Terrorist Attacks in London
The UK is the latest country to join the list of countries targeted by terrorist attacks in the last two years, alongside Belgium, France and Germany
Roxana Vasile, 23.03.2017, 13:23
While Belgium was commemorating one year since the attacks at the Brussels airport and metro, which killed 32 people and injured more than 320, the deadliest in this countrys history, a new attack was taking place in Britain. A bearded man dressed in black drove his car onto a pavement on the famous Westminster bridge and ploughed into pedestrians, killing and injuring some of them, before stabbing a policeman to death while trying to force his way into the Parliament building and being killed by the security forces. The way in which the attack was perpetrated has now become familiar, namely by driving a vehicle into the crowds, says foreign policy expert and former head of the BBCs Romanian language service, Cristian Mititelu:
“We see a change in the terrorists tactic and modus operandi. Before, they would use explosives, automatic weapons, far more sophisticated and dangerous means. Now, as weve seen in Nice and Berlin, they ram a vehicle into the crowds, wounding and massacring people. So now they use means that elude, lets say, the measures put in place over time by security forces, who are prepared for a different type of attack.”
Romanias president Klaus Iohannis has joined his counterparts from many countries around the globe to condemn the attack in London and express his condolences to the victims and Bucharests solidarity with the UK. In fact, Romanian citizens, whether as tourists or immigrants, have often been among the victims of such attacks in recent years. This was also the case on Wednesday, when two Romanian nationals were wounded and immediately taken to hospital. Given that the UK is facing a complicated political situation marked by the start of the process to leave the European Union, we asked foreign policy expert Cristian Mititelu if this attack could influence this process in any way:
“I dont believe it will. Of course its a diversion, if you will, from the principal and almost exclusive concern at the moment, that of preparing the divorce from the European Union and forging a new cooperation agreement. I dont believe the attack will influence this process because, as a matter of fact, Great Britain has given signals that, as far as security is concerned, it wishes to maintain as close a tie as possible with the EU members, to maintain this type of cooperation irrespective of the big changes affecting trade and other areas. So I believe that in this respect, the process of leaving the European Union will not be affected.”
On Wednesday, the UK joined Belgium, France and Germany on the list of countries targeted by jihadist attacks in the last two years, mainly perpetrated by radicalised citizens of the respective countries. Even if the UK is no longer a member of the European Union in the future, the country and its values will not give in to terror, just like they havent done on the continent, either.
(Translated by Cristina Mateescu)
