Tripoli, 18 September:
The Italian embassy has decided to postpone the planned reception to mark the reopening of the Italian Cultural Institute . . .[restrict]because of the killing last Tuesday night of US Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other American diplomatic staff. It was to have taken place on Saturday, 27 September. It would have been entirely inappropriate to continue as planned, an Italian official said.
“The appalling event that took away the life of Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other American officials traces a deep scar in our hearts”, said an embassy statement. “Neglecting the sadness of this very moment, even for a single evening, would be a barren exercise for the whole international community working in Libya, as well as for Ambassador Stevens’ Libyan friends.”
The Italian Embassy and the Italian Cultural Institute in Tripoli said they wanted to pay “a respectful tribute to the victims of the barbarian act of terrorism”.
Apologising to all who were invited, the embassy said the event would be rescheduled for a later date. “We will welcome friends and colleagues on a future occasion, knowing that today all those whose souls were touched by the senseless act against the US premises in Benghazi cannot but join our silence in the honor of Chris Stevens and his colleagues.” [/restrict]
