Howard condemns 'wicked and cowardly act'

Australian Prime Minister John Howard today said the bomb attacks which killed nearly 200 people in a nightspot on the resort island of Bali were proof that the war on terror must go on.

After speaking to Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri by telephone Howard said authorities from both countries were convinced the bombings had been carried out by what he described as terrorists.

“This wicked and cowardly attack, clearly on the evidence available to us, is an act of terrorism that can have no justification,” Howard said.

“I can only say again that the war against terrorism must go on with unrelenting vigour and with an unconditional commitment,” he said.

The Australian Prime Minister added that he will launch an urgent review of national security.

Australia, a staunch Washington ally, has been on a heightened state of alert since the September 11 attacks.

“People should get out of their minds that it can’t happen here. It can, and it has happened to our own on our doorstep,” Howard said.

Police in Indonesia have said the dead included nationals from Indonesia’s southern neighbour Australia, Britain, France, Germany and Sweden.

Howard said he did not have an exact number of Australian victims but warned that there were likely to be many among the dead and wounded because of Bali’s popularity among young Australian tourists.

Australia’s Foreign Minister Alexander Downer also said he believed the blasts to be the work of a “terrorist organisation”.

“It is a tough thing to say this, but one would have to assume that quite a number of the dead would be Australians,” Downer said.

“It does look as though a terrorist organisation was involved, and secondly it clearly looks as though this attack has been coordinated, and it clearly looks like an attack against foreign interests.”

Downer said there were about 40 Australians in hospitals in Bali and of those about 15 were seriously injured.