Embassy Row

Bonding with Britain

Outrage over the bombings in London echoed in Washington yesterday, as Latin-American diplomats, Muslims and Indian-American activists condemned the terrorist attacks as an assault on “free people everywhere.”

“Once again the world is witnessing a repugnant premeditated attack on civilians in a free and democratic society,” said Jose Miguel Insulza, secretary-general of the 35-nation Organization of American States.

“As we join the British people in mourning, all democratic countries must also renew our resolve to combat terrorism in all its manifestations. There can never be any justification whatsoever for such a heinous crime.”

Saudi Ambassador Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the dean of the Washington diplomatic corps, expressed condolences to the victims of the bombings. He noted that his country, the center of the Islamic world, also has been the target of Islamic terrorism.

“As victims of terrorism, the people of Saudi Arabia express their deepest sympathies to the families of the victims, as well as the British people and government, and pray to Almighty God to bring those who carried out this barbaric act to justice,” he said.

The Free Muslims Coalition denounced terrorists who “commit evil” in the name of Islam.

The coalition said it “condemns the London terror attacks and calls on the silent majority of Muslims to stand up against the terrorists who commit evil in their name.”

“The Free Muslims Coalition constantly argues that the war against terrorism and, in particular, terrorism committed by Muslims is an ideological battle that cannot be won without the help of Muslims themselves.”

The U.S. India Political Action Committee referred to both the London attack and an attempted assault earlier this week on a makeshift Hindu temple in Ayodhya, India. Police killed six suspected Islamic extremists before they were able to destroy the temple, built on a religious site also claimed by Indian Muslims.

“Attempts to rationalize these crimes are as evil as the deeds themselves,” said committee Chairman Sanjay Puri. “Wherever terrorism rears its ugly and inhuman head — whether in Manhattan, England or India — it must be condemned unequivocally.”

He added that the bombings in London are an “attack on the way of life of free people everywhere, and we mourn along with the families of the victims in London and in Ayodhya.”

No lifeline to Castro

The American envoy in Cuba says now is not the time to lift the U.S. embargo on Fidel Castro’s communist government.

Removing the embargo “would be like throwing a lifeline to a drowning regime,” James C. Cason, the head of the U.S. Interests Section, told the Associated Press this week.

Mr. Cason, who will be reassigned in the fall at the end of his three-year assignment, expects his successor to be just as tough on Mr. Castro as he has been.

“There is no reason to believe there will be any loosening of anything we do. Fidel said there couldn’t be anyone worse than me. He may be sorry,” Mr. Cason said.

Since he arrived in Havana, Mr. Cason has denounced or mocked Mr. Castro, prompting the Cuban leader to call the envoy divisive and provocative.

Among the stunts that outraged Mr. Castro, the U.S. envoy put up a sign in a Christmas display that read “75,” a reference to 75 pro-democracy activists imprisoned in 2003. The Cuban government tried to embarrass Mr. Cason by creating a television cartoon character that depicted him as a fairy with a wand who turns into a rat.

“I think [Mr. Castro’s] idea backfired. I’ve become an icon,” said Mr. Cason, who lampooned the character by dressing in a fairy’s costume and writing a poem called “The Magic Wand,” which reads:

“Totally dedicated is this fairy to exposing the stupidity and lies of this dictatorship, which is so tiresome, retrograde and failed.”

• Call Embassy Row at 202/636-3297, fax 202/832-7278 or e-mail jmorrison@washingtontimes.com.