Blasts ahead of Blair Turkey visit

[Dover]

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/CA5D27FD-76DB-4986-B923-E22102667C99.htm

Blasts ahead of Blair Turkey visit


Monday 17 May 2004, 6:33 Makka Time, 3:33 GMT


Four bombs damaged HSBC banks, but injured no one

Explosions cause no injuries ahead of British Prime Minister Tony Blair's visit to Turkey to discuss its EU application and the situation in Iraq.


Just hours before Blair's arrival on Monday, four small bombs exploded outside branches of the British bank HSBC in Ankara and Istanbul. No one was reported injured.....

[Vladimir]

1. BBC link here

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3719973.stm

by the way of a kick...

[Nihil]

2. Blair looking for sympathy? Trying to appear "brave"?

> The blasts are said to have caused only minor damage and there are no
> reports of casualties.

Outside branches of HSBC banks at 22:00-22:30 on a Sunday night ...?
What a surprise! How lucky we have been that no-one was hurt!
Think what a disaster it would have been if the bombs had gone off
during a busy morning. Isn't Tony brave not to cancel his visit?
</sarcasm>

The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation has headquarters in London
but is another of the global financial institutions that lives in the
world of corporate profits. There are quite a few reasons why such a
place should be bombed but a few token blasts (just breaking windows) in
Turkey doesn't carry any weight at all.

This is just publicity crap from the Turkish administration to bounce
the visit a little higher in the newspapers.

Nihil