15 March, 2016IndustriALL Global Union strongly condemns the recent terrorist attacks in Turkey and Ivory Coast and sends its heartfelt sympathies to the families of those killed in the assaults on Sunday.
In Turkey 37 people were killed in a suicide bomb in the capital, Ankara, on 13 March. Only last month 28 people were murdered in a car bomb targeting military personnel in the city. It follows the death in October last year of more than 100 people in a suicide bombing on a peace march organized by trade unions and civil society organizations in the city.
Now, Ivory Coast is in shock after 15 civilians and three security personnel were killed by Al Qaeda Islamist militants at the beach resort of Grand Bassam. The attackers stopped at a bar for a beer before embarking on their coldblooded rampage. Security forces killed three of the attackers.
“IndustriALL Global Union and our 50 million members strongly condemn these callous, cowardly attacks on defenseless people going about their daily lives. We offer our deepest condolences to families of the victims and stand shoulder to shoulder with our affiliates in Turkey and Ivory Coast,” said Kemal Ôzkan, assistant general secretary of IndustriALL. "These attacks will never frighten us away from our historic mission and struggle for democracy and fundamental human rights, of which trade union liberties are an essential part."