national education commission report

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Make recommendations at periodic intervals to the President on education policy in all it’s aspects with the view to ensuring continuity in education policy and strategy, and enabling the national education system to respond to changing needs of society and country including the engagement in policy analysis and research, setting national education goals and standards and guidelines for wide spectrum matters connected with education while engaging in monitoring of education programmes in operation, data management and publication

Holistic society of progressive and lifelong learners for a peaceful, cohesive Sri Lankan society attuned to facing local and global challenges

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Function as the premier organization in setting national education policy, goals, competency profiles, and standards of educational qualifications with monitoring and certification roles with the view to improve quality, relevance, and standards of education

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To make recommendations to the President, on educational policy in all its aspects, with a view to, ensuring continuity in educational policy and enabling the education system to respond to changing needs in society, including an immediate review of educational policy and plan or plans and the making of recommendations to the President, on a comprehensive National Education Policy;

To review and analyze periodically, the National Education Policy and Plan or plans in operation and where necessary, to recommend to the President, changes in such Policy, Plan or Plans;

To advise the President on any other matter relating to education which may be referred to it by the President, for its advice.

The National Education Commission eagerly invites the public to share their insights on the “Recommendations for the National Policy on Medium of Instruction in Schools.”

Mrs.padmini ranaweera appointed as the new chairperson of national education commission, ongoing-quality assurance framework and mechanism for international schools and other private schools which are registered under the companies act or business ordinance’, our core functions.

The National Education Commission (NEC), established under the National Education Commission Act No. 19 of 1991 is a body corporate with the primary mandate to function as the apex policy formulation body of the education sector, and to engage in policy analysis and research, set national education goals and standards and guidelines for wide spectrum matters connected with education and to engage in monitoring, data management and publication. For the purpose of discharging its prescribed functions, the NEC is vested with wide ranging powers.

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NEC prepare many publications that focus on education policy research, including academic journals, reports, and books. Some examples of well-known publications in this field include; Policy Documents, Research publications.

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Kothari Commission/National Education Commission (1964-1966)-B.Ed/M.Ed

National Education Commission (1964-66) is also known as Kothari Commission or Indian Education Commission . The commission was set up under the chairmanship of Dr. Daulat Singh Kothari, to suggest recommendations to overhaul and reconstruct the entire field of education. He was a great Indian Physicist and Educationist. He worked under the Greatest Ernest Rutherford.

The Kothari Commission was set up on 14 July 1964 and submitted its report on 29 June 1966. The title of this report is “Education and National Development”. It consists of  17 members among them 5 educationists from several countries such as U.K, USSR, USA, France and Japan

The Education Commission was the most comprehensive in nature, it review almost all aspects of the education System in India at that time

Aims of National Education Commission/Kothari Commission

The fourfold aims of the Kothari Commission are-

• Increasing National Productivity : In order to make education practical and to promote the productivity of the nation, science education and work experience must be an integral part of all education.
• Introducing a common school system of public education- which will be open to all children irrespective of caste, creed, community, religion, economic conditions or social status.Obligatory social and national service for all students at all stages of development of an appropriate language policy
• Inculcation of Democratic Values
• Accelerating the process of Modernization: The commission felt the need of Modernization in all walks of national life in order to achieve the national Goal. Education should produce educated and skilled citizens and train an adequately and competent.
• Cultivating Social, Moral and Spiritual Values: The commission emphasized character building through social, moral and spiritual values in the students at all stages of education. It recommended that central and state govt. should adopt measures to introduce education in moral, social and Spiritual values in all institutions.

Kothari Commission Recommendations

1. free and compulsory education.

Provision for free and Compulsory Education for children of the age group of 6-14 Years under the Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP) under Article 45 of the Constitution of India.

2. Status of Teacher Education

• The Kothari Commission emphasizes providing favourable and adequate service conditions for teachers .
• Teachers should get academic freedom to pursue and publish independent studies and research.
• Special Courses should be available for in-service teachers so that they can also enhance their skills.
• Teacher programs should be upgraded as per the need of time and conditions.
• The emphasis on a basic pay band for the teachers as per their teaching post, area of posting and their qualification.
• There should be training and accommodation facilities for the teacher who posted in tribal areas

3. Language Policy

The commission emphasizes three language formulas to bridge the communication gap between North Indian and South Indian peoples.

The first Language should be the mother tongue  of the regional language and Second language can choose from a National or Union or Associate language and the Third language can be one modern Indian or European language

• Mother Tongue should be compulsory at the primary level of education
• A second language should be added at the higher primary stage either Hindi or English
• At the lower secondary stage, all three languages should be studied Mother Tongue, Hindi or Modern Indian Language and English
• At a higher secondary level, any two of these languages should be compulsory
• At the university level, no language should be compulsory.

4. Equalization of Education Opportunities

To promote Social justice, the Kothari Commission focused on girls’ education, education of backward classes, education of tribal people, and physically and mentally handicapped children.

5. Identification of Talent

The commission suggested the Early detection of Talent in Children and providing a suitable platform to show their talent

6. Work experience & National service

Work experience should be introduced as an integral part of all education; general and vocational. The kind of programmers should be included so that students can learn how to do things in real settings. Work experience means participation in productive work such as craft, agriculture etc.

7. Science Education and Research

Science and maths should be integral parts of education. At the university level, it should be improved and special importance should be given to the development of scientific research and development.

8. Education for Agriculture and Industry

The commission recommended that special emphasis should be placed on the development of education for Agriculture and industry and there should be at least one Agricultural University in Every State

9. Production of Books: Good Quality of books

• The commission suggested the following things for the Production of a Quality Textbook
• The education commission recommended that immediate steps should be taken for the production of high-quality textbooks for schools and universities.
• Frequent changes of textbooks should be avoided and their price should be low.
• To recruit the best authors, and subject matter experts to write a quality book
• The textbooks should be as per the needs of learners and should include all the aspects of learning
• There should be continuous upgradation of textbooks in future also

10. Examinations Reforms

• The new methods of evaluation should be included to assess the children properly and continuously by methods like oral tests, observations, written examinations and other methods.
• The commission recommended the internal assessment should be started and the internal assessment should be comprehensive, which means should include all the aspects of students’ academic life
• The commission suggested that the Board examination only for the class 10 th and 12 th

11. Secondary education

There is a need to increase facilities for technical and vocational education at the secondary stages of education and for that polytechnic institutes would be established all over the country

12. University Education

Improve education at the university level by paying special attention to postgraduate-level research, and training, and providing adequate libraries, laboratories and funds.

13. Part-Time & Correspondence Education

Part-time education and correspondence courses should be developed on a large scale

14. Spread of Literacy and Adult Education

• The Kothari Commission suggested that all the Govt. and Non-Governmental institutions, State or central should involve in literacy programmes for all men and Women in the country
• Students and Teachers should involve in adult literacy campaigns and part-time education should be there for individuals who have not attended school or left it after literacy.
• There should be followed up from time to time so that these campaigns run effectively.

15. Games and Sports

Games and sports should be developed on a larger scale with the object of improving the physical fitness and sportsmanship of the average students as well as of those who excel in this department

16. Reorganization of Educational Structure

• The structural pattern recommended by the commission is 10+2+3
• All the different names such as kindergarten, Montessori and pre-basic should be renamed as pre-primary
• The primary education is renamed as Lower Primary Up to 4th class and from class VI to VIII is named Upper Primary and Class 9th and 10th are named High school
• The undergraduate education from 11 th and 12 th standard to Higher Secondary
• The degree course should be 3 years
• The age of admission to class-I should not be less than 6 years

Kothari Commission or National Education Commission 1964-66 is chaired under D.S Kothari is an Adhoc Commission. The commission creates 12 Task Forces and 7 working Groups to work on the different aspects of Education. Kothari Commission was the most comprehensive in nature, it review almost all aspects of the education System in India at that time. Education Commission is a Landmark in the History of Indian Education.

