NAN – Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi says the country has always wanted to express its closeness to Tunisia and will not allow extremists take over its future.
Renzi said this at the end of the march organised in Tunis to commemorate the 22 victims of the terrorist attack at the Bardo Museum on March 18, 2015.
“We will not surrender to terrorism.
“We will continue to fight to uphold the ideals of peace and liberty, of co-existence and brotherhood everywhere in the world,’’ Renzi said on behalf of Italy and of the international community.
Under the careful surveillance of hundreds of police officers, they were followed by at least 100,000 protesters.
It was Tunisia’s way of saying “No to Islamic terrorism and extremism’’ and of continuing along the path towards democracy.
“This is the Mediterranean country that, more than any other, has fought a hard battle to establish democracy.
“The first country to have rewritten its Constitutional Charter after the `Arab Spring’.
“The country that is resolutely attempting to give back some hope to its people,’’ Renzi added.
He also commemorated the four Italian victims, whose names were etched on the mosaic covering the memorial stone unveiled by the world’s leaders, at the entrance of the Bardo Museum.
“What happened here is a terrible and tragic wound that has disrupted the lives of their families,’’ Renzi said.
He recalled the sorrow he saw in the eyes of the victims’ families when greeting the coffins at Rome’s Ciampino airport.
“Italy is part of that large portion of mankind who believes in the future and will not surrender it into the hands of extremists,’’ the prime minister added.(AGI/NAN).
