Obama Leads Global Condemnation of Mumbai Attacks (Update5)
Email | Print | A A A

By Michael Heath

Nov. 27 (Bloomberg) — President-elect Barack Obama led global condemnation of grenade and gun assaults in India’s financial hub of Mumbai, the third major terrorist attack targeting foreigners in South Asian nations this year.

The U.S. will work “with India and nations around the world to root out and destroy terrorist networks,” Obama’s transition team said in a statement. Gunmen raided Mumbai’s Taj Mahal Palace and Tower Hotel and the Oberoi Trident and carried out attacks across the city that killed at least 101 people.

The violence in Mumbai came two months after a suicide bombing on the Marriott Hotel in Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, killed 40 people and a January attack on the luxury Serena Hotel in the Afghan capital, Kabul, killed eight.

“Terrorism in Asia is on the rise,” said Rohan Gunaratna, head of the Singapore-based International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research. “It’s paramount for Asian countries to convene a summit to fight the rising terrorism.”

Militants are finding it difficult to hit diplomatic targets so are attacking hotels instead, he said.

The U.S. “stands ready to help the Indian government” and is continuing to monitor the situation, including the safety and security of its citizens, the Bush administration said in a statement.

The White House National Security Council convened after the attacks with officials from counterterrorism and intelligence agencies as well as the State and Defense Departments, it said.

‘Heinous’

The attacks were “heinous,” Javier Solana, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, said in a statement issued today in Brussels.

“These acts show once again the need for the international community to stand united against terrorism and fight it with determination,” Solana said.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the “outrageous” attacks in India would be met with a “vigorous response,” while United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for the attackers to be “brought to justice swiftly.”

Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni told her Indian counterpart, Pranab Mukherjee, in a phone conversation today that Israel condemned the attacks in Mumbai and was ready to assist in any way possible.

“Israel, India and the rest of the free world are in the forefront of the battle against terror and extremists and unfortunately we received further proof of this yesterday evening,” she said in an e-mail sent out by her office.

‘Dark Forces’

“China strongly condemns the attacks in Mumbai,” Qin Gang, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, said at a press briefing today. “We offer our condolences to those who died.”

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the attacks “reminded us that there remain dark forces in the world that think killing innocents is a way to advance an agenda.”

“New York is in many ways similar to Mumbai: it is a wonderfully diverse city that is a leading center for business, education, science and the arts,” Bloomberg said in a statement. The mayor is founder and majority owner of Bloomberg News parent Bloomberg LP.

Indian President Pratibha Devisingh Patil, on an official visit to Vietnam, condemned the attacks as the “mindless” act of people “pursuing a path of destruction.”

Two Australians were among those injured in the attacks, according to the government in Canberra. One Japanese citizen was killed and another injured, the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo said.

‘Unforgivable’

Australia “unreservedly condemns these atrocious attacks,” Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said. Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso said the attacks “are utterly unforgivable, vicious and heinous.”

In September, a bomb shattered the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad, killing at least 40 people and injuring more than 145. It occurred hours after President Asif Ali Zardari made his first speech to parliament, pledging to fight terrorism.

In January, Taliban insurgents killed as many as eight people in a suicide bomb attack on a luxury hotel in Kabul, where Norway’s foreign minister was hosting a meeting. A Norwegian journalist accompanying the foreign minister and a U.S. citizen were among those killed.

Zardari and Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani “strongly” condemned the attacks and noted both India and Pakistan have suffered from global terrorism.

‘Despicable, Cowardly’

The attacks in Mumbai “which have claimed many innocent victims remind us, yet again, of the threat we face from violent extremists,” they said in a statement on GEO TV. “Pakistan and India will continue their joint struggles to counter the actions of terrorists.”

The Mumbai attacks on innocent people were “despicable and cowardly,” Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, secretary-general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, said today in a statement.

“NATO, as part of the international community, is determined to spare no effort to fight the scourge of terrorism which should have no place in the 21st century,” de Hoop Scheffer said.

Mumbai is India’s financial hub and a base for international companies.

Nomura Holdings Inc., Japan’s largest securities firm, confirmed that 2,000 employees at its IT center in Mumbai were safe. The company will close the IT center today for security.

JPMorgan & Chase Co. has told staff in Mumbai not to come into the office today, said Hong Kong-based spokesman Ray Bashford.

Dell Inc. and Hewlett-Packard Co., the world’s two largest computer suppliers, limited staff movement in India. Dell canceled all travel by employees into India for the next 48 hours at minimum, John Schaeffer, vice president of global security, said in an e-mail to staff.

Hewlett-Packard closed its Mumbai office and prohibited its staff from traveling to the city, spokeswoman Joanne Tan said in an e-mail.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601091&sid=aEYE85lgss3E&refer=india