Australia declares day of mourning as terror hits
( 2002-10-14 17:24 ) (7 )

Shell-shocked Australia declared a national day of mourning on Monday, as it began counting its dead from bomb blasts in Indonesia that brought the "war on terrorism" into its own backyard.

Embarking on a review of security across the nation, Prime Minister John Howard said there was little doubt that terrorists were behind the weekend bombing of two nightclubs on the resort island of Bali that killed at least 183 people.

The attacks on bars packed with young Australians ripped away Australia's comfort zone, ending any illusion that geographical isolation would protect it from the unprovoked attacks on civilians that have plagued other nations.

"What happened at the weekend claimed our own in great numbers, and on our own doorstep, and touched us in a way that we wouldn't have thought possible a week ago, or even three days ago," Howard told parliament.

"It is inevitable that in the wake of what occurred in Bali over the weekend that the thought of Australians will turn to the potential vulnerability of our own soil, our own mainland."

SUPPORT FOR US

Howard declared October 20 a day of national mourning.

He said 14 Australians had been confirmed dead, but the final death toll would be much higher, highlighting the need to support the United States in its campaign against Islamic militants.

No one has claimed responsibility for the blasts. But they came days after Washington issued a global terror alert, amid fears that al Qaeda, the Islamic militant network blamed for the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, had regrouped after being routed by US forces in Afghanistan.

Opposition Labor leader Simon Crean said the bombings were probably the nation's single blackest day since World War Two in terms of casualties.

"This (terrorism) is now the No. 1 enemy for world populations," he said.

Bali is a popular destination, just a three-hour flight from Australia, and an estimated 12,000 Australians were on holiday there on Saturday when the attacks struck.

While many, if not most, of the victims would have been Australians, the government dismissed suggestions its staunch support for the United States, and in particular President George W. Bush's proposed threatened military action against Iraq, could have made its citizens a target.

NO WARNING

Howard said Australia had not received any advance intelligence about targets in Bali, although his conservative government had for months warned that Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, may be a potential trouble spot.

Foreign Minister Alexander Downer has repeatedly voiced concerns about the presence in Indonesia of the radical Southeast Asian Islamic network, Jemaah Islamiah, which has been linked to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network.

Howard said the national security committee met on Monday and decided to review anti-terrorism laws that were ramped after the September 11 hijacked airliner attacks in the United States, blamed on al Qaeda, which killed about 3,000 people.

He said two government ministers would go to Indonesia to help the government beef up its efforts against terrorist groups and hunt down those responsible for the Bali blasts.

"All of us have the right to feel the sense of a deep anger and a deep determination to do everything we can...to bring those responsible for this crime to justice," Howard said.