The Kothari Commission is majorly focused on reforms in the Educational structure and Three language formula. At present time National Policy of Education 2020 is replacing the old 10+2+3 education Structure with the New 5+3+3+4 system

• http://indianculture.gov.in/reports-proceedings/report-education-commission-1964-66

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Kenya Education Commission Report 1964 (The Ominde Commission)

3.4. setting the agenda for policy analysis, 3.4.1. kenya education commission report 1964 (the ominde commission).

Commission)

The Kenya Education Commission Report of 1964 was the first national report in Kenya. It reported on the whole of national education in the country. I will not focus entirely on the content of the report, but would like to highlight how the report presents democratic citizenship education, especially in relation to higher education. This report noted that the concept of national education enabled the Kenyan constitutional law to legalise equal rights for all citizens, unhindered by considerations of race, tribe or religion. The report acknowledged that the concept of unity [harambee 13] became apparent with nationhood.

11 The focus on enrolment in schools became central to the achievement of the developmental goals that were to

be achieved. Shortly after independence, the government appointed a commission chaired by Professor S.H. Ominde to survey the existing educational resources and advise the government on an elaborate and systematic plan of action for future schooling and policy. This commission recommended nationalistic thinking on education for Kenya (Maxon, 1995:126). The nationalistic education was aimed at reducing the manipulation of education by missionaries, thereby enabling the expansion of secular education that could respect other faiths of communities and individuals. However, the missionaries were still given the opportunity to run their schools alongside national schools. This was so because, by this time, education in Kenya required a new content.

The four reports of the three national commissions were named after the chairmen of the committees, viz. Ominde (1964), Gachathi (1976), Mackay (1981) and Koech (1999).

13 Another notion that was introduced to make schools a reality was the notion of harambee schools (see Maxon,

1995:126 and Eshiwani, 1990:3). Harambee refers to cost sharing or cooperation in education costs between government and the local communities where the schools are situated. Harambee is a Swahili word that literally means, ‘let us pull together’, which was a communal ideology used by Kenyans in the local communities before the arrival of the colonial masters. For instance, Kenyan communities worked together to nurture and cultivate values in children in the community. Thus the discipline of a child in Kenyan society was the responsibility of everyone in the community. In this sense, the communities mapped the need for secondary schools in their region, built the schools and contributed funding to run the schools. When Jomo Kenyatta called upon Kenyans to ‘pull together’ their efforts to build schools in the harambee spirit, it was not surprising that their response was a quick one, since this was a notion they were familiar with. This led to striking success in the development of secondary schools, which grew rapidly. During this period, skilled manpower became available that was seen as adequate to Africanise the public service. Thus, African teachers became readily available to take up

However, it noted that the various transformations caused by the divisive influences of the colonial past, such as the attitudes and habits of the colonial system, were going to linger longer than expected. As such, the committee noted that education would be the solution to breaking away from the past, and that this required time. Another problem that faced Kenya was limited manpower to take up colonial positions, because colonial education did not equip Africans to handle certain administrative positions. Due to this, national education was needed to educate and equip citizens with skills to take up the new challenges that the young nation faced.

The committee acknowledged the community concept of cooperation [harambee], in the sense that students were to be encouraged to play responsible roles to build the community, yet they had to struggle with the colonial legacy of competition. The committee members travelled around the country in order to include everyone in decision making towards a national cooperative education (Republic of Kenya, 1964:24). Their observations of the learning conditions of students revealed impoverished and poor infrastructure and insufficient learning materials, and for this reason education was structured with socio-economic purposes towards development; however, the poor learning conditions remain a problem even now. The idea therefore was that post-colonial education was to eradicate poverty, disease and ignorance. The social role of education was partly to render citizens adaptable to change from African colonial education to a free and independent society, and at the same time to educate them for social equality in society. This meant that every citizen was to have an equal opportunity and responsibility to contribute to and in education and to do away with the divisive colonial legacy of segregation.

The national education report also indicated the need to Africanise education, in terms of which traditional social values that were not yet blended were to be reconciled with modernity to form a truly African version of modern society. It was noted that this would take a toll on the older generation, but with adult education in place it would accelerate the process. The committee suggested cooperation with the British government to continue the process of building higher education in Kenya through Makerere University; this, they noted, required friendship and cooperation without colonialism or imperialism.

teaching, which had been dominated by the colonial services. This became so because more Kenyans had been trained to become teachers, in other words, secondary education enabled graduates to be employed as teachers.

In essence, the national education commission report of 1964 saw education in Kenya as a function that fostered nationhood and promoted national unity; served citizens without prejudice; enabled tolerance through respect of religious differences; respected and promoted the cultural traditions of the people of Kenya; encouraged responsibility in cooperation; used education as a tool to foster respect for the traditional beliefs of others; and served as an instrument for conscious change of attitudes and relationships towards modern thinking on nationhood; education therefore was to serve national development and to help promote social equality, social responsibility and respect for humans, and to help citizens adapt to change.

The Ominde Commission was one of the landmark educational policies that influenced educational progression in Kenya. The objective of free primary education became policy and socioeconomic aspiration was accepted as national policy in education, even though it was noted that it would take time to achieve; as a result, the notion of universal primary education became policy. The government recommended that universal free education be expanded in primary schools where the enrolments fell short of the national average. The commission also recommended the incorporation of a single curriculum, but with different fee structures, since Kenya was characterised by racial division in the schooling system (Eshiwani, 1990:3-4; Maxon, 1995:126).

The recommendations made by this commission were implemented in the government planning documents that were used in the first years after independence. By 1970, shortly after independence, it was realised that African socialism in the form of free primary education would lead the country to ruin. The notion of universal education therefore was replaced by the need to develop secondary education if the expansion and development of the nation was to be realised through the development of skilled manpower. The expansion of secondary schools was rapidly realised during this period as a prerequisite for well-skilled manpower.

Government efforts in policy formulation still faced some criticism; for instance, in relation to the inappropriateness of the curriculum and the inherited regional imbalances in schools and enrolment (Maxon, 1995:131). The improvement in the education system was largely linear, since it did not consider the structural changes in the education system (Maxon, 1995). This was evident in the kind of curriculum that was used in schools. The curriculum was seen

to contain colonial perspectives and only prepared ‘experts’ for white-collar jobs, leaving the majority of graduates unequipped for public service. This led to the need for educational change to prepare graduates not only for white-collar jobs, but also to take initiative in their life after school, and to create their own jobs.

• The Advocacy Argument for Democratic Citizenship Education
• Rawls’s Public Reason as Justice
• Habermas’s Communicative Rationality
• Benhabib’s Democratic Iteration and Democratic Citizenship Education
• Synthesising Public Reason, Communicative Rationality and Democratic
• Preamble and Introduction
• Colonial Education, Citizenship, Human Rights and Plural Culture
• Post-Colonial Education, Citizenship and Democracy
• Kenya Education Commission Report 1964 (The Ominde Commission) (You are here)
• The 8-4-4 System of Education 1984
• University Act of 2012
• Culture and Education
• Post-election Violence and the Conception of Democratic Citizenship in Kenya
• Deliberation and Governance
• Viewing the Challenges in Tune with a Minimalist View of Liberal Democratic Citizenship
• Agamben and the Community in Becoming
• Democratic Citizenship Education in Becoming: Emancipation and Equal
• Ubuntu as an Instance of Democratic Citizenship Education in Becoming
• The Nexus between Liberal Democratic Citizenship Education and Democratic Citizenship
• Friendship as a Potentiality for Democratic Citizenship Education in Becoming
• Compassionate Imagination as a Potentiality for Democratic Citizenship
• Responsibility and Critique as Potentialities of Democratic Citizenship
• Scepticism as a Potential for Democratic Citizenship in Becoming
• Re-thinking Higher Education in Terms of the Potentiality of Democratic Citizenship
• Why Current Kenyan Higher Education Might not Resist Violence
• Implications of Democratic Citizenship Education in Becoming for the Conception of the

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Report of the education commission 1964-66

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REPORT OF THE EDUCATION COMMISSION, 1964-66

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Foreign Relations of the United States, 1947, The Far East, Volume VI

120.293/4–1050

Report to the President on China–Korea, September 1947, Submitted by Lieutenant General A. C. Wedemeyer 11

