Wednesday marked the anniversary of the 2002 bombings in Kuta, Bali which killed 202 people – 88 of which were Australian.
For Maria Kotronakis who lost four loved ones in the attacks, “emotions have stayed back 20 years ago”, as she told the Daily Telegraph in an interview ahead of the 20th anniversary.
Ms Kotronakis who was 27 at the time lost her twin sister sister Dimmy, and her older sister Elizabeth, 33 as well as her cousins Louiza Zervos, 33, and Christine Betmalik, 29.
It was reportedly the single biggest family tragedy of the attacks.
Weeks after, more than 800 mourners had attended the sisters’ funeral in Blacktown’s Greek Orthodox Church.
The Kotronakis sisters and their cousins were among the five Greek Australians who lost their lives on 12 October 2002 when three bombs were detonated simultaneously in two night venues – the Sari Club and Paddy’s Bar – and one in front of the US Consulate in Bali.
Maria Kotronakis was spared the fatal attack by a twist of fate.
The group of girls was in Bali for Maria’s honeymoon and had been out for dinner with Maria and her former husband. When the four girls went out to the Sari club Maria stayed back because of a migraine.
“The one thing that I can’t stand is the one thing that saved my life,” the 47-year-old said.
David Mavroudis was also tragically killed, along with five teammates of the Coogee Dolphins rugby league club who were in Kuta for the club’s annual end of year trip.
On Wednesday morning, two separate commemorative services were held in Australia, one at Parliament House in Canberra and one at the Dolphin Point memorial site in Sydney’s Coogee beach where 88 white doves were released, one for each of the Australians killed in the bombings.
But relatives and friends of Australian victims who attended the Kuta memorial service in Indonesia were reportedly outraged over a series of videos shown during the service.
The footage prepared by Indonesian National Police and the Indonesian government, included graphic scenes of the Sari club ablaze with victims heard screaming inside, and extensive footage of Umar Patek, the man who built the explosive devices used in the attacks.
The controversial video was shown on big screens in front of the gathered crowd at 11:05 pm — the exact time the bombs had gone off.
“We understand the distress it has caused and stand ready to offer assistance to any Australians who may need it, “a spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs said expressing disappointment over the decisions made by the event organisers.
The Australian government has said it wasn’t involved in organising the event, and will formally register its concerns with Indonesian authorities.
