Abu Dhabi (Etihad)
The UAE strongly condemned the attempt to assassinate Cristina Kirchner, Vice President of the Argentine Republic, expressing its solidarity and standing by the friendly Argentina and its people in the face of violence and terrorism.
In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation affirmed that the UAE expresses its strong condemnation of these criminal acts that aim to destabilize security and stability, and are inconsistent with humanitarian values and principles.
Yesterday, Argentine police arrested a man after he pointed a gun at the country’s Vice President, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, while she was welcoming supporters outside her residence in the capital, Buenos Aires.
Video footage circulating on social media showed a man coming within inches of the vice president and pulling the trigger of the pistol, but the bullet did not fire.
Tens of thousands of Argentines demonstrated in several cities under the shock of the assassination attempt, which sparked a wave of international condemnation and calls for political calm in the country.
“Enough hate” was written on banners in Buenos Aires, where the largest demonstration was organized in the capital for a long time, while President Alberto described the assault on a former president (2007-2015) as “a very dangerous act, the most dangerous that our country has witnessed since its restoration of democracy in 1983.” ».
Argentine President Alberto Fernandez said in a statement hours after the accident: “Cristina is alive because the weapon, which contained 5 bullets, did not work for a reason that has not been confirmed technically, despite the trigger being pulled.”
According to her lawyer, Gregorio Dalpon, Kirchner did not realize at the time what was happening.
The official Telam news agency quoted police sources as saying that the man who was arrested on the spot is Fernando Andre Sapag Montiel, 35, who has Brazilian citizenship, but he is from an Argentine mother and a Chilean father.
He has lived in Argentina since 1993, and was arrested in 2021 for carrying a knife.
The accused refused to answer the questions of the judge and the public prosecutor in charge of the case, according to judicial sources quoted by local newspapers.
The entire Argentine political class condemned the assassination attempt.
Pope Francis sent a message of “solidarity and closeness”, saying that he “prays that social harmony and democratic values will always prevail.”
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed his shock at the assassination attempt and condemned it.
The United States strongly condemned the assassination attempt, and US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken wrote on Twitter, “Washington stands with the government and people of Argentina in rejecting violence and hatred.” In Buenos Aires, the Plaza de Mayo, historically witness to the joy and anger of Argentines, was filled with a large crowd at the invitation of the ruling coalition and movements loyal to it.
Other rallies were held in Santa Fe, Rosario, Tucuman and several other cities, as reported by local media, at the invitation of pro-government sectors.
In turn, said former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the favorite to win the upcoming elections, that politicians must prepare to face a climate of violence.
“I think all of us politicians have to be aware of the violence that those who don’t know how to live in a democratic way provoke,” he said during a press conference ahead of a rally in the northeast of the country.