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CNN Sunday Morning
Terrorist Explosions in Indonesia Kill Over 180
Aired October 13, 2002 - 10:06 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RENAY SAN MIGUEL, CNN ANCHOR: Our other top story all this morning is taking place half a world away from Montgomery County in a place known for vacations than terrorism. But parts of the Indonesian resort out in Bali do indeed look like a war zone today.
Two explosions last night destroyed two clubs that were crowded with tourists. More than 180 people were killed; nearly twice that many were injured. Government officials are calling it the worst terrorist attack in Indonesian history. And investigators are searching the debris, looking for any clues.
Indonesia's president arrived there today to visit the injured and tour the city block that was wrecked by the twin bombs.
CNN's Atika Shubert is on the phone from Bali; she joins us now with an update -- Atika.
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Renay, we do have a little bit more details about the victims of this blast.
As you may know, we have over 180 people that were killed, more than 200 that are wounded, many of them very seriously, with third- degree burns. Very serious burn victims, and they are appealing for help to deal with these kind of injuries.
Now in terms of the nationalities that some hospital officials have been able to identify, it does appear that quite a few Germans and French and British were among the injured. And among those killed, at least seven Australians have been identified.
In fact, it now looks as though the majority of the victims may be, in fact, Australian. Now the Australian response has been very swift. In addition to sending some aid, they have also sent two Hercules military craft in Bali. They are waiting to evacuate those that are critically injured that need immediate medical attention. And there's hope that that will offer some relief to the small hospitals here that are completely overwhelmed with the amount of injuries they have here.
SAN MIGUEL: Atika, do we have any claims of responsibility yet for this act?
SHUBERT: We don't have any claims of responsibility yet, although officials have said it is an act of terror, but they don't want to point any fingers at any specific group. Now interestingly, the chief security minister, Bambang Yudhoyono, did say in Jakarta earlier today that they had a pretty good indication of who did this, but that they would need public support in order to carry out firm action against these people.
Now, it's a little interesting that he made this comment, because Indonesia has long denied that it has had any terrorist network in the country. And it said it will not act against any groups, particularly Islamic extremist groups, here in the world's largest Muslim nation, until they have evidence, for fear of a public backlash. So this could be seen as a way of preparing the public for more arrests to come.
SAN MIGUEL: Okay, CNN's Atika Shubert, reporting from Bali on the phone. Thank you for that report -- Carol.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Renay, a great many of bombing victims in Bali were Australian tourists, and government officials in Sydney are pledging to help track down those responsible.
For more on this, our John Vause joins us live from Sydney. John, have you been able to talk with any of the families, any reaction there at all?
JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's very early in the morning here now, Carol, and we've still getting word through. We have heard from a number of people, in fact one man who was in Bali managed to get himself onto a plane. He caught a commercial flight from Bali to Darwin (ph), and has spoken of the horrors of that bomb blast, what they went through, people on fire, the carnage which they've seen.
The Australian government's response has been swift. As you mentioned, they said they would help the Indonesian government track down whoever may be responsible.
But the main focus for the Australian authorities here is to try and get as many Australians out as possible. And we within the last few minute, we were told that one of those C-130 Hercules airplanes has, in fact, touched down in Darwin with as many as 27 wounded on board.
There are 113 Australians who are wounded, 60 of those are considered in a serious condition. The Australian government intends to bring as many of those people home as possible. There is some concern about the medical care which they may receive in Indonesia, in Bali, because those hospitals are simply overrun, as we heard just a short time ago.
In addition to the Hercules airlift, the Australian government sending medical teams up there as well, and they're also sending agents from ASIO, the Australian Secret - or Security Intelligence Organization, and also federal police to help the Indonesian government track down whoever may have been responsible for this bomb blast -- Carol. LIN: John, a couple of hours ago, I spoke with the U.S. ambassador to Indonesia. He would not go so far as to name any specific terrorist groups, but he does believe that this is simply an act of terrorism.
Is there any doubt in the minds of Australians there?
VAUSE: There's absolutely no doubt that this is an act of terrorism. The prime minister spelled that out very early today. In fact, there is a lot of speculation here that these groups, while maybe not directly linked to Al Qaeda, are certainly sympathetic to Al Qaeda. And a number of security analysts are saying that.
And it's also bringing up the specter of Australia's close relationship to the United States. Many politicians here are now saying that Australia should step back and maybe not be so vocal in its support for President George W. Bush in the war on terrorism and his push for an invasion, an attack on Iraq. Many politicians saying it's now time to reassess.
The Australian Prime Minister John Howard, though, adamant that that will not be happening. This is what he said a short time ago today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRIME MINISTER JOHN HOWARD, AUSTRALIA: This incident was a brutal reminder that the world has, in fact, to face the challenge of terrorism. The warnings of the last year or more that terrorism could touch anybody, anywhere, at any time have been borne out by this terrible event.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Now, Carol, just to put this in perspective for our viewers in the United States, just like the American teenagers would go to Mexico or Cancun, at the end of a sporting season, Australians go to Bali. It is the most popular international tourist destination for Australians. So there's 20,000 Australians in Bali, as many as 20,000 Australians there right now.
Qantas, the national carrier, is scheduling extra flights to try and get as many people home who may want to get home -- Carol.
