Apec leaders outraged at Paris attacks

DEATH IN PARIS Bodies of shooting victims lie on the pavement outside La Belle Equipe restaurant in Paris on Friday night, after unidentified gunmen opened fire at the diners. The series of shooting attacks happened in six different spots within the City of Light. AP

LEADERS of the 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) forum in Manila are voicing outrage over the terrorist attacks that left 129 people dead and 350 others wounded in Paris, even as French authorities identified a Belgian of Moroccan descent as the chief architect of the attack on a rock concert, a soccer game and popular nightspots in one of Paris’ trendiest districts.

Apec leaders plan to condemn the Paris attacks in a joint statement to be released on the last day of their two-day summit on Thursday, according to a draft of their declaration seen on Tuesday by various media organizations.

“We strongly condemn these atrocities that demand a united voice from the global community. We, therefore, reaffirm our strong collective resolve to counter terrorism,” says the draft statement.

Before Apec leaders began arriving, officials were divided over whether to issue a statement on the Paris attacks or let each leader speak on his or her own.

After debating behind closed doors over the weekend, they initially forged a compromise: a paragraph on terrorism to be added to the statement released at the end of the summit.

There was a shared desire to call for bringing “to justice those who perpetuated the horrific developments in Paris last Friday,” Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said at a press briefing he presided over with Trade Secretary Gregory Domingo.

Describing the ministers’ comments on the Paris attacks as “personal expressions of sympathy,” Del Rosario said “everyone who spoke, spoke the same language.”

One diplomat, however, rejected any mention of the attacks in the statement, fearing it would draw the Islamic State (IS) group’s attention to Apec, according to a Southeast Asian diplomat who attended the meetings. The diplomat spoke on condition of anonymity because the conversations were not intended to be public.

The United States, for its part, wanted a strong statement. “This is an attack on the entire civilized world and the entire international community and Apec represents a very important group of countries,” said US Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Fresh air strikes

Japan, likewise, favored a strong stance, according to its deputy press secretary, Koichi Mizushima. “We wanted to join voices to fight against terrorism even though it is not part of the Apec agenda,” he said.

France stepped up its air strikes on IS terrorists after security officials identified a 27-year-old Belgian who once boasted about killing “infidels” and fought for the jihadist group in Syria as the mastermind of the Paris attacks.

French President Francois Hollande on Monday vowed to forge a united coalition capable of defeating the jihadists at home and abroad.

Ten Rafale and Mirage 2000 fighters carried out the raid on Raqa at 0030 GMT (8:30 a.m. in Manila), dropping 16 bombs, said the French defense ministry.

“For the second time in 24 hours, the French military conducted an air raid against Daesh in Raqa in Syria,” the ministry said in a statement, using another name for the jihadist group.

Hollande has vowed to hit back at IS terrorists “without mercy” after Friday’s attacks in Paris, the bloodiest on its territory.

“Both targets were hit and destroyed simultaneously,” the defense ministry said, referring to the IS command and training centers. “Conducted in coordination with US forces, the raid was aimed at sites identified during reconnaissance missions previously carried out by France.”

France has carried out air raids against the IS group in Syria since September but stepped up its raids after Friday’s attacks, with 10 warplanes based in Jordan and the Persian Gulf dropping 20 bombs on jihadist targets in Raqa on Sunday.

France is set to further intensify its operations against the jihadists in Syria through the intelligence acquired and upcoming deployment of the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, which will triple its capacity to strike. Reports from AP, Niña P. Calleja and Christine O. Avendaño