Int. Congress for Victims of Terrorism begins in France

By Yusuf Ozcan

NICE, France (AA) - The mayor of the French city of Nice, Christian Estrosi, and chair of the French Terror Victims Association (AFVT) Guillaume Denoix de Saint-Marc made the opening speeches of the three-day International Congress for Victims of Terrorism, a joint effort by the AFVT and Nice municipality.

More than 700 participants from 80 countries, including 450 terror victims, participated in the congress, which is an important platform for the victims of terrorism to make their voices heard.

- Participation from Turkey

The head of the Public Diplomacy Department of the Turkish Communications Directorate, Omer Faruk Tanriverdi, French ombudsman Jacques Toubon, French officials, experts of terrorism, academics, researchers and representatives of non-governmental organizations attended the congress which was held for the eight time this year.

Gulay Demir, a correspondent of Istanbul-based Kurdish-language broadcaster TRT Kurdi, who lost her father in a PKK/YPG terrorist attack in Nusaybin district of Turkey's southwestern Mardin province in October 2019; Asım Bulat, a Turkish police officer who was seriously injured during a defeated coup on July 15, 2016 orchestrated by Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO); Bahar and Muhsin Celiker, mother and father of Deniz Celiker, who was injured on New Year's Eve in a 2017 massacre carried out by the Daesh/ISIS terror group in Reina nightclub in Istanbul were also among the participants.

- Turkish participants to explain 'real face' of Daesh/ISIS, PKK/YPG, FETO terror groups

The Congress will be held to make the voices of victims of terrorism heard to the world, to ensure that relatives of terror victims from various countries get to know each other and draw the attention of authorities to the importance of continuing efforts for victims.

Victims of terrorism will make speeches, panels, cultural and artistic activities will be held during the Congress.

Victims of terrorism from Turkey will explain the real face of the Daesh/ISIS, PKK/YPG and FETO terrorist organizations to the participants and the international press during these panels.

The congress calls on the international community not to discriminate among terrorist organizations.

Turkish victims will be among those who will read the Congress manifesto at the closing ceremony.

- '80% of terror victims throughout world are Muslims’

Underlining that 80% of terror victims throughout the world are Muslims, Guillaume Denoix de Saint-Marc, who chairs AFVT, told Anadolu Agency that "it is important to remind this in Europe because it is assumed that those who conduct terror attacks are Muslims and the victims are non-Muslims. This is not true."

A total of 86 people were killed in the city of Nice in an terror attack on July 14, 2016.

* Writing by Zehra Nur Duz