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SPANISH AND WORLD leaders have condemned the Barcelona terror attack, expressing outrage and solidarity with the victims.
At around 4pm yesterday, a white van drove onto the popular Las Ramblas promenade and drove into crowds of pedestrians – killing 13 people and injuring more than 100 others.
The Spanish royal family has issued a strongly-worded statement: “They are assassins, criminals who won’t terrorise us. All of Spain is Barcelona.”
FC Barcelona said it is “deeply saddened” by the tragedy and the team’s striker Lionel Messi said separately that people must reject “any act of violence”.
“There are many more of us who want to live in a world in peace, without hate and where respect and tolerance are the basis of coexistence,” he added.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar is among the Irish politicians to express his condolences.
“On behalf of the government and the Irish people, I would like to extend my deepest sympathy to Prime Minister Rajoy and the people of Barcelona and Spain following this callous act.
“An attack of this nature, targeting the people of Barcelona and visitors enjoying that wonderful city in the height of the tourist season, is both wanton and cowardly and has no place in our society.
“At this time of immense grief, I want to offer our solidarity and support to the people of Spain, with whom we have such close relations,” Varadkar said.
‘Be tough and strong’
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said: “Terrorists around the world should know — the United States and our allies are resolved to find you and bring you to justice.”
US President Donald Trump tweeted: “The United States condemns the terror attack in Barcelona, Spain, and will do whatever is necessary to help. Be tough & strong, we love you!”
Donald J. Trump / Twitter
Donald J. Trump / Twitter / Twitter
About an hour later, Trump tweeted: “Study what General Pershing of the United States did to terrorists when caught. There was no more Radical Islamic Terror for 35 years!”
He was referring to General John ‘Black Jack’ Pershing who was the US governor of largely Muslim Moro province from 1909 to 1913. At the time, the Philippines was a US colony and Pershing’s forces had to fight Muslim counterinsurgencies.
The debunked account – which Trump has referred to in the past – is as follows: Pershing’s forces rounded up 50 Muslim insurgents and executed 49 of them with bullets dipped in pig’s blood – considered by Muslims to be unholy.
Four historians previously told Politifact this version of events didn’t happen.
‘Profound sadness’
In a statement, the office of German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the country was thinking of the victims of the “revolting attack” with “profound sadness”.
Russian President Vladimir Putin called for the world to unite in an “uncompromising battle against the forces of terror”.
“We decisively condemn this cruel and cynical crime against civilians,” Putin wrote in a letter of condolences to Spanish King Felipe VI.
A spokesperson said United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres “condemns today’s terrorist attack on Barcelona” and “hopes that those responsible for this heinous violence will be swiftly brought to justice”.
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said: “I send my deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims, as well as to Prime Minister Rajoy and the people of Spain. My thoughts are with the people of Barcelona.”
French President Emmanuel Macron voiced “France’s solidarity” with Spanish citizens after the “tragic attack”.
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said: “Parisians are at your side. Barcelona and Paris are cities that share love and tolerance. Our values are much stronger than this heinous and cowardly act of terrorism.”
‘Terrible attack’
British Prime Minister Theresa May said in a statement:
My thoughts are with the victims of today’s terrible attack in Barcelona … and the emergency services responding to this ongoing incident. The UK stands with Spain against terror.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan called the attack “barbaric”, adding: “London stands with Barcelona against the evil of terrorism.”
It was a “cowardly attack against innocent people”, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said in a statement on his Facebook page, calling it a “black day at a place where many people around the world gathered”.
Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said the country strongly condemns the “heinous terrorist attack”.
Pope Francis’s spokesperson said in a statement: “The Pope prays for the victims of this attack and wishes to express his closeness to all the Spanish people, especially the wounded and families of the victims.”
Footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, a star with Spanish premier club Real Madrid, said he was “dismayed” by the attack and voiced “support and solidarity with the families and friends of the victims”.
- © AFP 2017 with reporting by Órla Ryan
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Take the gloves off then.
Stop allowing thousands of undocumented migrants to enter Europe.
