India receives solidarity messages from across US

Washington, Nov 29 (PTI) Support for India has been
pouring in from all quarters of the US with Congressmen,
Senators and the Indian-American community unequivocally
condemning the "cowardly" and "barbaric" terrorist attacks in
Mumbai, the Indian embassy said in a statement here.

"US Congressmen and Senators have unequivocally condemned
the terrorist attacks in Mumbai in the strongest terms and
underlined their firm resolve to fight terrorism," the
statement said.


Several of them have written personal letters conveying
that "Americans stand in solidarity with India's people" in
the face of these "cowardly" and "barbaric" acts of terror and
expressed the "hope that the perpetrators would be brought to
justice swiftly".

Foreign envoys in Washington DC, including the
Ambassadors of Israel, Russia and Sri Lanka have sent personal
messages to Ambassador Ronen Sen.

US Chamber of Commerce and the USIBC have also strongly
condemned the terrorist attacks and reaffirmed their support
to the people of India.

House Majority Leader Representative Steny Hoyer,
Representatives Henry Waxman and Steve Israel and Senator
Lieberman along with the American Jewish Committee and AIPAC
have sent messages of solidarity to the Indian embassy.

Numerous Indian-American groups and associations have
condemned the "dastardly terror attacks" in Mumbai and
expressed deep gratitude to the thousands of Indian security
personnel for their courageous and selfless service in
fighting the well-planned and coordinated attacks.

They have noted "with a sense of great pride and
satisfaction, that Indian citizens have by and large
maintained harmony, understanding and resolve in the face of
successive acts of terrorism".

Expressed concern at the involvement of foreign groups,
and associations like the National Federation of Indian
Associations (NFIA); the Indian-American Friendship Council;
the Indian Overseas Congress and the Association of Indian
Muslims in America (AIM) have urged the Indian Government to
identify such threats and and deal with them in effectively.

Some other groups who sent their messages to the embassy
include, The American Association of Physicians of Indian
Origin (AAPI); the Indian American Committee; the Federation
of Indian American Christian Organizations of North America
(FIACONA), the Coalition Against Genocide; Sikh American
Heritage Organization, Wayne, IL: The Coalition for a Secular
Democratic India (CSDI) and the Vaishnava Center for
Enlightenment, Michigan.

"Condemnation of the terror attacks and expressions of
strong support for the people of India are continuing to flow
in from individual members of the Indian-American community as
well," the embassy statement said.

Many groups continue to hold prayer meetings across the
United States.

There is a strong sense of anger coming across in the
phone calls and messages being received, the Embassy has said.

The statement also referred to US President George W
Bush's earlier conversation with Indian Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh assuring of all possible help and
President-elect Obama's concern when he spoke to Ambassador
Sen.

It also mentioned that US Secretary of State Condoleezza
Rice had spoken to Sen as well as Indian External Affairs
Minister Pranab Mukherjee to convey the solidarity of the US
with India in their common fight against terrorism. PTI SK
PMR
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