UK ATTACK

UK parliament attack: Europe in solidarity with London

London-attack-newspapers European Council President Donald Tusk said his thoughts were with the victims | Sanjoy Ghosh

March, perhaps, is a month that Europe wants to be quickly done with. Exactly a year after the devastating attacks that shook Brussels, London was targeted, as a lone attacker drove a car into a crowd outside the British parliament, killing three and stabbing to death a police officer.

Yet, nearly a thousand kms to the east, in the German city of Dresden, not many people were aware of the attack, well into the evening. Most people gathered in a bar in Kesseldorf, a quiet western suburb was more keen about the friendly football match being played between Germany and England. The news about the attack was received with typical German stoicism. "It is terrible. But life goes on. Maybe the English should improve their intelligence system," said Mattias Schultz, a 40-year-old truck driver. Schultz, who just returned from Turin in Italy after a trip said such attacks are to be expected as Europe is going through a turbulent period.

By late evening, reactions to the deadly attack was coming in from several quarters. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, facing a tough reelection in September expressed shock and conveyed her solidarity with the government and people of London. Her interior minister Thomas de Maiziere said the attack could be a terrorist incident. "There are many indications that there was a terrorist background (to the attack)," he said.

By morning it seemed most Germans and the country's newspapers shared similar sentiments. Kerstin Postel, an insurance broker working in the city of Dresden, had no doubts that the attacks were intended to spread terror. Postel, who had studied in London, said such things were bound to happen when the governments indiscriminately allowed migrants and refugees into Europe in the name of humanitarian concerns. "In reality, all they want are votes. And as a result, innocent victims suffer," she said.

Her colleague, Bjorn Obenaus, however, said it was not right to blame the refugees for such attacks. "What Europe should do is to strengthen its defences. While hoping for the best, we should prepare for the worst, all the time," he said.

Europe, meanwhile, was standing in solidarity with London. Dortmund was relatively peaceful after the football game with England and German fans were comparatively less raucous although Germany won the game. In Paris, the Eiffel Tower switched off its lights from midnight in a display of solidarity.

European Council President Donald Tusk said his thoughts were with the victims. " Europe stands firm with the UK against terror and is ready to help."

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Topics : #United Kingdom

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