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Government and Public show solidarity on the First anniversary of the deadly Lindt Cafe siege Sydney
NSW Premier Mike Baird and NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione speak outside the Lindt Cafe
Sydneysiders have been praised for their response to the Lindt Cafe siege at an emotional ceremony marking the first anniversary of the deadly attack. Sydney siege survivors and the families of victims Tori Johnson and Katrina Dawson gathered among hundreds in Martin Place in the ceremony that paid tribute to the victims, and lauded the responses of peace and compassion from the public. Gunman Man Haron Monis shot and killed Lindt cafe manager Mr Johnson in the final moments of the siege, while barrister Ms Dawson was killed during Police operation.
Sydney
is mourning but stands in hope on the first anniversary of the deadly Lindt
Cafe siege, NSW Premier Mike Baird says. A year ago gunman Man Haron Monis
walked into the Martin Place cafe and took 18 people hostage, holding them
captive for more than 17 hours. Lindt Cafe manager Tori Johnson, barrister
Katrina Dawson and Monis died in the siege.
Outside the cafe with Police
Commissioner Andrew Scipione on Tuesday morning, 15 Dec 2015, Mr Baird
reflected on the day terror came to Sydney.
'We
will not be stared down by those who want to bring evil to this city, those
that want to divide us. We stand in hope,' he said.
Premier Mike Baird
marked the sombre occasion by having a cup of coffee with Mr Scipione at the
cafe before it opened to the public. Inside, siege survivor Joel Herat emerged
from behind the Lindt Cafe's counter to shake Mr Baird's hand before the two
embraced, while several bouquets have been left at the steps of the
cafe.
Police Commissioner Mr Scipione said it was time to remember those
touched by the attacks who continue to suffer. A public candlelight vigil held
in Martin Place on Tuesday evening to commemorate the victims.' They're still
suffering. We know that. We know that they're still hurting,' Mr Scipione
said.
'I gave then - and the guarantee I give now - is that we as law
enforcers will do absolutely everything we can to prevent this type of thing
happening again.'
The Dawson and Johnson families will mark the occasion
alongside the premier on Tuesday evening.
'I will never forget what
happened at Martin Place a year ago. I will never forget Katrina and Tori,' Mr
Baird said.
'And I will certainly never forget the response of this
amazing city, as we came together with an outpouring of love and
unity.'
Lindt Cafe CEO Steve Loane paid tribute to the 'remarkable
strength and resilience' his staff had displayed over the last 12
months.
Fiona Bunn, who befriended staff after the siege, said: 'they are
just an amazing bunch of people who have banded together as a group, as a
family'.
Every dollar spent in the Lindt cafe on the
first anniversary of the siege will be donated to charity. Proceeds raised will
be donated to the Katrina Dawson Foundation and Beyond Blue, the charity chosen
by Mr Johnson's family.
The Lindt Cafe building will also
be lit up for five nights with projections of the floral tribute and the
thousands of messages laid at the site in the aftermath.A permanent memorial -
hundreds of illuminated glass boxes holding flowers and set into granite paving
- will be established outside the cafe at a later date.
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Muslim leaders
praise community for solidarity shown in wake of Sydney's Lindt Cafe
siege
BY
DANUTA KOZAKI, ABC
Shaoquett Moselmane is among the Muslim leaders calling for solidarity in his community on the anniversary of the Sydney siege
A
year after the Lindt Cafe siege, Muslim leaders are calling for the Australian
community to return to the same sentiment of solidarity seen in Sydney after
the fatal attack. Labor MP Shaoquett Moselmane — the first Muslim elected to
NSW Parliament — said he would like to see the anniversary of the siege spent
in the same harmonious way.
"I remember on the day of the event there
were a lot of people tweeting 'I'll ride with you' and 'I'll share with you' —
it was an excellent show of harmony between community groups, " he
said.
Silma Ihram, from the Australian Muslim Women's Association, said
there was a lot of solidarity in the crowds that gathered to mourn the two
victims, Tori Johnson and Katrina Dawson, in the days after the siege when she
went to pay her respects with some friends.
"I was there myself and
people were coming up and thanking us for being there, we had so many people
stop us and hug us and talk to us and cry, it was a very emotional event," she
said.
"It was a shock — it was the loss of innocence in our
city."
Ms Ihram said with the recent terror attacks in Paris and
California, along with the shooting at the Parramatta police headquarters in
Sydney's west, Australia's social cohesion had been threatened with anti-Muslim
sentiment expressed more openly by extremist groups.
"One year on a lot
of relationships that have been forged to stand together against this kind of
crazy mentality that is affecting all sections of our society, particularly
those who are moving to the extremes, that solidarity and resilience is
certainly being tested," she said.
Ms Ihram said today's memorial was a
timely reminder of how Australian society in all its diversity must remember to
stick together.
The ceremony was start at 8:15pm at Martin Place, and
will involve performances including a rendition of I Am Australian by the NSW
Public Schools Singers.There was one minute's silence at 8:40pm, followed by an
address by the NSW Premier Mike Baird.
Light projections incorporating
the floral tributes which were left at Martin Place after the siege will be
beamed onto the Lindt Cafe building in a show that will continue for the next
five nights.