Appendix “E” to Part III— Korea, Political 12

résumé of united states policy toward korea

The first treaty between the United States and Korea, signed in 1882, provided that if other powers dealt unjustly or oppressively with either Government, the other would exert its good offices to bring about an “amicable agreement.” During the early period of United States-Korean relations the United States considered Korea as an independent state for the purposes of fulfilling treaty obligations, although that nation was actually under Chinese suzerainty. Prior to the Sino-Japanese War of 1895, when efforts were made to gain the support of the United States to avert war, the United States took the position that, while it stood for peace, it would do nothing which might cause it to assume responsibility for settlement of the dispute. Under the treaty ending the war, China relinquished suzerainty over Korea, which was in turn assumed by Japan. Therefore, the United States continued its policy of non-interference in Korean internal affairs and in 1899 denied a Korean request for American initiative in obtaining from the powers an agreement guaranteeing Korea’s integrity. At the [Page 797] time of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–05, President Theodore Roosevelt stated that the United States could not intervene to preserve Korean integrity since the Koreans were unable “to strike one blow in their own defense.” When Japan forced the Korean Emperor to agree to Japanese control of the administration of Korean affairs, the Emperor appealed to the United States, under the good offices clause of the United States-Korean Treaty of 1882 but his appeal was denied. Nor did the United States protest Japanese formal annexation of Korea in 1910. Thus, with little or no effort on the part of the United States to oppose such a development, Korea passed from the suzerainty of China to that of Japan and thence to the status of a Japanese colony. Efforts of Korean exiles to introduce Korea’s case at the Paris Peace Conference and at the Washington Conference of 1921–22 were rebuffed, but these exiles continued their efforts to further the cause of Korean independence, some of them in the United States. With the outbreak of World War II, the question of Korean independence was revived and Korean exiles in the United States and China began to agitate for Korean independence and official recognition. At the Cairo Conference in 1943, agreement was reached by the participating powers, later adhered to by the Soviet Union, that Korea would become independent “in due course.” This phrase caused great resentment among the Koreans who felt that they should be given immediate independence upon the defeat of Japan. This resentment was increased when the decision was reached at the Moscow Conference in December 1945 that Korea would be placed under a Four-Power Trusteeship (the Soviet Union, the United States, the United Kingdom, and China) for a period of up to five years. A tentative agreement in this regard had previously been reached between the United States and the Soviet Union, and when the end of the war was imminent agreement was reached between the United States, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom and China that Soviet forces accept the Japanese surrender in Korea north of the 38° North parallel, while the American forces would accept such surrender south of that line. This arbitrary line, originally serving as a marker of military responsibility, soon became a complete barrier to free movement between North and South Korea. It has resulted in separation of the country into two parts, an economically unstable division which has seriously blocked efforts to establish a unified Korea.

current political situation

The major political problem in Korea is that of carrying out the Moscow Agreement of December 1945 for the formation of a Provisional Korean Government. The United States-Soviet Joint Commission, established in accordance with that Agreement, held its first [Page 798] meeting in [ on ] March 8 [ 20 ], 1946, but finally adjourned on May 28, 1946, without having reached an agreement looking toward the implementation of the Moscow Agreement regarding Korea. The failure of the Joint Commission arose from the unwillingness of the Soviet Delegation to agree to consultation with the Commission of all Korean groups, as provided for in the Moscow Agreement, to assist in the formation of the Provisional Korean Government. Soviet motives have been to eliminate the majority of the rightist groups in the American-occupied zone of Korea from consultation and subsequently from participation in the new government. Had the Soviet Delegation been successful the result would have been a Communist-dominated government in Korea. Soviet objections to consultation with these rightist groups have been based on the latter’s openly expressed opposition to trusteeship. The American Delegation has taken the stand that criticism of trusteeship did not disqualify Korean groups from participation in consultation, since to do so would deprive a considerable section of the Korean people of an opportunity to be heard in regard to the formation of the Provisional Korean Government. An exchange of notes between the Secretary of State and the Soviet Foreign Minister in April and May 1947 resulted in a resumption of the meetings of the Joint Commission on May 21, 1947, under a formula which provided for consultation by all Korean groups which were prepared to sign a declaration that they would not, after such signing, “foment or instigate active opposition” to the work of the Joint Commission or to the fulfillment of the Moscow Agreement. After repeated sessions of the Joint Commission a deadlock was again reached in July, the Soviet Delegation returning to its position of the previous year and the American Delegation insisting upon the implementation of the formula set forth in the Marshall–Molotov letters, which guaranteed wide-scale participation of Korean democratic parties and social organizations in consultation and freedom of expression of opinion by all Koreans. Further meetings of the Commission having produced no results, Secretary Marshall addressed another note to Foreign Minister Molotov on August 12 requesting that the Commission submit by August 21, 1947, a joint status report or that each Delegation submit separate reports. No reply having been received to this note and the Soviet Delegation refusing to participate in a joint report, the American Delegation on August 20 transmitted a unilateral report to Washington. Since the receipt of this report, the Secretary of State has addressed identical notes to China, the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union proposing a Four Power Conference for a settlement of the Korean situation. China and the United Kingdom have indicated their willingness to participate in such a conference. The Soviet Union has declined.

Internally, the Korean problem has been complicated by the Soviet establishment of a Communist state in North Korea and by its encouragement of the activities of Communist and Communist-dominated organizations in South Korea hostile to the United States. The activities of extreme rightist groups in South Korea, under Doctor Syngman Rhee and Kim Koo, who have openly declared their hostility to the trusteeship provisions of the Moscow Agreement, have served further to embarrass the American authorities. The rightist groups are probably the best organized parties in South Korea. They command a majority of the Korean Interim Legislative Assembly and, if elections were held under present conditions, would gain control of any government established in South Korea by such elections. The American authorities in South Korea are endeavoring to turn over to the Koreans as rapidly as possible administrative responsibility in the various departments of the United States Military Government, have organized a half-elected and half-appointed Korean Interim Legislative Assembly, and in general are striving to carry out a policy of “Koreanization” of government in South Korea.

military government directive and steps taken to implement same

The Directive under which the United States Military Government now operates in Korea sets forth three basic United States objectives: (1) To establish an independent and sovereign Korea, free from all foreign domination and eligible for membership in the United Nations (2) to insure that the National Government so established shall be a democratic government fully representative of the freely expressed will of the Korean people; and (3) to assist the Koreans in establishing the sound economy and adequate educational system necessary for an independent democratic state. The Directive points out that the policy of the United States in regard to Korea, in accordance with the Moscow Agreement, contemplates the establishment of a Provisional Korean Government to assist the United States-Soviet Joint Commission in preparing Korea for self-government, the creation of some form of trusteeship for Korea under the United States, the United Kingdom, China and the Soviet Union for a period of up to five years and the complete independence of Korea at the earliest possible moment, with subsequent membership in the United Nations. The Directive goes on to state that the American occupation of South Korea is for the purpose of facilitating the attainment of the basic American objectives in Korea and shall continue as long as it contributes to that end.

As a result of Soviet obstruction and tactics designed to eliminate the majority of the rightist groups from participation in the new government to be established for all of Korea, the American military authorities [Page 800] in South Korea have been unable to proceed with the initial steps required for the establishment of a Provisional Korean Government. As required by the Directive, the American authorities have made considerable progress in utilizing qualified Koreans in posts in local and provincial administration and in the administration of the United States zone as a whole. American personnel remains in the provincial administrations only in an advisory capacity and all administrative posts are filled by Koreans. In the over-all administration of South Korea, all Government departments are now headed by Korean officials and Americans are utilized only in an advisory capacity, although important controversial matters may be referred either to the United States Military Governor or the Commanding General of the United States Occupation Forces for final decision. American military personnel in the Military Government are being replaced as rapidly as possible by American civilians. A Korean Interim Legislative Assembly was established in December 1946, half of its membership being selected by the United States Commanding General from a list of Koreans recommended by Korean groups and half being elected as representatives of the various provinces and municipalities. Presently under consideration by this Assembly is a program for land reform in South Korea and the Assembly has recently adopted a general election law providing for election of officials to an Interim South Korean Government according to certain stipulated rules and regulations. In accordance with the Directive, the United States military authorities have permitted full freedom of expression to all political groups, except in those cases when the activities of certain Communist-dominated groups were clearly prejudicial to the security of American military occupation. Korean rightist youth corps organizations and the Korean National Police have in some cases employed intimidation and violence to prevent full freedom of expression and of legal political activity.

