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  Date / Time: 7/2/2009 8:25 PM UTC

  Merkel seeks "strong message" by G8 leaders to Iran
  

  German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday that she wanted the leaders of the Group of Eight [G8] to send a strong signal to Iran, when they meet next in Italy. "I hope the meeting sends a strong message of unity, a united message that the right to demonstrate and human rights cannot be separated and that they apply to Iran," Merkel told parliament, according to Reuters. At the same time, Merkel stressed that it was important to keep open the possibility of talks with Tehran on its nuclear program, which the West suspects is aimed at developing nuclear weapons. “We cannot drop the issue of a nuclear-armed Iran just because of the current situation. That would be completely wrong,” she said, referring to the post-election unrest in Iran. She likened the events in Iran following its disputed presidential election to the oppression at the hand of the Stasi secret police in communist East Germany, where she grew up.
  
  
  “I know from the time of the GDR [East Germany] how important it was that people around the world made sure that people stuck in (Stasi prisons) Bautzen and Hohenschoenhausen … were not forgotten,” Merkel was quoted by AFP as saying.
  
  
  “Iran must know, particularly in the age of modern communications, that we will do everything in our power to ensure that these people (arrested in Iran during the protests) are not forgotten about,” she added.
  
  
  G8 leaders will meet in Italy from 8 to 10 July.
  
  
  The G8 is made up of the U.S., Japan, Germany, France, Britain, Italy, Canada and Russia.
  
  
  Sources: Reuters, Agence France-Presse

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