AUSTRIAN EU PRESIDENCY STATEMENT ON THE BOMBING OF

UNCLAS VIENNA 000567 SIPDIS STATE FOR NEA, EUR/ERA AND EUR/AGS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV KDEM KPAO PTER IZ AU SUBJECT: AUSTRIAN EU PRESIDENCY STATEMENT ON THE BOMBING OF THE IMAM ALI-HADI MOSQUE IN SAMARRA REF: VIENNA 562 ¶1. Following is the text of the statement by the Austrian Presidency on behalf of the European Union on the bombing of the Immam Ali-Hadi Mosque in Samarra. BEGIN TEXT The European Union condemns the criminal and sacrilegious bombing of the Imman Ali-Hadi Mosque in Samarra on 22 February which has provoked sectarian strife. It undermines peace and stability with the risk of derailing the political process in Iraq. This horrendous attack on one of the holiest Shiite religious sites in Iraq, which is not only a place holy to Shiite worshippers but part of the national cultural heritage of all Iraqis, and the loss of life in the subsequent retaliatory events show the urgent need for all communities in Iraq for maximum restraint. The European Union strongly supports calls by Iraqi political and religious leaders for restraint and non-retaliation and urges Iraq to come together in a spirit of dialogue and mutual respect as the indispensable basis for national reconciliation. McCaw