Britain, US and EU lead condemnation of Mumbai attacks
World leaders express ‘horror and Indignation:
US: The United States, EU and Britain led global condemnation of the
attacks in India’s financial capital Mumbai on Wednesday, amid reports
that Westerners were targeted in violence that killed over 100 people.
Washington said the attacks were “horrific”, while US president-elect
Barack Obama pledged to work with India to “root out and destroy
terrorist networks”.
Britain’s Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the “outrageous” attacks
in its former colony would be met with a “vigorous response”, and the
European Union expressed its “horror and indignation” at the violence.
The state government said over 100 people died in a series of blasts
and shootings at two of Mumbai’s top luxury hotels and the main
Chhatrapati Shivaji railway station late Wednesday, according to the
Press Trust of India news agency.
A group calling itself the “Deccan Mujahedeen” claimed
responsibility.
One British guest of the Taj Mahal hotel told local Indian television
that armed men had herded people, including himself, to the hotel’s
upper floors.
“They said they wanted anyone with British and American passports,”
he said. The United States and Britain said they had no reports of
casualties among their citizens.
However, Japan said one of its nationals was killed and another was
injured, while a staff member working for the European Parliament was
reportedly hurt. Sydney said two Australians were also injured in the
violence.
US State Department deputy spokesman Robert Wood described the
attacks as “horrific”, while another official said US Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice was closely monitoring the situation. Obama’s chief
national security spokesman, Brooke Anderson, said the president-elect
“strongly condemns” the attacks and his thoughts and prayers were with
the victims and their families. “These coordinated attacks on innocent
civilians demonstrate the grave and urgent threat of terrorism,” he
said. “The United States must continue to strengthen our partnerships
with India and nations around the world to root out and destroy
terrorist networks.” Britain’s Brown condemned the attacks as
“outrageous”, and said he had sent Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
as message assuring that “the UK stands solidly with his government as
they respond, and to offer all necessary help”.
“These outrageous attacks in Mumbai will be met with a vigorous
response,” he said in a statement.
He added: “Urgent action is under way to offer every possible
protection to British citizens in the region.” Foreign Secretary David
Miliband said the attacks “remind us, yet again, of the threat we face
from violent extremists”, and said Britain and India would “continue
their joint efforts to counter the actions of terrorists”.
The French presidency of the European Union said it had learnt of the
attacks “with horror and indignation”, saying: “It condemns them in the
strongest possible terms.”
It expressed solidarity with Dehli, saying the EU “shares in the
mourning of the Indian nation and stands by its side during this
dramatic test”.
In a separate statement, the EU’s executive arm, the European
Commission, said: “Terrorism is never justified and is no means to
achieve any goal.
“We stand by the Indian government in its fight against terrorism.”
Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon condemned the
“savage terrorist attacks” and expressed solidarity with India.
“Canada and India share a commitment to freedom, democracy, human
rights and the rule of law. Among our mutual priorities is close
cooperation to promote international security and to fight terrorism,”
he said.
Spain’s Crown Prince Felipe, the heir to the throne, also voiced
“tremendous sadness and condemnation of the attacks which seem to have
left such a high number of victims”.
Washington, Thursday, AFP
|