Bali vigil marks London silence

By Rachel Harvey
BBC News, Bali

The Bali attack targeted tourist nightclubs

A special candlelit vigil has been held on the Indonesian island of Bali, scene of near-simultaneous bomb attacks at two nightclubs in October 2002.

The vigil coincided with the silences that were marked in London and Europe.

It was billed as a quiet act of solidarity with victims of bomb attacks in London and around the world.

More than 200 people, mostly foreign tourists, were killed in the Bali attacks, which were blamed on Islamic militant group Jemaah Islamiah.

A banner advertising Thursday's vigil had been hung on the low wall which surrounds the barren patch of earth where the Sari nightclub once stood.

What these bombers do is pointless Ian McEwan, tourist

By 7 o'clock local time, a mixed crowd of Indonesians and foreign visitors had gathered together to pay their respects in front of the permanent memorial to the victims of the Bali bombings.

Two hundred names are inscribed in gold on a block of dark grey marble.

Ian McEwan, from Western Australia was here on holiday two and a half years ago when the nightclubs were attacked. He has come back to Bali almost as an act of defiance.

"What these bombers do is pointless," he said, "they won't change our attitudes. In fact the more they do it, the more we'll resist."