LIN: Well, sad indeed. I'm sure this is the last thing that people expected to experience on their vacation. Thank you very much. John Vause reporting live from Sydney for us.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired October 13, 2002 - 10:06 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RENAY SAN MIGUEL, CNN ANCHOR: Our other top story all this morning is taking place half a world away from Montgomery County in a place known for vacations than terrorism. But parts of the Indonesian resort out in Bali do indeed look like a war zone today.
Two explosions last night destroyed two clubs that were crowded with tourists. More than 180 people were killed; nearly twice that many were injured. Government officials are calling it the worst terrorist attack in Indonesian history. And investigators are searching the debris, looking for any clues.
Indonesia's president arrived there today to visit the injured and tour the city block that was wrecked by the twin bombs.
CNN's Atika Shubert is on the phone from Bali; she joins us now with an update -- Atika.
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Renay, we do have a little bit more details about the victims of this blast.
As you may know, we have over 180 people that were killed, more than 200 that are wounded, many of them very seriously, with third- degree burns. Very serious burn victims, and they are appealing for help to deal with these kind of injuries.
Now in terms of the nationalities that some hospital officials have been able to identify, it does appear that quite a few Germans and French and British were among the injured. And among those killed, at least seven Australians have been identified.
In fact, it now looks as though the majority of the victims may be, in fact, Australian. Now the Australian response has been very swift. In addition to sending some aid, they have also sent two Hercules military craft in Bali. They are waiting to evacuate those that are critically injured that need immediate medical attention. And there's hope that that will offer some relief to the small hospitals here that are completely overwhelmed with the amount of injuries they have here.
SAN MIGUEL: Atika, do we have any claims of responsibility yet for this act?
SHUBERT: We don't have any claims of responsibility yet, although officials have said it is an act of terror, but they don't want to point any fingers at any specific group. Now interestingly, the chief security minister, Bambang Yudhoyono, did say in Jakarta earlier today that they had a pretty good indication of who did this, but that they would need public support in order to carry out firm action against these people.
Now, it's a little interesting that he made this comment, because Indonesia has long denied that it has had any terrorist network in the country. And it said it will not act against any groups, particularly Islamic extremist groups, here in the world's largest Muslim nation, until they have evidence, for fear of a public backlash. So this could be seen as a way of preparing the public for more arrests to come.
SAN MIGUEL: Okay, CNN's Atika Shubert, reporting from Bali on the phone. Thank you for that report -- Carol.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Renay, a great many of bombing victims in Bali were Australian tourists, and government officials in Sydney are pledging to help track down those responsible.
For more on this, our John Vause joins us live from Sydney. John, have you been able to talk with any of the families, any reaction there at all?
JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's very early in the morning here now, Carol, and we've still getting word through. We have heard from a number of people, in fact one man who was in Bali managed to get himself onto a plane. He caught a commercial flight from Bali to Darwin (ph), and has spoken of the horrors of that bomb blast, what they went through, people on fire, the carnage which they've seen.
The Australian government's response has been swift. As you mentioned, they said they would help the Indonesian government track down whoever may be responsible.
But the main focus for the Australian authorities here is to try and get as many Australians out as possible. And we within the last few minute, we were told that one of those C-130 Hercules airplanes has, in fact, touched down in Darwin with as many as 27 wounded on board.
There are 113 Australians who are wounded, 60 of those are considered in a serious condition. The Australian government intends to bring as many of those people home as possible. There is some concern about the medical care which they may receive in Indonesia, in Bali, because those hospitals are simply overrun, as we heard just a short time ago.
In addition to the Hercules airlift, the Australian government sending medical teams up there as well, and they're also sending agents from ASIO, the Australian Secret - or Security Intelligence Organization, and also federal police to help the Indonesian government track down whoever may have been responsible for this bomb blast -- Carol. LIN: John, a couple of hours ago, I spoke with the U.S. ambassador to Indonesia. He would not go so far as to name any specific terrorist groups, but he does believe that this is simply an act of terrorism.
Is there any doubt in the minds of Australians there?
VAUSE: There's absolutely no doubt that this is an act of terrorism. The prime minister spelled that out very early today. In fact, there is a lot of speculation here that these groups, while maybe not directly linked to Al Qaeda, are certainly sympathetic to Al Qaeda. And a number of security analysts are saying that.
And it's also bringing up the specter of Australia's close relationship to the United States. Many politicians here are now saying that Australia should step back and maybe not be so vocal in its support for President George W. Bush in the war on terrorism and his push for an invasion, an attack on Iraq. Many politicians saying it's now time to reassess.
The Australian Prime Minister John Howard, though, adamant that that will not be happening. This is what he said a short time ago today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRIME MINISTER JOHN HOWARD, AUSTRALIA: This incident was a brutal reminder that the world has, in fact, to face the challenge of terrorism. The warnings of the last year or more that terrorism could touch anybody, anywhere, at any time have been borne out by this terrible event.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Now, Carol, just to put this in perspective for our viewers in the United States, just like the American teenagers would go to Mexico or Cancun, at the end of a sporting season, Australians go to Bali. It is the most popular international tourist destination for Australians. So there's 20,000 Australians in Bali, as many as 20,000 Australians there right now.
Qantas, the national carrier, is scheduling extra flights to try and get as many people home who may want to get home -- Carol.
LIN: Well, sad indeed. I'm sure this is the last thing that people expected to experience on their vacation. Thank you very much. John Vause reporting live from Sydney for us.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
