery to those injured."

Japan also pledged to continue "its utmost efforts to tackle terrorism in cooperation with the international community, and to cooperate with and support the government of Indonesia in such efforts," the foreign ministry said.

The Singaporean government said the attacks underlined the need for stronger regional co-operation against terrorism in Asia."

French President Jacques Chirac said in a letter to Yudhoyono that news of the near-simultaneous bombings "stunned and saddened me".

He added: "France in the strongest possible way condemns these hateful acts."

Germany's Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer also denounced "in the strongest possible terms the despicable attacks in Bali".

- AFP