The victims’ families and survivors have long been pushing for a peace park to commemorate the 202 people who were killed in the terrorist attack on Oct. 12, 2002, whereas the site’s owner plans to develop a five-story restaurant on the plot.

The governor, who was installed in September 2018, conveyed his support on Thursday afternoon during a closed-door meeting at his Denpasar office to discuss the peace park.

The meeting involved representatives of the Bali Peace Park Association (BPPA), the Isana Dewata Foundation for Indonesian victims and Badung regency, as well as the Australian Consul-General to Bali, Helena Studdert.

Neither the site’s owner nor a representative attended the meeting. Koster said he would try to set up a separate meeting to arrive at the best solution.

Thiolina Marpaung, a Bali bombing survivor representing Isana Dewata, said that she appreciated the governor’s support for building a peace park at the site, rather than a restaurant.

“We hope that the government will find the best solution. This is not only for Bali bombing victims, this is for the world,” she said, adding that the matter should not affect the relationship between Indonesia and Australia.

The governor offered several options at the meeting in case the site’s owner insisted on building a restaurant, such as offering land in Kuta belonging to the Bali provincial administration in exchange for part of the ex-Sari Club site.

The provincially owned land Koster referred to is about 820 square meters and located roughly 1.5 kilometers from the site on Jl. Legian.

If the site’s owner rejected the land swap, Koster proposed offering the Kuta plot for developing the peace park. However, the idea was not welcomed by representatives of the Bali bombing victims and survivors, as the park should be built at the actual site of the tragedy.

“It is not the site [of the bombing]. And a monument already exists here,” said Thiolina, referring to the Ground Zero Monument on Jl. Legian. “So [the Kuta plot] is a bit far from the monument, and would not feel connected,” she added.

Thiolina said that she preferred the land swap alternative. “I think that’s a good idea. It is a good alternative solution. I hope the landowner can accept the solution the governor has offered,” she said.

Studdert said that good discussions were held during the meeting, and that she would continue to work with local authorities to reach a solution.

“This is a private negotiation. It is just the Bali Peace Park Association and the local yayasan [foundation] wishing to sit down with the owner and have a discussion, and we are hopeful that that will happen,” she stressed with regard to Australia’s position on the matter.

Eighty-eight Australians were among the 164 foreign nationals killed in the 2002 Bali bombing.

The landowner has obtained a building permit from the Badung regency administration to build a five-story, 700 sqm restaurant on the former Sari Club site. The plan caused an outcry from victims’ families and survivors, as well as the Australian government, which supports the idea to build a peace park.

It was reported that the owner had temporarily halted further development to provide room for negotiation, although a Balinese Hindu purification ceremony was held at the site on Sunday.

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