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The Week in Germany: Politics July 8, 2005 Terrorism must not, will not succeed: German leaders German leaders Thursday pledged to continue fighting terrorism with all available means in statements that condemned the deadly attacks on London's transportation system as "cowardly," "insidious" and "abominable."
"I and all the other participants in the G8 summit condemn in the sharpest possible terms these insidious acts that have cost the lives and the health of many innocent people," said German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, who was attending the Group of Eight (G8) meeting of world leaders in Gleneagles, Scotland. "We are agreed that the international community needs to do everything it can to fight terrorism — with all the means at its disposal," said Schroeder. He added: "The crass inhumanity of the terrorists is underscored by the fact that they have struck down innocent people with these cowardly attacks and, at the same time, they have attempted to disrupt a summit focused on helping overcome hunger and poverty in Africa and which has also set itself the goal of improving measures in the world to prevent climate change." German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said that attacks "fill us with dismay and horror." "Terrorism must not and will not succeed," he said. Offering his condolences to the British people, Fischer added: "At this difficult hour, our thoughts are, above all, with the victims and their families and the many people who are still concerned for the safety of their children, spouses, family members or friends, as well as with the many injured." Horst Koehler, Germany's president, offered his condolences in a telegram to Queen Elizabeth II. "We do not know what cynical convictions were behind these abominable acts, but we will not bow to terrorism," Koehler wrote. Angela Merkel, leader of the opposition Christian Democratic Union party and Chancellor Schroeder's opponent in upcoming elections, called the attacks "an attack on democracy and freedom" and said that "our thoughts are with the innocent victims and their friends and family." In Germany, security was stepped up at train stations, airports and border crossings, with Interior Minister Otto Schily warning that Germany faces the same "general danger" as other nations even while there was no intelligence indicating new threats. Schily said he will travel to London for meetings with British security officials on Friday. Also on Friday, flags on public buildings in Germany were lowered to half mast in sympathy with victims of the bombings. Dozens of people were killed and hundreds injured in a series of near simultaneous bomb blasts at three subway stations and a double-decker bus in the British capital during rush hour Thursday morning. The attacks came in the midst of a G8 summit meeting hosted by Britain and a day after London was chosen as the 2012 Olympic Games site. Links
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