Caracas Condemns the Celebrations

Hamas names bin Laden “a martyr for the holy war.”

The Venezuelan government on Monday condemned celebrations after the death of terrorist leader Osama bin Laden in a U.S. military operation, while some Latin American governments congratulated Washington for killing the brains behind the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, according to the Associated Press.

Venezuelan Vice President Elias Jaua told state television that “it is surprising how naturalized crime and murder have become, and how they are celebrated.”

“Before, at least imperial governments kept up appearances. Now the death of any individual, regardless what the person is accused of and not only of elements outside of the law like Osama bin Laden, but also presidents and presidents’ families, are openly celebrated by the heads of the governments which are on the offensive,” Jaua added.

Referring to the United States, the vice president said that “the U.S. empire no longer has any other choice; both political and diplomatic solutions have been left behind. Here the only thing that prevails is murder.”

Venezuela’s point of view was in contrast with the other governments and analysts of Latin America.

Peruvian Foreign Minister Jose Garcia Belaunde, congratulated the United States on Sunday “for the success of this operation, which crowns the effort of years to try to locate the head of al-Qaida and cut off the head of this global terrorist organization.”

“Now we have a horizon of security in the world,” without “forgetting that terrorism is a threat to established democracies,” he added.

The government of Mexico acknowledged the efforts of the United States in its fight against bin Laden and expressed its conviction that terrorism must be fought by the entire international community.

“It is a fact of great importance in the efforts to free the world from the scourge of terrorism, which threatens peace and international security, particularly one who oversees one of the most ruthless and bloody terrorist organizations,” said a Mexican government communique from its chancellery.

In Santiago, Chile, Patricio Navia, a political analyst and academic at the Chilean Diego Portales University and New York University, said through a Twitter message that “people who love democracy and freedom can only be happy that bin Laden is dead. No justification for the attacks of 9/11.”

For his part, analyst William Hoffman noted that “bin Laden’s death means the end of an era, but also the uncertainty of what is to come; future attacks are possible.”

Hoffman added that “bin Laden’s death will mark U.S. policy in Afghanistan.”

Hamas names bin Laden “a martyr for the holy war.”

The Islamic Prime Minister of Gaza, Ismail Haniya, condemned the “assassination” of Osama bin Laden and said the terrorist leader was a “martyr for the holy war.”

“We consider [the assassination of bin Laden] a continuation of the American policy based on oppression and bloodshed against Arabs and Muslims,” Haniye said in remarks to a group of journalists in Gaza.

The leader, who heads the Palestinian militant movement Hamas, named bin Laden an “an Arab holy warrior” and “asked God to bestow his mercy upon the true believers and martyrs.”

His remarks came at a time when Hamas moves into an agreement of reconciliation with Fatah, the backbone of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), to be signed on Wednesday in Cairo.

A spokesman for the moderate government of Ramallah, Ghassan al-Khatib, had hours before called the demise of the brains behind the 9/11 attacks a “development for peace.”

“The demise of bin Laden is a good development for peace and security in the world,” said al-Khatib, in the first reaction of an official of the PNA to the news of the day.

The spokesman for the head of the PNA stressed, however, that the most important thing is to get rid “of [the] ideology and radical beliefs of bin Laden.”