UN condemns Moscow school terrorists

The UN Security Council joined the United States and Secretary-General Kofi Annan yesterday in demanding the immediate and unconditional release of the Moscow school hostages.

A statement read in the Security Council chamber by the new president, Spain’s UN Ambassador Juan Antonio Yanez-Barnuevo, urged all countries to cooperate with Russian authorities in trying to bring to justice the perpetrators, organisers and sponsors of the school seizure and the other terrorist acts.

“The Security Council reaffirms that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security and that any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivation, whenever and by whomever committed,” the statement said.

Russia’s UN Ambassador Andrey Denisov said the council’s unanimous condemnation sent “a strong signal to the whole world” that all nations support the global fight against terrorism.

In Washington, State Department spokesman Tom Casey called for the unconditional release of the hostages being held in the Russian school and condemned the hostage-taking, saying ”there is no cause that justifies that.”

Carol Bellamy, head of the UN children’s agency, UNICEF, also appealed for their release during an official visit to China, saying “children must never be used for political purposes, and schools must never be degraded to places of violence”.