Speeches
U.S. Consul General Sharon A. Wiener's Remarks at İstinye Hospital Visiting Wounded Police Officer and Driver
Istinye Hospital
July 11, 2008
CG WIENER: I came here this evening to visit the two people who were injured in the horrible terrorist attack against the Consulate two days ago. I wanted to express to them our condolences about the loss of their three colleagues, and to thank them for their brave service. We very much appreciate the service that all of the Turkish police have provided for us in providing security at our Consulate. And I was very happy to see that both the police officer who was injured and the driver are recovering well. We very much appreciate their service and their bravery.
Q: There is an argument about the closed doors of the Consulate. What do you want to say about this because they couldn't open the closed doors to the injured Turkish policeman?
CG WIENER: I don't want to get into the details, but I can tell you that we have exercised all the acceptable security procedures in protecting the Consulate, and that means there was an automatic closing of the doors. And I think everybody in the Turkish security services understands that all the appropriate measures were followed. These procedures are exercised throughout the world in protecting diplomatic premises, and they are designed to prevent. to provide the greatest protection for the greatest number of people.
We are very sad that three Turkish police officers lost their lives and two others were injured in this attack. But I think it's important to keep the focus on the fact that this happened because of a terrorist attack. We very much appreciate the support that's been shown to us by the Turkish police and by all levels of the Turkish government. And in particular we appreciate President Gül's statement condemning this terrorist attack. I think this shows that no terrorists are going to be able to deter us from doing our work here and from having good Turkish-American relations. We will continue to work together in fighting terrorism as we work well together on so many other issues.
And again, I came this evening to thank these two individuals and to wish them geçmiş olsun.