Posted on 03/03/2004 4:52:39 PM PST by knighthawk
Britain and Turkey pledged today to strengthen their cooperation against terrorism, following a memorial service in the grounds of the British Consulate in Istanbul, the site of a November suicide attack.
Foreign Secretary Jack Straw stressed that attacks yesterday against Shiite Muslims in Iraq and Pakistan that killed at least 185 people showed the need for united efforts.
“The fight against terrorism is an international fight and one which affects every one of us in the civilised world,” Straw told a news conference.
He met Turkey’s Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, and attended the memorial for British Consul-General Roger Short and others killed when a suicide bomber rammed an explosive-laden truck into the consulate on November 20.
“Terrorists target peace-loving people of every faith and religion, as we saw yesterday so tragically in Iraq and in Pakistan, and their only aim is to spread violence and chaos. We cannot let them win,” Straw said during the memorial service.
“By reaffirming today the values of peace, tolerance and freedom which we share, we’re also showing our determination never to give in to hatred and violence.”
Straw expressed grief for all the victims of four suicide attacks blamed on al-Qaida in November that killed a total 62. He thanked Turkey for what he said “the brilliant cooperation and support ... from the moment the bomb went off.”
Gul said: “We’ve reiterated our commitment to close cooperation in combating terrorism.”
The memorial service at the consulate had originally been scheduled to take place last month but was cancelled because of a snowstorm.
Turkish prosecutors indicted 69 Turks, alleged al-Qaida militants, last week in the Istanbul suicide bombings that targeted two synagogues, London-based bank HSBC and the consulate.
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