Bloody Show in Manchester

Dozens of people lost their lives or got wounded in a blast in Manchester, in north-western England.

Florentin Căpitănescu, 23.05.2017, 12:52

For decades, Britain managed to stay unharmed by deadly terrorist attacks, but this year the country has twice been the target of bloody incidents. The latest one, occurring in Manchester, in the north-west of England, has been termed by the Prime Minister Theresa May as “an appalling terrorist attack. Dozens of people, including children, were killed or wounded in the blast that occurred at Manchester Arena, the biggest concert hall in Europe, at the end of a show given by the American singer Ariana Grande.

The British Cabinet convened in an emergency session on Tuesday. Also, both Prime Minister May and the leader of the Labour opposition Jeremy Corbyn decided to postpone their campaigns for the early parliamentary elections, scheduled for June 8th. As a bizarre coincidence, the tragedy in Manchester occurred exactly two months after the attack in London, when a British citizen, converted to Islam, ploughed into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge, then rushed at the gates in front of the Houses of Parliament, stabbing a plain-clothes policeman. In total, five people died, including a Romanian citizen, and another 50 were wounded.

In the aftermath of the attack in Manchester, countries around the world, including Romania, have sent messages of condolences and sympathy. Romanias President Klaus Iohannis has voiced his indignation and sadness and Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu has stated that “all our thoughts go to the victims and the families of those who have been affected. The Romanian Foreign Ministry has expressed regrets too and voiced solidarity with the British people.

In another move, after the attack in Manchester and a few days after the US President Donald Trump called for an intensification of the fight against terrorism, the New York authorities tightened security measures in areas seen as sensitive. During his formal visit to Saudi Arabia last week, the US President called on the Muslim leaders to eliminate jihadists from their countries. Also in Riad, the US and the Arab monarchies in the Gulf Area announced the setting up of a center aimed to fight against the funding sources that terrorism relies on. (Translated by M. Ignatescu)