India bomb blasts widely condemned
“These barbaric acts, a few days before religious holidays, reveal unsurpassed cynicism,” German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said in a letter of condolence to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh after Saturday’s attacks.
“The attempt by the terrorists to replace peaceful coexistence and humanity with fear and horror will not succeed. We will not waver in our shared fight against terrorism,” he said in sentiments repeated by other world leaders.
Little-known group Inquilab (Revolution) said it was behind the blasts. Police said it has links with Muslim militants operating in Kashmir.
Ahead of the group’s claim, suspicion had immediately fallen on militant groups opposed to a peace process begun by India and Pakistan last year.
Islamabad was among the first to condemn the bombings and call for the perpetrators to be brought to justice.
“The attack in a crowded marketplace is a criminal act of terrorism,” the Pakistani foreign ministry said.
“The people and government of Pakistan are shocked at this barbaric act and express deep sympathy with the families of the victims.”
Similar feelings and condemnation, echoed around the globe.
Washington called the bomb blasts “another sad reminder that terror knows no borders”.
“These acts are made more heinous in that they deliberately targeted innocent civilians preparing for holiday celebrations,” US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in a statement.
Israel also condemned the “heinous” bombings.
“This is a further instance of terrorists’ brutal disregard for innocent lives,” said a statement from the foreign ministry.
United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan said he was appalled.
“The secretary general is particularly shocked that this latest terrorist outrage has occurred on the eve of the major Hindu festival of Diwali,” a statement from his office said.
Europe’s External Affairs Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said the bombings were “cowardly acts” carried out against innocent people.
In a statement released by the Kremlin, Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed Russia’s “pain and indignation at the senseless and inhuman terrorist acts.”
The bombings showed that “they are motivated only by blind cruelty and hatred of all humanity,” the statement said.
Sri Lanka said it was deeply distressed by terrorist violence, which Thai officials similarly denounced.
“Nothing justifies the killing of innocent men, women and children,” Foreign Minister Kantathi Suphamongkhon said in a statement to his Indian counterpart Natwar Singh.
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw called the bombings yet another example of terrorists’ cynical and callous disregard for human life.
Australian Prime Minister John Howard, noting the target was not political but a market, said on Channel Nine television that the attack “shows how brutal and indiscriminate and unforgivable it really is.”
In Bangladesh, Foreign Minister M. Morshed Khan called the bombings a heinous act while Japan, the Philippines and Afghanistan also spoke out against the killings.
“It is an extremely cowardly and unforgivable act,” Yoshinori Katori, a Japanese foreign ministry spokesman, said in a statement.
Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin called the violence beyond deplorable, while South African President Thabo Mbeki offered condolences for the “dastardly act of terror”.
French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, in a message to Singh, said “terrorism has struck savagely.”
Chinese President Hu Jintao said Beijing “condemns all forms of terrorism” and expressed a willingness to work together with India and other countries to safeguard world peace, the state Xinhua news agency quoted Hu as saying.
Singh said the explosions at crowded marketplaces were timed to cause maximum damage with people shopping ahead of religious festivals next week.
“I condemn the cynical and premeditated attacks on innocent people. These are dastardly acts of terrorism aimed at the people of India,” he told a press conference.—AFP