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| 1981 Etsuyoki Bombing | |
|---|---|
| Part of terrorism in Kjanu | |
| Error: Image not found | |
| Progress Plaza at 5:06 p.m. the day of the bombing | |
| Location | Ministry of Science Building, Etsuyoki, Shani, Kjanu |
| Date | 12 December, 1981; 3:44 p.m. WWT |
| Target | Kjanuan Ministry of Science |
| Attack Type | Bombing, Mass Murder, Luddite Terrorism |
| Deaths | 1,833 |
| Injured | 7,021 |
| Perpetrators | Lee Yong Nae, Masataka Shigeo |
| Motive | Luddite Sympathies |
The 1981 Etsuyoki Bombing was a domestic terrorist bombing of the Ministry of Science building in Etsuyoki, Shani, Kjanu, on December 12 1981. It was the second deadliest act of terrorism in Kjanuan history behind the bombing of Nounnin in 1968.
Conducted by two Luddite extremists, Lee Yong Nae and Masataka Shigeo, the bombings occurred at 3:44 p.m. and killed 1,833 people, injured 7,021 others, and reduced the building to rubble. The blast damaged an additional 23 buildings within a 2-kilometer radius.[1] Local and national authorities engaged in extensive rescue efforts following the explosion, alongside extensive volunteering from civilians.
Video recordings linked research assistant Lee and maintenance worker Masataka to the bombings.[2] Both served as employees of the Ministry of Science despite connections to the then-defunct Anti-Industrial Union (AIU). Both were found among the rubble, having died when the building collapsed.[3]
In response to the bombing, the Kjanuan National Council passed the Safeguarding the Commonwealth Act of 1982, which allowed Kjanuan ministries to conduct “minimally invasive” background checks on new hires.[4] Additional legislation was passed to increase government transparency. In 1989, construction was completed on the new Ministry of Science Building, which included the Etusyoki Bombing National Memorial to commemorate the victims.
Motive
Lee Yong Nae and Masataka Shigeo met in 1979 at Shanoguan University during a meeting of the university’s environmental preservation club.[5] Both were radicalized by AIU propaganda spread through the club’s then-treasurer, Wu Zheng.[5] In written correspondence to Masataka, Lee derided the actions of the Kjanuan government, specifically its handling of the Buinon Sustainable Development Program in which nearly half a million people were displaced from rural communities and moved to industrial centers. Lee grew up in Haksan, one of 17 villages demolished in the program, and decided to bomb a federal building after his brother lost an arm working in a factory in Shanoguan, which Lee blamed on the government.[6] Masataka was the nephew of Hamai Sukeyuki, one of the perpetrators of the Buinon railway bombing.[7]
Target selection
Lee decided on the Ministry of Science as a target due to the ministry’s role in the Buinon Sustainable Development Program. The building housed the headquarters of the Bureau of Internal Development (BID), which was the main target of Lee’s bomb.[7] Additionally, Lee wrote that Progress Plaza was large enough to minimize damage to nearby buildings.[8] Lee also stated that its location in central Etsuyoki would boost the notoriety of the explosion and be good for propaganda purposes.[8]
The Ministry of Science building was 50 stories tall and hosted 23 agencies, including the BID, National Chemistry Lab, Energy Research Agency, and Office of Human Health.[9]
Another factor behind the selection of the Ministry of Science was the ease of access. Masataka and Lee were both hired by the ministry in the summer of 1981.[10]
Preparations
In accordance with KJnet regulations, details relating to the construction of weapons have been hidden
Planning to minimize casualties, Masataka and Lee decided to place the bomb on December 12, and set it to detonate on December 13 in the early morning before Sunday staff arrived.
Lee and Masataka entered the Ministry of Science at 8:00 a.m. The bomb was placed at 8:27 a.m. in a maintenance closet on the 36th floor and the 18-hour timer started.[11] Lee and Masataka were recorded by security cameras working throughout the day, with Masataka entering the closet at 1:26 p.m. to check on the bomb. Due to a malfunction in the timing mechanism, the bomb exploded at 3:44 p.m., about 11 hours before it was supposed to.[11] The explosion caused an immediate chain reaction within the building that caused a blast equivalent to a 3.8 on the Richter scale.[12] The building collapsed immediately, leading to the deaths of 1,833 people while injuring 7,021.
