Speech of Mr. Husam Akobi, Representative of the UNAMI National Staff Union at the commemoration of the 15th anniversary of the Canal Hotel Bombing in Baghdad, Iraq

Ladies and gentlemen,

Dear colleagues,

Good Morning,

We gather here today to recall with profound and heartfelt sorrow the martyrs of the terrorist bombing that hit the UN compound in Baghdad on 19 August 2003, in which twenty-two of our colleagues, both local and international, were lost. May the Lord grant peace to their souls.

This unmanly act, which is rejected by all the meanings of humanity is not accepted by any religion or custom. The human conscience cannot describe its hideousness. It blatantly illustrated the hatred of the forces of terror, which has tried again and again and still trying to stop the wheel of life in our beloved country and to undermine all the attempts seeking to create a new, stable and secured Iraq capable of restoring its role among nations.

While the forces of darkness and terrorism insist on targeting life in all of its forms and components, we insist on keeping life up and building our country to send the message that we will not give up and life will continue despite all the terrorist schemes. This is the least that we can offer to the lives of our colleagues who were lost in this bombing and other acts of terrorism that affected all of those who sought to serve human values, regardless of their nationalities, religious, ethnic and sectarian affiliations.

In conclusion, we are moving forward in our path at any cost; such acts will not deter us from the process of building Iraq and sacrificing all that is precious for the sake of our country.

Thank You