The perpetrators of the jihadist attacks of September 11 in the United States did not shake faith
"in freedom and democracy"
, said British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on the occasion of the commemoration of these attacks.
Read also September 11: two decades that have profoundly changed the United States
“While the terrorists have imposed their burden of grief and suffering, and while the threat persists today, we can now say, with 20 years of hindsight, that they have failed to shake our belief in freedom and democracy, ”
the Conservative leader said in a video message that will be shown at a commemorative event at London Olympic Park on Saturday.
"They have not succeeded in dividing our nations, in making us abandon our values or in making us live in permanent fear
,
"
continued the leader, himself born in New York.
"The fact that we come together today - in pain but also in faith and determination - demonstrates the failure of terrorism and the strength of the ties that unite us"
, he insisted on the subject of the attacks that claimed the lives of 67 Britons. Boris Johnson spoke of the Taliban's return to power in Kabul, 20 years after being ousted by the United States, which accused them of harboring al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, killed in May 2011 in Pakistan. For him,
“the recent events in Afghanistan only strengthen our determination to remember those who were taken from us, to cherish the survivors and those who are still in mourning and to hold on to our faith in freedom and democracy".
While the British government has said it will judge the Taliban by their actions, Home Intelligence
Chief
Ken McCallum said events in Afghanistan may have
"emboldened"
extremists and given them a
"morale boost." "
, Saying that its services remained particularly
" vigilant "
in the face of the terrorist threat.