In accordance with KJnet regulations, details relating to acts of violence and/or bodily harm have been hidden
At 3:46 p.m. the first of over 2,000 calls relating to the blast was received by Etsuyoki Emergency Service (EES).[13] By that time nearby civilians, including 7 staff of the Novoroyskan Embassy who had witnessed the blast, arrived to assist the victims and emergency workers.[14] Mayor Kazumi Hisamoto, who saw the bombing from his office, was evacuated and organized the city response before President Yukimori Maeko brought in the National Crisis Coordinating Team (NCCT). The NCCT organized a response with both local and national authorities with representatives of the EES, Shani offices of health of safety, and the Ministry of Health. Other assistance came from the Kjanuan Weather Service and the Kjanuan Green Cross.[15]
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Rescue efforts in Progress Plaza onAn EES command post was set up in Progress Plaza for immediate treatment of injuries and oversight of rescue operations. Within the first hour, over 800 people were rescued from the Ministry of Science, and in subsequent hours nearly 3,000 people were treated by EES on the scene or transported to Etsuyoki Medical University Hospital.[16] Live rescue efforts continued until 12:00 p.m. December 13, about 7 hours after the last survivor was found.
An estimated 20,000 people participated in rescue operations, most being civilians.[11] Many aid workers were exposed to high levels of toxins from the rubble and hazardous waste stored in the Ministry of Science, and civilian aid workers were prohibited from assisting rescue efforts on December 13.[17] Over the next week, nearly 500 tons of rubble were removed from the site. On January 22 the rescue operations ended as the body of the last victim was found. The building was demolished the next day, and the remaining rubble was taken out of the city and recycled.
National and international aid
President Yukimori declared a state of emergency and ordered the evacuation of all government buildings at 4:00 p.m. as both Etsuyoki and Neo Jhanthu were placed on lockdown.[18] President Yukimori addressed the nation at 6:30 p.m., saying:
"The bombing in Etsuyoki is a national tragedy without scale. Kjanu is a nation of peace and that will not be broken by the violent acts of political extremists. All parts of our government are being directed to assisting the victims of this act and our nation."
She ordered that flags at all government buildings be flown at half-staff until the end of the year. Just two days later, President Yukimori arrived in Etsuyoki and spoke to the city.
Over 360 million Kuos were spent on relief efforts to the city and reconstruction efforts.[19] The total lifetime cost of medical assistance for victims and those exposed to toxins has been estimated to be over 1.2 billion Kuos.[1] The reconstructed Ministry of Science was completed in 1989, and the Etsuyoki Bombing National Memorial was unveiled in Progress Plaza the same year.
International reactions to the bombing varied. Some nations assisted with rescue efforts, including Verleschdie and Novoroyska. Messages of support came from Astana Anders, Serbatijan, Impeck, North Electrica, and the New Obsidian Isles.[20][21][22] Iathar condemned the bombing as an act of violence but also blamed the Kjanuan government’s policies for inciting it.[23]
The Ministry of Science began operating out of the University of Kin 36 hours after the attack.[24] The Kjanuan National Council enacted several pieces of legislation in the wake of the bombing, including the Safeguarding the Commonwealth Act of 1982. Investigation of the bombing was led by the NCCT, and announced that the leading suspects Lee and Masataka had died in the blast.[11] The full report on the bombing was released in January 1983.
The Etsuyoki Bombing
National Memorial
The bombing had a great impact on the culture and society of Etsuyoki and Kjanu as a whole. Despite no proven connection between Lee and Masataka and any existing Luddite organization, many Kjanuans held Luddite groups responsible for the bombings.[25] In the decade following the bombing, membership in Luddite groups and political organizations dropped from 2.3 million to 17,000.[25] The bombing was entered into the Kjanuan school curriculum in 1986 as part of post-revolutionary Kjanuan history courses.
Conspiracy theories
A variety of conspiracy theories have been proposed about the attacks, most alleging that the government was aware of the bombing and failed to act prior to the explosion. Other theories point to the exposure of rescue workers to chemical toxins as evidence of the blast being an experiment by the Ministry of Science to test chemical weapons on the civilian population. Many Luddites claim the bombing was carried out by the government as a way to frame Luddite groups and erode popular support for their ideology.[26] Other theorists propose that the attack was carried out by aliens in order to scare the Kjanuan government.[27] Experts and eyewitness accounts have been used in government investigations to refute the claims.[11]
See also: Etsuyoki Bombing National Memorial
Until the construction of the Etsuyoki Bombing National Memorial memorials were held in Progress Plaza. The Etsuyoki Bombing National Memorial was constructed for 19 million kuos and designed by Etsuyoki architect Ju Woo-taik.[28] The memorial includes a large metal tree surrounded by a descending granite staircase. Along the walls of the staircase are the names of every victim of the blast. Controversially, the memorial includes the names of Lee and Masataka with the names of the victims.[29] Services are held at the memorial on the anniversary of the bombing each year, and the Ministry of Science is closed for remembrance of the attack.