Brussels, 19/07/2012 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 19 July European leaders condemned the previous day's bomb attack against Israeli tourists in Burgas (Bulgaria) which left at least 7 dead and more than 31 wounded. EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton was the first European leader to react on Wednesday evening, saying that she was appalled and shocked by the attack. She added in a press release that the perpetrators must be arrested and sentenced.
European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid Kristalina Georgieva, who is Bulgarian, was also “shocked and saddened by the news of the explosion in Burgas”, while European Commissioner for Home Affairs Cecilia Malmstrom criticised the crime as “horrible” on her Twitter account, saying that she was “very sad” and giving her condolences to the families of the victims. Malmstrom also spoke to the Bulgarian minister for home affairs, Tsvetan Tsvetanov, offering him the help of the European Commission and Europol.
The attack was committed by a kamikaze, Tsvetanov said. “The explosion was provoked by a man who died in the attack and whose exact identity has not yet been established. His travel document was a false driving licence issued by the State of Michigan”, he told the United States. The victims, whose plane had just landed, were in a shuttle bus at the airport in Burgas. This is the first time that an anti-Israeli bomb attack has happened in Bulgaria.
On Thursday morning a Commission spokesperson, Pia Ahrendkilde Hansen, said that José Manuel Barroso had written to the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to express his condolences following this “ignoble attack against Israeli citizens”. “All the signs point to Iran. In recent months we have seen Iranian attacks on Israelis in Thailand, India; Georgia, Kenya, Cyprus and other places”, Netanyaho said. Iran has denied these accusations. (SP/transl.fl)