Publicité
Britons uneasy as 7/7 bombings anniversary nears
Par
Partager cet article
Britons uneasy as 7/7 bombings anniversary nears
The anniversary of the bomb attacks on London tube stations and a bus falls on Friday, when millions of Britons will pay tribute to the 52 people killed and 700 injured when four young British Muslims blew themselves up on the city?s transport system.
Prime minister Tony Blair, whose hawkish foreign policy and decision to invade Iraq have been cited as motivating factors for the bombers, will join the nation in observing a 2-minute silence at midday. Four candles will be lit at St. Paul?s Cathedral ? one for each of the bombings ? at the exact times the explosions ripped through Europe?s biggest city a year ago.
The names of the victims will be read out at a ceremony in Regent?s Park and commemorative plaques will be unveiled at the underground rail stations where three of the attacks took place. London?s mayor Ken Livingstone will attend a service at a central London square where the youngest bomber, 18-year-old Hasib Hussain, detonated his explosives on a double-decker bus.
But amid the solemnity of the occasion, angry voices are likely to be raised. Many of Britain?s 1.8 million Muslims feel their community has been targeted by police since the attacks. Survivors of the bombings say many questions have yet to be answered, and some want a full public inquiry into the day which has become known to Britons simply as 7/7.
No one charged</B>
Despite taking 13,353 witness statements and following at least 12,000 leads, police have failed to charge a single person in connection with the bombings. ?We are following many lines of inquiry ? both here in the UK and overseas,? said Peter Clarke, head of UK?s anti-terrorist branch. ?As I have previously said we need to know who else, apart from the bombers, knew what they were planning.? He said there were 70 other active terrorism investigations ongoing in Britain and across the globe.
The government has said it knows little about the bombers? motivation, their possible training or possible links to al Qaeda. ?What is there to stop this happening again?? asked John Tulloch, one survivor of the attacks. ?Absolutely nothing.?
The government has tried to beef up anti-terrorism legislation, but faces opposition from civil rights campaigners.
Intelligence officers have tried to infiltrate Muslim communities both in Britain and abroad, but security analysts say they have been only partially successful. ?Much greater effort needs to be made to communicate effectively with the Arab and Islamic world to bridge the gulf of mistrust that feeds into international terrorism,? the Foreign Affairs Committee of the British parliament concluded in a report published last weekend.
British police will be out in force on Friday to prevent copy-cat attacks. On July 21 last year, four men attempted exactly that, but their bombs failed to explode. For the survivors of 7/7, Friday will rekindle painful memories, especially for those who still venture onto ?the Tube?, London?s underground rail system. ?At the moment I do not feel safe on rush-hour tubes. I know there will be another attack, I know we are no safer,?said Rachel North, who survived the bloodiest of the four bombings.
?It feels like I?m taking my life in my hands every time.?
<B>Gideon LONG</B>
Publicité
Publicité
Les plus récents
