A Sydney cafe that was the scene of a siege three months ago reopened on Friday (March 20) with plaques honoring two victims killed during the 16-hour stand-off, which prompted tighter Australian immigration controls and a review of anti-terror laws.
The Lindt Chocolate Cafe opened its doors again with commemorative plaques for cafe manager Tori Johnson, 34, and 38-year-old lawyer Katrina Dawson prominently displayed. Both were killed in the final minutes of the Dec. 15-16 siege.
Johnson was ordered to kneel by gunman Man Haron Monis and then shot in the back of the head. The execution prompted police to storm the cafe and investigations have since shown that Dawson was killed by a ricochet from at least one police bullet.
Monis, a self-styled sheikh with deep grievances against the Australian government and who claimed allegiance with the Islamic State group, was killed by police.
Cafe worker Joel Herat, who was among the 17 hostages held by Monis, returned to work.
"Today is an incredibly important day for this city. It's an incredibly important day for the state. There's a couple of thoughts that we need to remain very strong on. That is, our thoughts and prayers remain with the victims family and friends. This is a tough day for them as every day is tough. But we continue to mourn with them and together with all of those who were injured, our thoughts remain with them as well. It's also an important day for this city because actions that came to cause hate and division, actually brought peace and unity. The city was tested, it was challenged but today is a strong reminder that we march forward," said New South Wales Premier, Mike Baird.
Dozens of Sydney residents gathered before the cafe opened in Martin Place in the center of the city's main business to show their support.
"We usually go to a cafe a couple of blocks away, but we thought to ourselves, today's a different day. So we thought, you know, come here, spend a couple of dollars, pay our respects to the two people that lost their lives," said an unidentified customer.
"Yeah, so obviously here to support, not only, obviously, people of Sydney as well. It did affect all of us and I think that we just recognize that there are good in the world and it's obviously going to be shown within our support," said another customer.
Four people were wounded in the siege, including a policeman hit in the face with shotgun pellets and a 75-year-old woman who was shot in the shoulder.
REUTERS