The National security level has been raised to ‘critical’, as the country prepares for two days of remembrance and mourning. This weekend marks the fifth anniversary of the Munsau Bombings, which killed 63 people and left over 600 injured on Sunday 19th August 2007.
The attacks, carried out by extremist Bari nationalists took place to coincide with a traditional holiday, which marked a ceasefire between Sar, Il’m and Noric fighters in the former Democratic Republic of Saracia in 1984.
Tomorrow also marks the second anniversary of the failed assassination attempt on former president Pavel Lukyanov, which killed five people in the city of Siret, when a lone suicide bomber detonated explosives strapped to himself at a speech being given by the president to mark the first anniversary of the Munsau attacks. Bajram Thaqi, from Altai but with Polascianan citizenship was not killed instantly by the explosives around his chest, but died later in a military hospital. He had claimed responsibility for the attack in a video message that was filmed at his house. Thaqi’s message said that Lukyanov had ‘betrayed’ the ‘Il’m way of life’. The families of the five victims of the bombing in Siret will lead a candlelit vigil in the city tomorrow evening, before making their way to Munsau to take part in a national memorial service, led by President Artamova.
As part of the attacks on Munsau, four bombs were detonated by a radicalist Khali ts’ants’i armatakanut’yuny Ketrianist cell based from Baia in Béspura, targeting the Noric and Valle quarters of the city, which is around 50km from the capital, Karasicena. They marked the biggest single loss of life through terrorism since the unification of the country in 2003, and visibly shook the resolve of the nation.
On the day of the attacks, five years ago on Sunday, former president Gruaman said, “This was a day that we hoped we would never see again in our great country. And while the divisions of the past will never heal completely, they will fade in time. But it’s the story of a modern Polasciana that will never fade – it’s a story that you can be born into any culture, you can grow up anywhere in our country, you can follow any religion you like – you can be who you are and never fear. Today, this tragedy does not take us away from this promise. It only binds us stronger – that freedom we enshrine in our united republic, can never be taken away.” In a special tribute to the emergency services who lost 17 people as a result of a second bomb at a Noric shopping market, a firefighter who survived the attacks will read those words again, at the open-air memorial service due to start at 18.07pm on Sunday, to mark the date of the Siret bombing. A larger candlelight vigil is also expected to take place in Munsau on Sunday evening following the memorial service, to close the weekend’s anniversary ceremonies.
The service on Sunday is expected to be attended by all former serving president’s and prime ministers. Gruaman, Lukyanov and current President Gennadiy Artamova are set to be joined by former Prime Minister’s Marina Yanaka and Maksim Obelchenko as well as current Prime Minister Ludvig Fedorov, who will be leading the reading of the names of the sixty three victims. The memorial ceremony and candlelight vigil is also thought to be attended by foreign dignitaries including the Chancellor of Eiffelland, and the Uttanian Statsminister.
A special concert of some of the country’s biggest classical stars has been put together for a stunning tribute to those who lost their lives, which will also feature a silent ballet routine with choreography by Rosa Arroyo, a widow of one of the Valle men killed in the attacks. A fly past of four Sukhoi fighter jets will also mark the beginning of the ceremony at 19:08pm, each symbolising one of the bombs.
Until the end of the ceremonies on Sunday night, the military and security services are on high alert – and an increased visual presence of all military services and police is thought to continue for the next week. The tributes this weekend will be one of the largest mass gatherings in the nation ever – with an expected one million descending on Munsau.
The special concert ‘A Tribute to Life’, will be broadcast across Gallia, with an expected global audience of millions, with some 25 million expected to watch in Polasciana alone.
