Christchurch Mosque Attacks: Funerals Begin While Ardern Urges Students to Reject Hate | News from the world

The funeral of 50 people killed during the terrorist attack in New Zealand began in Christchurch as Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern returned to the city to greet and comfort those affected by the killings.

On Wednesday, the father and son Khaled and Hamza Mustafa, who arrived in New Zealand as Syrian refugees, were the first victims to be buried. The Prime Minister told reporters: "I can not tell you how frustrating it is to know that a family came here for their safety and shelter and that they should have been safe right here."

Earlier, police announced their intention to hand over most of the bodies to their families on Wednesday night. Ardern promised to work with the authorities to see if the coronation process could be accelerated in the future in order to respect Islamic funerary rites.

Police Commissioner Mike Bush said the process should be "well done" to avoid jeopardizing future prosecutions. "We have to prove that the judge is at the root of the cause of death," he said. "You can not convict for murder without proving that the cause of death (…) to be wrong is unforgivable and you can not come back.

Ardern also visited old students from Cashmere High School, who has already lost two students, and implored the children to join her to reject racist and hateful messages.

"It's my request, I alone can not get rid of these things, I need the help of all of us," she said. "So, yes, let's get together, show these outbursts of love, but also let New Zealand become a place where there is no tolerance for racism. It's something we can all do. "

The crowd of 400 students made a haka and took the opportunity to question Ardern about the attack. A student asked the Prime Minister how she felt, to which Ardern replied, "I am very sad."

As she promised on Tuesday, Ardern did not say the name of the attacker and was spontaneously kissed by one of the students.

When asked if she would like Facebook leader Mark Zuckerberg to visit New Zealand after criticizing the role played by social media in spreading the bombing, she said, "I'm not interested. through a public relations exercise. "

Ardern also said that Foreign Minister Winston Peters would travel to Turkey to "confront" remarks by Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan following the shooting.

Erdoğan – who is seeking the support of his AK party, part of the Islamist movement, in the local elections on March 31 – said Turkey would charge the suspect to the attacker if New Zealand did not do so. .

He also suggested that anyone coming to Turkey with anti-Muslim sentiments would be sent back to coffins, "like their grandfathers" during the Gallipoli campaign.

The comments came at a campaign rally that included a video footage of the shooting that the alleged gunman had posted on Facebook.

Ardern said Peters would seek urgent clarification.

"Our Deputy Prime Minister will face these remarks in Turkey," she said. "He's going there to set the record straight, face to face."

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison invited the Turkish ambbadador to Canberra following Erdoğan's remarks.

Ardern also said access to military-style semi-automatic weapons would be at the center of the new gun control laws, adding, "Our laws have a lot of flaws."

According to her, it took 12 days for Australia to amend its gun laws following the Port Arthur mbadacre in 1996 and "we will do it less". Fish and Game NZ, the country's state-of-the-art hunting agency, said it would support the banning and repurchase of military-style semi-automatic weapons as well as the restrictions imposed on big magazines. capacity.

It was an emotional day in Christchurch, where 29 people are still hospitalized after the attacks. At a press conference, a surgeon, who operated on a severely injured four-year-old girl, said that he imagined himself to be one of his children.

Dr. Adib Khanafer, a vascular surgeon at Christchurch Hospital, said that he had been called to undergo another operation on Friday afternoon to operate on the girl. "I have four children," he said. "The youngest is seven years old, the oldest is 14 years old and I imagine that she was one of my children. I was able to do my job and I left my emotions until after … after fixing it.

"I'm from England, I'm a Muslim, and I'm Arab, and all my colleagues, Kiwis, have not stopped sending me emails, texting me." and to send me flowers. "

The alleged gunman, an Australian, has been charged with murder. Bush said he was expecting a "significant number of more serious charges" to be added to the lawsuit before his next court appearance.

A multinational investigation team comprised of officers from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Australian Federal Police and the New South Wales Police met in Wellington to search for the "police station". history of the suspect, Brenton Tarrant.

Bush said the intelligence agencies of other Five Eyes countries also helped to "build a complete picture of this person that we will present in court."

"What I can say at the moment is that there is only one attacker," he said. "The purpose of the investigation is to determine if anyone else has participated in support or somewhere else and we are still conducting this part of the investigation."

An independent investigation was also launched into New Zealand's intelligence services, following reports that it received information from the Muslim community and a gun vendor about an apparent increase White supremacist activities.