In a letter adressed to the Speaker of the Bundestag, PACE President condemned the terrorist attack at the Christmas market in Berlin and expressed the Parliamentary Assembly’s full solidarity with Germany.
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Dear Speaker,
I was shocked and appalled by yesterday’s outrageous terrorist attack at the Christmas market in Berlin, which has caused the death of at least 12 people and left many others injured.
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In this difficult moment for Germany and the German people, I would like to condemn – in the strongest possible terms – this heinous attack and express the Parliamentary Assembly’s full solidarity with Germany. Please convey our deepest condolences to the families of the victims and our message of support to the injured.
I am confident that the German police and law enforcement agencies will conduct a thorough investigation. It is important, despite the shock and the emotions, to provide a realistic, proportionate and democratic response to such terrible events.
As you rightly stressed in your address at the European Conference of Speakers of Parliaments, a political debate based on prejudice and stereotypes ultimately represents a danger to the survival of democracy. It is therefore our duty, as politicians, to denounce oversimplification, words of hatred and vengeance. This is what the Parliamentary Assembly’s #NoHateNoFear initiative is about.
Therefore, I would like to assure you, and through you the members of the Bundestag, of the Assembly’s support in these difficult times for Germany. By standing together, we will uphold the fundamental values that underpin European unity, against the numerous challenges our Continent is facing today.
Yours sincerely,
Pedro Agramunt
H.E. Prof. Dr Norbert Lammert
Speaker of the Bundestag
Germany