Deport all migrants who are failed asylum seekers and those who have been criminally convicted on completion of sentence.
Strip those who have traveled from Europe to fight with ISIS of citizenship and bar them from ever returning.
Stop all Saudi and Qatari funding of mosques in Europe.
@Beachmaster: you’d think they’d do that wouldn’t you – however they won’t even call them what they are : Islamic terrorists.
Maybe they are “home-grown” – all that proves is that even over a hundred years living in a western society these people still won’t intergrate, still loathe us and our ideals.
@Beachmaster: If only it was that easy!
@Theunpopularpopulist: but you can be damn sure they will hide behind the freedom and liberty that western society provides… fkn cockroaches!
Wow amazing the only time “muslim” or “islamic” is mentioned in the whole piece was in the paragraph included just to attack Trump. Contrast this with last week when “Far Right”, “neo-nazi”, “white nationalist” was splashed in every headline. Why do the media insit on providing cover for Muslim terrorists??
@Chris M.:
White people can be criticised – no one pulls out the racist card.
Some other race is criticised – its white peoples fault.
There is a form of media censorship going on. Most notably in places like the journal.
“The only thing necessary for evil to flourish is that good men do nothing”
@Theunpopularpopulist: To be fair, when very limited views exist they tend to produce garbled convictions so it is not really good men doing nothing but rather raising their standards of understanding, including historical understanding, of events -
“Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.” Yeats
Well done to the cops on the second attack could have being much much worse! The freedom and liberty that these guys enjoy which allows them to plan atrocities like this need to be concidered!
And we – neutral and all – think we’re safe!¡
Bring our navy ship home,. Having just returned from Italy,the Italians think we are a disgrace..Cop on in Leicester house you are the laughing stock of Europe.
@Pat Troy: Leinster house. Even the spell won’t recognise them.
@Pat Troy: “the Italians think we’re a disgrace”, thanks for the laugh Pat. It must have been a hell of a survey you carried out.
@Gary: I never mentioned survey.I spoke to quite a few and everyone of them said ,why does your navy not bring back to Ireland.We don’t want them.
“Sinn Fein views with concern the increasing emergence of openly racist sentiment in Ireland. We support the calls for an immediate amnesty for all asylum seekers in the 26 counties. Sinn Fein will work for the achievement of the optimum position of NO RESTRICTION on immigration in Ireland.”
“Considering this country’s history of emigration Sinn Fein deplores all attempts to limit the numbers of political and economic refugees into the country and supports the full integration of the aforementioned refugees into society”
@James Nellie: now I have a reason not to vote for them,I mean another one.
I didn’t think Spain was involved in any conflicts in any Muslim states !,these jahadists are surely of a very sick state of mental health.
“A white van drove onto the promenade” it was an autonomous vehicle was it? Being attacked by the transformers are we? The media has lost all credibility in this matter.
EU leaders have lost all credibility on this issue.
It’s patently obvious that Merkel’s first priority is keeping Germany’s pension fund topped up. The lives of innocent European citizens are an irrelevance to her.
Wash, rinse, repeat.
All those sending messages to Spanish prime minister or to the Spanish king do not have a clue of what is going on
So nothing about the innocent man and woman shot dead in his own city. Absoloute disgrace, you can rest assured if it happened in Foxrock instead of Ballymun he would.
@moore house: Go back to bed…..
Who gives a toss what Merkel says,Solidarity me arse!!close the borders and seek out these toxic parasites and f#ck them out.
” Criminals who won’t terrorise us”.. Spanish royalty. Of course you won’t be terrorised, as you sit behind your high walls and security teams. Its the poor family wearing shorts and flip flops, innocently enjoying their holidays who are being slaughtered.
Didn’t r
I reckon the Saudis have so much money that they have paid off the western governments to islamafy the west, so they can move here when their frucking oil runs out, crazy i know, but is our current situation not crazy, finland let a guy in becuase they wanted to help him, he stabbed a mother to death in front of her baby. Seriously, people need to stop and think of the future we are creating for our children
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