In seeking to attain the cultural objectives set forth in the Directive, the United States occupational authorities have caused funds to be set aside for training courses in industry and agriculture, have encouraged the establishment of teacher training schools and of summer and winter institutes for the re-education of teachers and have in general devoted their efforts to the restoration of schools, the enforcement of new system of education and expansion of school facilities. They have also encouraged the formation of various committees for the purpose of democratizing the Korean educational administration. The implementation of these programs has been handicapped by lack of funds. Culturally, as well as politically, efforts have been made to carry out a process of “Koreanization” looking toward a free and independent Korea.

It should be pointed out that the Directive itself necessarily allows latitude of interpretation and execution and that the American authorities in Korea have functioned within the framework of that Directive. For example, failure of the American authorities to remove Korean collaborators, and thus Japanese influence and methods, from the Korean National Police can be justified, in part, by the lack of qualified Korean personnel and by the necessity of maintaining law and order vital to the American occupation. Also, the failure to implement the badly needed land reform program has been due to the desire to await the unification of North and South Korea, at which time a Provisional Korean Government would be in a position to carry out a uniform program of this kind for the entire nation. Now that unification appears to be a matter for the indefinite future, plans are being made to carry out such a program at the earliest possible moment.

obstructions to realization of united states objectives

The chief obstructions to the realization of United States objectives in Korea have been the division of that country by the 38° North parallel barrier and the lack of Soviet cooperation in carrying out the provisions of the Moscow Agreement regarding Korea. Behind the 38° North parallel the Soviet Union has established a Democratic Front Government modelled along Soviet lines and has eliminated all political parties of a non-Communist character. North Korean Communist groups have thus been able to encourage and assist the activities of the Democratic Front and other Communist-dominated leftist groups in South Korea hostile to the United States by the infiltration of agents from North Korea into the American zone of occupation. The Soviet refusal in the United States-Soviet Joint Commission to consult with all Korean political and social organizations, as the first step in the formation of a Provisional Korean Government, has so far made it impossible to realize American objectives in Korea—the establishment of a self-governing, sovereign Korea independent of foreign control and fully representative of the freely expressed will of the Korean people.

Other obstructions to the realization of American objectives in Korea have come from sources within the United States zone of occupation: 1. Extreme rightist groups under Dr. Syngman Rhee and Kim Koo have done much to block American efforts to implement the Moscow Agreement by adopting not only a non-cooperative but even an obstructive attitude. These groups, aided by their youth corps organizations employing terroristic tactics, have used methods of intimidation to restrict the political activity of middle-of-the-road and non-Communist [Page 802] leftist groups; they have acted to prevent the participation in governmental administration of moderate Koreans of influence and ability who might otherwise have made a contribution to the development of Korea. 2. Similarly, extreme leftist groups have endeavored to foment hostility to the United States and opposition to the attainment of American objectives in Korea. Such groups have been particularly active among Korean peasants in opposing the rice collection program instituted by the United States Military Government for the purpose of ensuring sufficient food for the urban areas. 3. Another obstacle to the attainment of American objectives has been the activities of the Korean National Police, which have been the chief object of criticism by all Koreans except the extreme rightists. The latter and their youth corps work closely with the Police. Criticism has been directed chiefly at the presence in positions of influence and control in the National Police of Koreans formerly employed in the Japanese police system and at the fact that approximately 80 percent of the officers in the present police organization were former Japanese police employees. Korean resentment arises from the feeling that liberation has not removed from the scene this hated symbol of Japanese oppression, from the continued employment of Japanese methods of brutality and torture, and from the arbitrary arrests of innocent Koreans frequently accompanied by extortion. This resentment is often transferred to the United States Military Government and American prestige suffers as a result. So long as there is no reform of the present police system and police brutality and partisanship continue, there seems to be little hope that a government can be established fully representative of the freely expressed will of the Korean people in South Korea. The American military authorities are handicapped in their efforts to take effective steps in this direction by the necessity of maintaining a Korean police force which will deal effectively with subversive elements hostile to the United States, as a measure vital to the security of the United States occupation, and by the lack of trained Korean personnel to replace former Japanese-employed Korean police officers. The present activities of the Korean National Police, however, are believed to be increasing the shift of Korean political thinking to the left and this situation has an important effect both on the attainment of American objectives in Korea and on the prestige of the United States.

implication of withdrawal of all united states assistance or continuing present united states policy

The American occupation forces in Korea could not remain in that country if all assistance to South Korea were stopped, since the cessation of all aid would lead to an early economic breakdown and to the [Page 803] outbreak of riots and disorder throughout the United States zone of occupation. The withdrawal of American military forces from Korea would, in turn, result in the occupation of South Korea either by Soviet troops, or, as seems more likely, by the Korean military units trained under Soviet auspices in North Korea. The end result would be the creation of a Soviet satellite Communist regime in all of Korea. A withdrawal of all American assistance with these results would cost the United States an immense loss in moral prestige among the peoples of Asia; it would probably have serious repercussions in Japan and would more easily permit the infiltration of Communist agents into that country; and it would gain for the Soviet Union prestige in Asia which would be particularly important in the peripheral areas bordering the Soviet Union, thus creating opportunities for further Soviet expansion among nations in close proximity to the Soviet Union.

Present American policy provides that, in view of the failure of the United States-Soviet Joint Commission to succeed in implementing the provisions of the Moscow Agreement regarding Korea, the matter be referred to the Four Powers for solution. It also provides that the matter be referred to the General Assembly of the United Nations in the event of the failure of the Four Powers to solve the Korean problem. This indicates that the United States will continue to seek, by consultation with the powers concerned, a solution of the problem, but a failure to reach an agreement on Korea in the United Nations will require that the United States make a decision regarding its future course in Korea: whether it shall withdraw or whether it shall organize a South Korean Government and under what conditions and whether it shall give economic and military aid to such a government.

A continuation of present American policies will serve to give notice to the Soviet Union and to other nations in the Far East that the United States will not abandon Korea in the face of Soviet intransigence and that the United States will continue to insist upon the fulfillment of the Moscow Agreement regarding Korea.

A continuation of present American policies will serve to deny to the Soviet Union direct or indirect control of all of Korea and prevent her free use of the entire nation as a military base of operations, including the ice-free ports in South Korea.

• Dated September 19; for text, except sections on Korea, see Department of State, United States Relations With China (Washington, Government Printing Office, 1949), pp. 764–814. This includes General Wedemeyer’s memorandum of September 19 to President Truman and the President’s directive, of July 9, pp. 764 and 774. For sections on Korea, except for certain deletions, see Committee Print entitled “Report to the President Submitted by Lt. Gen. A. C. Wedemeyer, September 1947: Korea” (Washington, Government Printing Office, 1951), printed for the Committee on Armed Services of the U. S. Senate at the time of the 1951 hearings. The deletions in this text (except in Appendix “E”, here printed) are as follows: Part III (Korea, political): “The terrorist activities of extreme rightists, who have strongly opposed trusteeship, have continually obstructed the efforts of United States authorities.” Part IV (conclusions, Korea): “The terrorist and obstructive activities of extreme rightist groups are further aggravating this situation.” Appendix “H” to Part III (Korea, military): “The Japanese influence remaining in this [National Police] force is a constant thorn in the side of the Korean people.” ↩
• Printed without deletions. ↩

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18 Jul 2016

WADA Statement: Independent Investigation confirms Russian State manipulation of the doping control process

• WADA publishes McLaren Investigation Report
• Agency requests collective sanctions for Rio 2016 and beyond

Preamble from WADA's President, Sir Craig Reedie

Following a WADA Executive Committee meeting held today to discuss the McLaren Investigation Report , I draw your attention to the WADA media release below.

