Barack Obama: America is not divided!

After five police officers were killed in Dallas last Thursday, US President Barack Obama insists that "America is not as divided as some suggest," writes The Independent, reports NAP.

- Americans - of all racial groups and backgrounds are equally disturbed by this unforgivable attack on the police, the president emphasized.

Addressing the public in Warsaw, where he is participating in the NATO summit, Obama stressed that complaints about police conduct, as well as support for the police, are not mutually exclusive positions.

- There is pain, anger, confusion about the next steps. But there is also unity in recognizing that this is not how we want our communities to behave. This is not how we want to be Americans, the president emphasized.

Obama added:

- We cannot allow ourselves to be defined by the actions of a few. The disturbed individual who carried out the attacks in Dallas is no more representative of the African American community than the attacker in Charleston was representative of white people in America, or than the attackers in Orlando or San Bernardino are representative of American Muslims.

As the first African American president, Barack Obama is unique among Oval Office occupants for his willingness to speak about racial tensions. He also presided over a period when such tensions were present, as was the case during the Civil Rights era.

Rejecting the idea of a return to the '60s in America, President Obama announced the launch of an existing group of activists, civil rights leaders, and police officials to address the problematic relationship between the police and the African American community. He singled out the Dallas police as "an excellent example of a police department that takes police brutality seriously.".

It has been two years since unarmed black teenager Michael Brown was shot and killed. He was killed by a white police officer from Ferguson, Missouri, which sparked riots and violence in the St. Louis suburb, which recurred after the officer was acquitted. Since then, police killings in Baltimore, New York, Cleveland, Charleston, and elsewhere in America have generated a series of protests, some peaceful, some less so, thus giving prominence to the movement against police brutality called "Black Lives Matter.".

The fatal police killings of 37-year-old Alton Sterling from Louisiana and 32-year-old Philando Castile from Minnesota were recorded on video and again caused outrage across America, with demonstrations organized in several American cities.

Hours before the violence in Dallas, Obama publicly supported the Black Lives Matter movement and appealed for the need for police reform, while at the same time demanding "recognition and respect" for police officers, whom he said work hard and in dangerous circumstances.

- When people say "Black Lives Matter," it doesn't mean "Blue" lives don't matter, the president said.

Upon receiving news from Dallas, Obama returned to the podium in Poland and stated that he was "horrified" by the killings, which he called "evil, calculated, and cowardly attacks on police.".

Some conservative politicians seized the opportunity to accuse Obama of complicity in inciting attacks. Republican Congressman Roger Williams from Texas said in a statement:

- The spread of misinformation and constant incitement by prominent leaders, including our president, has contributed to the hostility between the police and those they serve, which we are witnessing today.

In a conversation with right-wing radio host Rush Limbaugh, commentator Heather MacDonald accused Obama of supporting the Black Lives Matter movement and "their myth of a racist war by white officers against black civilians in this country.".

On Friday, peaceful protests against police brutality spread to cities like Atlanta, Philadelphia, and even London, where hundreds marched through Westminster chanting the Black Lives Matter slogan "hands up, don't shoot.".

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton stated that she will continue to fight for police agency reform:

- There is too much violence, too much hatred, too much senseless killing, too many who should not be dead. No one has all the answers. We must find them together, said former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

In a characteristically measured response to the bloodshed, Donald Trump stated that the killings in Dallas had "shaken the soul of the nation" and added:

- The deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile also prove how much work remains to be done to ensure every American feels safe.