Rotterdam mayor claims city faces no immediate terror threat

There is no immediate terror threat nor an immediate security issue in Rotterdam, the second-largest city in the Netherlands, the city's Mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb told Xinhua on Saturday.

"I do not think there is an immediate threat nor an immediate security issue in Rotterdam. We are always carefully monitoring the situation, and our regional level intelligence system is working together with national intelligence services to do so. The climate nowadays is stable and there is no reason to be afraid," he added.

Rotterdam is often called the most multicultural city of the Netherlands, as it embodies 174 nationalities.

Mr. Aboutaleb, who was born into a Muslim family in Morocco in 1961, stated his main job as mayor of Rotterdam is to create a "we-community", with peace and stability for all citizens of his city.

"If you do not like our community with its borders and limits, you have the right to leave. But if you decide to threaten us and take a Kalashnikov to dictate your will to us, I will be the first person to attack and arrest you," he stressed.

Mr. Aboutaleb made these remarks during an interview with Xinhua when attending a reception to mark the maiden voyage of "CSCL Globe", the world's largest container ship, at the Euromax Terminal in the port of Rotterdam, one of the largest ports in the world.

During a gathering on Thursday night to mourn the victims of the attack on the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris, Mr. Aboutaleb had showed his solidarity with the Parisians by stating in French that he is also a Parisian and also a "Charlie".

After the attacks in Paris, the threat level in the Netherlands has been maintained as "substantial", the second highest out of the four possible levels: minimal, limited, substantial and critical. It means that the chance of an attack is real. Endit