It is important to note the following:

The recommendations are made by the WADA Executive Committee with the clear understanding that WADA does not have the authority or remit in respect of entries to competitions. The Executive Committee expressed the firm wish that all responsible organizations exercise their responsibilities within their regulations and this is what is reflected in the following media release.

The WADA Executive Committee’s key recommendations based on the McLaren Investigation Report are set out below. The necessary decisions should be taken by the relevant organizations based on their own rules and regulations.

• The International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) to consider, under their respective Charters, to decline entries, for Rio 2016, of all athletes submitted by the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) and the Russian Paralympic Committee.
• The International Federations (IFs) from sports implicated in the McLaren Report to consider their responsibilities under the World Anti-Doping Code (Code) as far as their Russian National Federations (NFs) are concerned.
• Russian government officials to be denied access to international competitions, including Rio 2016.
• The Russian National Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) to remain non-compliant under the Code and its staffing and independence to be further reviewed by WADA.
• The accreditation process of the WADA-accredited laboratory in Moscow (Moscow laboratory) to be stopped.
• The FIFA Ethics Committee to look into allegations concerning football and the role played by a member of its Executive Committee, Minister Vitaly Mutko.
• Professor McLaren and his team to complete their mandate provided WADA can secure the funding that would be required.

Montreal, 18 July 2016 – The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) announces publication of the McLaren Investigation Report (McLaren Report), which was released earlier today by Professor Richard H. McLaren during a press conference that he held, in Toronto, Canada. 

On 18 May, WADA engaged Professor McLaren, as an Independent Person, to investigate allegations of Russian state manipulation of the doping control process, which were made by Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov, the former director of the WADA-accredited laboratory in Moscow.  The allegations were released by  CBS 60 Minutes  and  The New York Times  on 8 and 12 May respectively.

Specifically, per the McLaren Investigation’s Terms of Reference , Professor McLaren was asked to establish the facts related to the following:

• Whether there had been manipulation of the doping control process during the 2014 Sochi Olympic and Paralympic Games, including but not limited to, acts of tampering with the samples within the WADA-accredited satellite laboratory in Sochi (Sochi laboratory) that was established for the Games.
• To identify the ‘modus operandi’ and those involved in such manipulation.
• To identify any athlete that might have benefited from such manipulation to conceal positive doping tests.
• To identify if potentially this ‘modus operandi’ was also happening within the Moscow laboratory outside the period of the 2014 Sochi Games.
• Whether there was any other evidence or information held by Dr. Rodchenkov.

Today’s 103-page Report outlines the following key findings that meet the standard of beyond reasonable doubt:

• The Moscow laboratory operated, for the protection of doped Russian athletes, within a State-dictated failsafe system, described in the Report as the Disappearing Positive Methodology.
• The Sochi laboratory operated a unique sample swapping methodology to enable doped Russian athletes to compete at the Games.
• The Ministry of Sport directed, controlled and oversaw the manipulation of athletes’ analytical results and sample swapping, with the active participation and assistance of the Federal Security Service (FSB); the Center of Sports Preparation of National Teams of Russia (CSP); and, both Moscow and Sochi laboratories.

“WADA is grateful to Richard McLaren, his team, and other contributors that, together, helped provide us with a fact-based path forward today as it relates to allegations and other information provided by Dr. Rodchenkov,” said Sir Craig Reedie, President, WADA.  “Shamefully, the McLaren Report corroborates the allegations, exposing a modus operandi of serious manipulation of the doping control process in the satellite laboratory set up in Sochi for the 2014 Games; and, the Moscow laboratory since 2011 and after the Sochi Games,” Reedie continued. “Not only does the evidence implicate the Russian Ministry of Sport in running a doping system that’s sole aim was to subvert the doping control process, it also states that there was active participation and assistance of the Federal Security Service and the Center of Sports Preparation of National Teams of Russia.” he said.

“The Report also indicates the involvement of the Russian National Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA); and, shows that some of the key people involved, in particular the deputy sports minister, were members of the Russian Olympic Committee. Furthermore, the Investigation reveals that State oversight and directed control of the Moscow laboratory in processing and covering up urine samples of Russian athletes was applied to all sport disciplines whose urine samples were being analyzed by the Moscow laboratory.” said Reedie.

“The Report corroborates evidence provided by Dr. Rodchenkov, which reveals to the world of sport an extent of deliberate abuse of power and process in Russia that is totally unacceptable for all athletes, the broader sports community and the nations against which they compete,” said Reedie.“It reveals that the Russian Ministry of Sport manipulated the doping control process of the 2014 Sochi Games; the 2013 IAAF World Championships in Moscow; the 2013 World University Games in Kazan; and, put measures in place to circumvent anti-doping processes before the 2012 London Games,” he continued.“As the international Agency -- responsible for leading the collaborative, global, clean sport movement -- WADA is calling on the Sports Movement to impose the strongest possible measures to protect clean sport for Rio 2016 and beyond.” 

WADA’s Executive Committee strongly regrets that there was public speculation made by certain NADOs as to the Investigation’s outcome, in the absence of the facts, in the days leading up to the Report’s publication. Today, the McLaren Report corroborates the following evidence; on which basis, WADA’s Executive Committee has come to the following conclusions.  The Executive Committee strongly requests the Sports Movement to seriously consider the facts and the following sanctions:

      1 . Given that the Russian Ministry of Sport orchestrated systematic cheating of Russian athletes to subvert the doping                   control process; and that, the evidence shows such subversion in 30 sports, including 20 Olympic summer sports and               Paralympic sports, the presumption of innocence of athletes in these sports, and in all Russian sports, is seriously called           into question.

Accordingly, WADA recommends to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) to consider, under their respective Charters, to decline entries, for Rio 2016, of all athletes submitted by the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) and the Russian Paralympic Committee. Furthermore, any exceptional entry of a Russian athlete should be considered by the IOC and IPC for participation under a neutral flag and in accordance with very strict criteria.

WADA also recommends that Russian Government officials be denied access to international competitions, including Rio 2016.

        2. The Investigation determined that a high number of Olympic sports, non-Olympic sports and Paralympic sports                             benefited from the system orchestrated by the Russian Ministry of Sport. The presumption of innocence from Russian               athletes in these sports is therefore seriously called into question.

Accordingly, WADA recommends to International Federations (IFs) to consider their responsibilities under the World Anti-Doping Code as far as their Russian National Federations are concerned. (It is noted that a number of IFs have already taken steps under their rules in this regard.)

WADA’s Executive Committee urges the Russian Government to ensure that all those involved in this system be dealt with appropriately forthwith. 

The Executive Committee also notes with great disappointment that, today’s Report reveals that, despite all public undertakings that were claimed by the Russian Government, they were so confident in the inability of outsiders to detect what was going on, that they operated in the same manner during the time that WADA’s 2015 Independent Commission (IC)  was carrying out its investigation. This conduct shows a total disregard for the international community; and, reinforces the urgent need for true and demonstrable commitment by the Russian authorities for a change of culture.

Of note, following the release of the IC’s first Report on 8 November 2015, which exposed widespread doping in Russian Athletics, WADA immediately suspended the Moscow laboratory. The re-accreditation process will now be stopped.

“Since WADA’s Independent Commission report, senior Russian politicians have started to publicly acknowledge the existence of longstanding doping practices in Russia; and, have conceded that a significant culture change is required,” said Olivier Niggli, Director General.  “The McLaren Report makes it ever more clear that such culture change needs to be cascaded from the very top in order to deliver the necessary reform that clean sport needs,” said Niggli.

“In the face of such evidence of state sponsored subversion of anti-doping processes, WADA insists upon imposition of the most serious consequences to protect clean athletes from the scourge of doping in sport,” said Reedie.  

Given that there may be exceptions to the collective sanctions enumerated above, WADA is working to establish non-binding guidelines that will help the IOC, the IPC and IFs in their decision-making process.  These guidelines will be made available shortly after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) issues its decision on 21 July with respect to the dispute between the ROC and the IAAF.

