"Life goes on": Thousands of armistices mark World War I in Australia, released from attack | News from the world

By Sonali Paul and Alison Bevege

MELBOURNE / SYDNEY (Reuters) – Thousands of people attended commemorative ceremonies held in Melbourne to mark the centenary of the Armistice ending the First World War.

Attendance at the Melbourne Memorial Hall of Remembrance was greater than expected, as visitors were determined to show that they were not inclined by the knife attack of three civilians, including a mortal, by Islamic State sympathizer Hassan Khalif Shire Ali, 30 years old.

"Keep going," Kate Mansell told Reuters, the mother of a toddler and a baby in a stroller.

"Life goes on," said Alison Brett, visiting Melbourne from the Northern Territory (Australia).

Her daughter, Belinda, who lives near the shrine, said she was not afraid to be in public after Friday's attack.

"You can not let that stop you," she says.

At the shrine, on the other side of the river after the attack on Bourke Street, a large but unobtrusive police presence was watching a crowd of about 4,000 people.

Melbourne's Pellegrini Espresso Bar, filled with flower arrangements left by people in mourning, remained closed on Sunday as visitors laid flowers on the sidewalk and letters of condolence stuck to the coffee door.

The café belonged to the famous restaurateur Sisto Malaspina, aged 74, who was stabbed to death after being forced to help Shire Ali, mistakenly thinking that the car of the attacker was down, according to witnesses cited by ABC News.

Shire Ali had lit the car, filled with gas bottles, but it did not explode.

The homeless Michael Rogers, who became a hero when he used a caddy to try to stave off Shire Ali while he was raging on two policemen, was overwhelmed by donations from sympathizers who helped to creating a fundraising account for him.

The GoFundMe account had raised more than $ 50,000 ($ 36,000) on Sunday night and was still growing.

Victoria Police Commissioner Graham Ashton said on Saturday that the attack was terrorist. Deputy Commissioner of the Australian Federal Police, Ian McCartney, said the attacker was inspired by the Islamic State.

Police said that Shire Ali had seen his Australian passport canceled in 2015 after being informed by information that he was planning to visit Syria, but an assessment was made that, despite his radical views, he did not represented no threat to national security.

Interior Minister Peter Dutton defended the work of the security authorities, who he said had opened 400 investigations and needed public information to stop the spontaneous attacks. "The police can not consider all the circumstances," he told reporters in Brisbane.

Dutton said that encryption technology made it difficult for authorities to collect information.

"That's why it's important for us to gather as much information from imams, spouses, family members, community members, counselors, people who may interact with people who may have changed. their behavior, where they think "We have been radicalized," said the Australian daily Associated Press.

Imam Isse Musse, a family friend of the abuser, said at age 25 that the family had told him that Shire Ali was suffering from a mental illness.

"They say he has a mental problem," he told Reuters.

"If someone is mentally ill, he can be a prey to any propaganda, any misinterpretation … but what can we do?" The family worked hard to take him to the doctor so that He was diagnosed but he refused and would not cooperate.

"We are very disappointed with the event … we express our sympathy to all those who have been victimized."

In the capital, Prime Minister Scott Morrison, the head of the Defense Forces, General Angus Campbell, as well as other military and diplomats attended a Remembrance Day ceremony at the War Memorial. Australia.

"As we commemorate the centennial of the Armistice and think over the years, we know too well the deep scars of war and wish to keep them from touching the Australian soul," Morrison said in a speech. television.

Copyright 2018 Thomson Reuters.