“RUSADA remains non-compliant despite significant effort by WADA, UK Anti-Doping (UKAD), independent experts and others,” said Niggli. “Transforming Russia’s anti-doping system and culture, to the point where it can be considered robust and trustworthy, will take more time and effort,” Niggli continued.  “The McLaren Report confirms that, at a minimum, RUSADA’s return to compliance cannot be considered until all persons from the Russian Ministry of Sport and other Government Departments and Agencies that are implicated by the Report, including RUSADA, are dismissed from their roles,” Reedie added to Niggli’s remarks.

It should be noted that WADA is committed, along with UKAD and others, to work with RUSADA in their return to compliance and to ensure a more independent anti-doping program that is autonomous from government. This would be of great benefit to those Russian athletes who believe in clean sport.

Another notable finding within the Report is the role that one of FIFA’s Executive Committee members, Russian Sport Minister Vitaly Mutko, played within the system. Accordingly, WADA urges the FIFA Ethics Committee to look into the allegations concerning football and the role played by this member.

McLaren explained in his Report that, given the compressed timeline of 57 days, he did not have time to explore the third element from the Investigation’s Terms of Reference , which was ‘to identify any athlete that might have benefited from such manipulation to conceal positive doping tests’. WADA confirms that they would like Professor McLaren and his team to complete their mandate, provided the Agency can secure the funding that would be required.

Over the coming days and weeks, WADA will continue to consider the findings of the Report, in collaboration with its stakeholders, to determine what further action is required. The Report will also be submitted to the Agency’s Independent Compliance Review Committee.

It is clear from the McLaren Report that serious abuses of the globally accepted anti-doping system have occurred. WADA is committed to reviewing the global system and will begin this process through a multi-stakeholder Think Tank that it will hold in September.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) is the international independent organization created in 1999 to promote, coordinate and monitor the fight against doping in sport in all its forms. The Agency is composed and funded equally by the sports movement and governments of the world. Its key activities include scientific research, education, development of anti-doping capacities and monitoring of the World Anti-Doping Code – the first document harmonizing regulations regarding anti-doping in all sports and all countries.

MEDIA CONTACTS

Catherine MacLean, Director, Communications Phone: + 1-514-904-8827 E-mail: [email protected]

Maggie Durand, Coordinator, Media Relations and Communications Phone: + 1-514-904-8738 E-mail: [email protected]

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Moscow concert attack: 'No Ukrainian involvement' in deadly attack, U.S. says

What we know.

• Russian President Vladimir Putin has delivered a public address, calling the attack a barbaric act of terrorism and vowing to punish the perpetrators. He also accused Ukraine of preparing a "window" to help the suspects escape. Kyiv has staunchly denied any role in the attack.
• Russia has arrested 11 people, including all four gunmen suspected of carrying out the attack at a crowded concert venue in a Moscow suburb last night, the head of the country's Federal Security Service (FSB) has told Putin.
• At least 133 people are now known to have been killed as more bodies were found in the rubble, Russia's Investigative Committee said this morning. Men in camouflage broke into the concert hall, opened fire, and set the crowded venue ablaze. The death toll is expected to rise.
• The terror group ISIS has claimed responsibility but did not provide proof of the claim. U.S. officials confirmed to NBC News that they had been gathering intelligence for months that ISIS could mount a mass casualty attack in Russia, though no final assessment had been made yet about who was responsible. U.S. Embassy officials issued a warning earlier this month urging people to stay away from large gatherings.

Coverage on this live blog has ended.

Sunday is day of mourning in Russia after tallest building stages tribute to fallen

Dennis Romero

Sunday was declared a day of mourning in Russia for those killed in Friday night's concert attack.

Putin made the declaration during a televised address to Russians in which he discussed the nation's response to the attack, which ended with 133 killed.

Also on Sunday, Dubai's 163-floor Burj Khalifa skyscraper was lit up in the colors of Russia's flag for "several minutes" to acknowledge the country's loss, according to Russian state news agency TASS.

Dubai authorities and the development company Emaar organized the tribute on the world's tallest building, the agency said.

According to United Arab Emirates state news from Emirates News Agency, other structures in the region, including the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company building, were lit up "in solidarity with Moscow."

Rescue operation over at concert hall, official says

Dusa Gambrill

Mirna Alsharif

The rescue operation on the scene of the Moscow attack is over, according to Moscow Oblast Gov. Andrey Vorobyov.

The search for victims at the concert hall is ongoing.

"Today rescuers cleared a huge layer of the auditorium," Vorobyov said in a statement on Telegram. "Over the course of 24 hours, 133 bodies were pulled out from under the rubble, and the identities of 50 dead were tentatively identified."

Officials have not publicly released the identities of the 50 victims.

"At night we will start creating an opening on the western side of Crocus, this will make it easier to access the concert hall," Vorobyov said.

Ukraine had nothing to do with Russia attack, U.S. says

Michelle Acevedo

The National Security Council said today in no uncertain terms that Ukraine had nothing to do with the deadly concert attack.

"ISIS bears sole responsibility for this attack. There was no Ukrainian involvement whatsoever," NSC spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement.

In the initial hours after the attack, Putin suggested attackers were trying to escape in the direction of Ukraine. He also accused Ukraine of preparing a "window" to help suspects escape. Ukraine has staunchly denied any involvement.

Russian officials say all four suspects believed to be behind the concert shooting are in custody.

Watson noted that the United States "shared information with Russia about a planned terrorist attack in Moscow."

Yesterday, the security council said the warning was made “in accordance with its longstanding ‘duty to warn’ policy.”

In remarks that aired days before the attacks, Putin said the West’s warnings of any potential attacks in Russia were part of an “attempt to intimidate, destabilize our country.”

Intelligence officials have been gathering information for months that suggested ISIS could mount a mass casualty attack in Russia, U.S. officials confirmed to NBC News.

Russia's president in a video address late today vowed dire consequences for the four suspects apprehended in the concert attack and anyone else involved in the violence.

"No one will be able to sow poisonous seeds of discord," Putin warned in the remarks.

He also drew on history to say, essentially, that times of hardship will only make Russia stronger. "It will be so now," he said.

29 Moscow attack victims identified

The Russian Ministry of Health has identified 29 victims of yesterday’s attack in Moscow.

The preliminary list was published by the Russian Emergency Ministry tonight. No other details about the victims, including their ages, were published.

More than 50 people who were killed in the attack have been identified so far, Moscow Oblast Gov. Andrey Vorobyov told Russian state media RIA Novosti.

'They always blame others': Zelenskyy denounces Putin for linking Ukraine to deadly Moscow attacks

Victor Sema

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian President Vladimir Putin is trying to blame "someone else" for the Moscow attack.

Putin accused Ukraine of preparing a “window” to help the suspects in the attack escape.

"What happened yesterday in Moscow is obviously just Putin and the other scum trying to blame it on someone else," he said in a statement shared on Telegram. "They always have the same methods. It has happened before. There have been bombed houses, shootings, and explosions. And they always blame others."

Zelenskyy said Putin's methods are "absolutely predictable."

"They come to Ukraine, burn our cities, and try to blame Ukraine. They torture and rape our people — and they blame them," he said. "They have brought hundreds of thousands of their own terrorists here, to Ukrainian soil, to fight against us, and they don’t care what happens inside their own country."

Zelenskyy believes Putin is trying to turn the situation "in favor of his personal power."

Fire extinguished at Crocus City Hall, Russian Emergency Ministry says

Gabrielle Nolin

The fire at the Crocus City Hall has been extinguished, according to the Russian Emergency Ministry.

The ministry shared a video on Telegram of the destruction left behind by yesterday's attack in the area.

Over 130 people were killed in the attack and more than 100 are in Moscow hospitals with injuries, officials said.

Rescue workers will 'need a few more days to fully clear up the rubble' at the Crocus concert hall, Moscow official says

Rescue workers will "need a few more days to fully clear up the rubble" at the Crocus concert hall, according to Moscow Oblast Gov. Andrey Vorobyov.

"Specialists from the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations — 104 people and 19 pieces of equipment — continue to clear the rubble in the concert hall and put out the remaining fires," he said in a statement shared to Telegram. "Rescuers will need a few more days to fully clear up the rubble."

Vorobyov said there is difficulty in accessing a wall that needs to be demolished in order to continue the search for victims.

"In the near future, special small equipment will arrive to help clear access and provide rescuers with passage," he said. "This will help continue the search operation."

Russian Investigative Committee to award man who allegedly neutralized one of the Moscow attack suspects

The Russian Investigative Committee will award a man who allegedly neutralized one of the suspects in yesterday's attack on a Moscow concert hall that killed over 130 people.

"A man, trying to protect his wife from terrorists who were shooting at people, attacked one of them and neutralized him," a statement on the committee's website said. "Through his active and decisive actions, he saved the lives of the people around him at that moment."

NBC News has not independently verified this information.

More than 50 people who were killed in the attack have been identified, Moscow Oblast Gov. Andrey Vorobyov told Russian state media RIA Novosti.

Russian media broadcasts videos it claims show detention, interrogation of suspects

The Associated Press

Russian media on Saturday broadcast videos that apparently showed the detention and interrogation of the suspects, including one who told the cameras he was approached by an unidentified assistant to an Islamic preacher via a messaging app channel and paid to take part in the raid.

Russian news reports identified the gunmen as citizens of Tajikistan, a former Soviet country in Central Asia that is predominantly Muslim and borders Afghanistan. Up to 1.5 million Tajiks have worked in Russia and many received Russian citizenship.

Putin also said that additional security measures have been imposed throughout Russia, and he declared Sunday a day of mourning.

Russia's foes weigh in with condolences for Moscow terrorism victims

Corky Siemaszko

World leaders backing Ukraine in its war with Russia weighed in Saturday with condolences and condemnations of terrorist violence in the wake of the Moscow concert hall attack.

"I strongly condemn the terrorist attack against civilians in the Crocus City Hall in Moscow claimed by the Islamic State," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen posted on X , formerly Twitter. "My thoughts are with the victims and their families during this tragic time."

British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said the United Kingdom condemned “in the strongest terms the deadly terrorist attack” in Moscow.

“Nothing can ever justify such horrific violence,” Cameron posted .

French President   Emmanuel Macron also went on X to express his “solidarity with the families of victims, the injured and the Russian people.”

And German Chancellor Olaf Scholz condemned the “terrible terrorist attack on innocent concertgoers in Moscow.”

Even the leaders of countries like Poland that have for centuries viewed Russia as their enemy expressed condolences.

"Poland strongly condemns the brutal attack at the Crocus City Hall in Moscow," Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk posted . "We all grieve for the families of the victims. We hope that this terrible tragedy will not become a pretext for anyone to escalate violence and aggression."

Top U.S. diplomat calls Moscow massacre 'heinous crime'

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken released a statement Saturday condemning the deadly terrorist attack in Moscow. It reads as follows:

"The United States strongly condemns yesterday’s deadly terrorist attack in Moscow. We send our deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of those killed and all affected by this heinous crime. We condemn terrorism in all its forms and stand in solidarity with the people of Russia in grieving the loss of life from this horrific event."

Putin plans to use Moscow attack to mobilize for war, historian says

Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to use yesterday's attack on Moscow as a means to mobilize for war and to repress Russian citizens, said Sergey Radchenko, a historian and professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.

Putin has delivered a public address following the attack, and accused Ukraine of preparing a “window” to help the suspects escape. Kyiv has staunchly denied any role in the attack.

"Terrorism is a familiar threat to Russians, and Putin has a history of opportunistically using their fear of terrorism to consolidate his grip on power. (That’s a benign view, of course, but there’s no absolute need to embrace conspiracy theories to make this point)," Radchenko wrote on X .

Radchenko said Putin's goal is "clear" : "more internal repression" and "mobilization of war."

"Russia has become a giant outhouse, and things are certain to get much, much worse for Russians and for the unfortunate weakness of Russia’s terminal illness," he wrote . "To be fair, the trends have long pointed in this direction."

ISIS-K no stranger to U.S. intelligence

The terrorist organization believed to be behind the deadly Moscow concert hall attack is the same group that killed more than a dozen U.S. service members and dozens of civilians in 2021 during the American evacuation from Afghanistan.

The Islamic State Khorasan, or ISIS-K, is the Afghan offshoot of the Islamic State terror group, which has publicly beheaded foreign journalists and inflicted all kinds of brutalities on captured Kurds and others in Iraq and Syria.

ISIS-K also has a penchant for going after civilians it regards as infidels, experts told NBC News in the aftermath of the surprise suicide attack that stunned the Biden administration.

In the 2021 incident, a suicide bomber set off a blast near a checkpoint where Marines were checking the documents of people being allowed into the Kabul airport to escape the Taliban takeover of the country.

Read more about ISIS-K here .

No Americans killed in Moscow attack, U.S. official says

No Americans are believed to have been killed in yesterday's attack on Moscow, according to a U.S. official.

The official also said the U.S. "has no reason to doubt the ISIS claim of responsibility" for the attack.

"It has a long-demonstrated history of targeting Russia and neighboring countries," the official said. "There are no indications of Ukrainian involvement in the attack."

Photos: Mourners in Europe pay tribute outside Russia's embassies

Russian attempts to connect Ukraine to Moscow attack are 'absolutely untenable,' Ukrainian official says

Russian attempts to connect Ukraine to yesterday's attack on Moscow are "absolutely untenable," said Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to the head of the office of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Ukraine of preparing a “window” to help the suspects escape. Kyiv has staunchly denied any role in the attack.

"Ukraine has not the slightest connection to this incident," Podolyak wrote on X. "Ukraine has a full-scale war with #Russia and will solve the problem of Russia’s aggression (aggression, by the way, with a deliberate terrorist component) on the battlefield. The versions of Russian special services regarding Ukraine are absolutely untenable and absurd."

Andriy Yusov, spokesperson for the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, shared similar sentiments in remarks he delivered during the National Telethon.

"You don’t have to be a security expert to understand this," he said. "A full-scale war has been going on for over two years, border territories are full with enemy troops, special agents, representatives of intelligence services, and law enforcement. The borderline is mined, surveillance is conducted by all means, including aerial reconnaissance, from both sides. Regions like Belgorod and Kursk are currently active combat zones after the recent events."

Death toll rises to 133 people killed

The death toll from yesterday’s attack in Moscow has now risen to 133 people, officials confirmed.

The Russian Investigative Committee said more bodies were found as emergency responders cleared the rubble from the fiery attack at the Crocus City Hall concert hall. The search operation at the venue is still underway.

At least 107 people, including three children, are currently in Moscow hospitals with injuries, according to Tatyana Golikova, deputy chairman of the Russian government.

The latest death toll officially marks the attack as one of the worst terrorist acts in Russia’s modern history, surpassing the casualty number of the hostage crisis at Moscow’s Dubrovka Theater in 2002, where 130 people died. Over 330 people were killed in the Beslan school siege in 2004.

Russian foreign ministry spokesperson appears to hit out at the West after attack

Chantal Da Silva

Maria Zakharova, a spokesperson for Russia's foreign ministry, appeared to hit out at the U.S. and the West today over yesterday's attack.

“The main point is that American authorities don’t forget how their information and political environment linked the terrorists who shot people in Crocus City Hall to the banned terrorist organization ISIS," she said in a statement posted to Telegram.

U.S. officials confirmed to NBC News that they had been gathering intelligence for months that ISIS could launch a major attack in Russia.

"Now we know in which country these bloody bastards planned to hide from persecution — Ukraine," Zakharova said. "The same country which for ten years has been turning via Western liberal regimes into a center of terrorism spread in Europe," she said, referring to findings that the attackers planned to cross the Russian-Ukrainian border after the attack.

Mikhail Sheremet, an MP of the State Duma, Russia’s lower chamber of parliament, separately accused Ukraine of possible involvement in the attack without providing any evidence, in comments made to RIA Novosti. "One shouldn’t rule out a Ukrainian trace in organizing the terrorist attack," Sheremet said.

Ukraine has staunchly denied any involvement in the attacks.

Putin says a 'window' was prepared on Ukrainian side for attackers' escape

Putin condemned yesterday's attack as a "barbaric terrorist act" in a public address today as he alleged that a "window" had been prepared "on the Ukrainian side" to help the attackers escape.

The Russian leader did not provide evidence for the claim, but cited preliminary data in Moscow's ongoing investigation into the deadly attack.

Russian officials have said the attackers were planning to escape across the Russia-Ukraine border following the assault. Kyiv has denied having any role.

Putin said medics were still fighting to save the lives of those wounded in the attack, which he said has prompted officials in Moscow and several other regions to introduce new anti-terrorism measures.

He said tomorrow, March 24, would be a national day of mourning for the more than 115 people killed.

"I express my deep, sincere condolences to everyone who lost their loved ones," he said. "The whole country, our entire nation, mourns with you."

Russians lay flower tributes for victims of the attack

People laid flowers in tribute to the victims of the attack at memorials that have popped up across Russia, as lines outside hospitals in Moscow grew with those seeking to donate blood.

'We heard shots and smelled smoke': Witnesses evacuated from city hall describe ordeal

Two people who were among many evacuated from Crocus City Hall following yesterday's attack described the harrowing ordeal as they praised first responders for helping keep everyone calm.

Nadezhda Erastova and Andrei Telnov were in the city hall for a sports dance championship, according to Russian state news agency Tass.

"We were not in the concert hall. We were in another part of the building, but we heard shots and smelled smoke," Telnov told the agency. "People, of course, were worried and scared. I myself was not in the best emotional state. Yesterday was one of the hardest days of my life, one might say."

Erastova separately told Tass that "everyone was a hero in this situation."

"They did not panic and were able to get out,” she said, praising police for escorting people to public transport safely.

Death toll rises to 115 people killed

The death toll from yesterday's attack has now risen to 115 people, officials confirmed.

The Russian Investigative Committee said more bodies were found as emergency responders cleared the rubble from the fiery attack at the Crocus City Hall concert hall.

A search operation at the venue is still underway, it said.

Photos reveal extent of the destruction at burned-out concert hall

Matthew Mulligan

Photos released by Russian authorities reveal the extent of the destruction at Crocus City Hall following last night's attack.

Firefighters can be seen making their way through the burned-out concert hall, much of it in ruins in the photos taken by the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations.

The attack was carried out with automatic weapons, but also with "flammable liquid," which was used to set the concert hall ablaze, the Russian Investigative Committee said.

Firefighters evacuated people from the basement and roof of the building, but more than 100 people were killed in the attack.

Attackers planned to cross Russian-Ukrainian border, state media reports

Suspects in yesterday's attack intended to cross the Russian-Ukrainian border following the assault and had contacts on the Ukrainian side, Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported, citing Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB).

NBC News was not immediately able to independently verify the reporting. It is not clear how the attackers planned to cross the border, an endeavor that would have been complicated by Russia’s war in Ukraine.

ISIS has claimed responsibility for the deadly attack, without providing any proof. Kyiv has explicitly denied any role in the assault.

“Ukraine certainly has nothing to do with the shooting/explosions in the Crocus City Hall," Ukrainian presidential aide Mykhailo Podolyak said in a statement on X yesterday, adding: "It makes no sense whatsoever."

Andriy Yusov, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian military intelligence directorate, separately told the BBC the border area with Ukraine is “full of special services and military."

"Also the latest events in Belgorod region and Kursk — where there is military activity — mean this is a front line," Yusov noted, adding: “To suggest the suspects were heading to Ukraine would suggest they were stupid or suicidal.”

At least 115 people hospitalized, including 5 children, officials say

At least 115 people were hospitalized in connection with yesterday's attack, including five children, Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko said, according to Tass.

At least 60 people are in severe condition, Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova said separately, according to the Russian state news agency. She said almost all necessary surgeries had been performed.

11 people reportedly detained in connection with attack 

At least 11 people have been detained in connection with yesterday's attack, including four people directly involved, the Kremlin said.

Alexander Bortnikov, director of Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) informed Putin of the detentions, it said.

Bortnikov also updated the Russian president on the FSB's efforts to identify the accomplices of those who carried out the attack.

Death toll rises to 93, expected to increase

Aurora Almendral Aurora Almendral is a London-based editor with NBC News Digital.

Russia's Investigative Committee said this morning that the number of people confirmed dead in last night's attack has risen to 93, and said "the death toll will rise further."

According to preliminary data, the causes of death were gunshot wounds and "poisoning by combustion products," the Investigative Committee said.

Three children among those killed, state media reports

Three children were among the more than 60 people killed in yesterday’s attack at Crocus City Hall, Russian news agency RIA Novosti reported, citing the Russian Ministry of Health.

Officials have warned that the death toll connected to the deadly incident may increase as the investigation continues.

Moscow bloodshed comes two decades after some of worst attacks in Russia

Phil Helsel

The attack in Moscow is the latest in a series of deadly terror attacks in the country since the 2000s.

In 2004, militants from Chechnya and elsewhere took hostages at a school in Beslan in southern Russia.

The militants demanded a withdrawal from Chechnya. Hostages were kept in a gymnasium, and 334 died — half of them children — when gunfire and explosions erupted when it was stormed. Hostages’ families were critical of the rescue operation. Russian prosecutors later cleared authorities .

Two years prior, in 2002, Chechen separatists attacked the Dubrovka Theater in Moscow and took more than 700 people hostage. Russian forces used gas, and 129 hostages died. The attackers were killed.

More recently, in 2017, a suicide bomber from Kyrgyzstan killed 15 people as well as himself in an attack on a St. Petersburg subway. In 2013, two bombers killed a combined 34 people in attacks on a railway station and a trolleybus in Volgograd.

The group Islamic State, also known as ISIS, claimed responsibility for the attacks Friday at the Crocus City Hall venue.

Putin wishes victims well, deputy prime minister say

President Vladimir Putin is thinking of those injured in today’s attack and thanked doctors, a Russian government official said, according to state media.

State media Tass reported that “Putin wished all those injured in the emergency at Crocus City Hall to recover and conveyed his gratitude to the doctors, Golikova said,” referring to Tatiana Golikova, deputy prime minister for social policy, labor, health and pension provision.

U.S. warned Russia about planned terrorist attack in Moscow, NSC says

Monica Alba

The United States shared information about a potential terrorist attack in Moscow with Russia’s government earlier this month, a spokesperson for the National Security Council said.

The U.S. Embassy in Russia on March 7 warned U.S. citizens to avoid crowds and said it was monitoring reports that extremists might attack large gatherings in Moscow.

“Earlier this month, the U.S. Government had information about a planned terrorist attack in Moscow — potentially targeting large gatherings, to include concerts — which prompted the State Department to issue a public advisory to Americans in Russia,” NSC spokesperson Adrienne Watson said.

“The U.S. Government also shared this information with Russian authorities in accordance with its longstanding ‘duty to warn’ policy,” Watson said.

Putin recently dismissed ‘provocative’ warning about potential attacks

In remarks that aired three days ago, Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the West of “provocative statements” about potential terror attacks in Russia, and dismissed them.

“I’ll remind you of recent, let’s say directly, provocative statements of certain official Western structures about potential terror attacks in Russia,” Putin said.

“All of this looks like obvious blackmail and an attempt to intimidate, destabilize our country,” he said before the state security agency FSB.

Putin in those remarks did not specify a country or warning. The U.S. Embassy in Russia on March 7 warned U.S. citizens to avoid crowds .

“The Embassy is monitoring reports that extremists have imminent plans to target large gatherings in Moscow, to include concerts, and U.S. citizens should be advised to avoid large gatherings over the next 48 hours,” the U.S. Embassy warned.

Some Moscow concertgoers filmed events as they unfolded Friday night, when gunmen opened fire inside a theater and people ran to take cover in fear for their lives.

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