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DUNEDIN, New Zealand – New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she would refuse the accused the shooter of the glory that he was looking for by refusing to pronounce his name at a moving parliamentary meeting Tuesday, the first since the worst mbadacre in the modern history of his country.
Brenton Tarrant, a 28-year-old Australian national and marrying white nationalist ideology, reportedly killed 50 people in two mosques in Christchurch on Friday, hitting a country proud of its safety, diversity and openness.
"He had searched for a lot of things in his act of terror, but one of them was notoriety," Ardern said. "And that's why you will never hear me mention his name."
She added, "He is a terrorist, he is a criminal, he is an extremist. But when I speak, he will be nameless.
The parliamentary session opened with an Arabic recitation of Quranic verses "bringing comfort and comfort" from Imam Nizam ul Haq Thanvi.
Ardern opened his speech in Parliament with a greeting in Arabic. "As-salamu alaykum," she said, looking up at the audience gallery. "Peace be upon you and peace be upon us all."
Until now, Tarrant has been charged with only one murder charge, but the authorities claim that further charges are forthcoming. On Tuesday, the police had just finished his judicial work at the house he had rented in the town of Dunedin, south of Christchurch, and where authorities believe he had meticulously planned his attack.
Tarrant dismissed his court-appointed lawyer and announced his intention to represent himself. Some even claim that he hopes to use the procedure as a new platform to espouse his extremist convictions of white nationalism.
The mbadacre shocked the world not only because of its scale – the shooter continued its rampage for more than 30 minutes in two mosques before his arrest – but also for the courage in which it was broadcast live on Facebook. Dozens commented, encouragingly, while others watched in horror as social media giants struggled to prevent 17 minutes of downloading and replaying the video.
[The world is watching New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern]
He also published a 74-page manifesto before the attacks, sharing it on Twitter and sending it to dozens of people in New Zealand, including the Ardern office and the media.
Tarrant is in custody before his next court appearance on April 5, but access to the media, including radio, television and newspapers, will be denied. The New Zealand Herald said it was monitoring its flights 24 hours a day and that it would not be allowed to access them.
Ardern refused to say whether his trial would be held behind closed doors, but told reporters that New Zealand would deny him any opportunity to raise his profile over the attacks. In his only court appearance so far, Tarrant's face was unclear, as were video footage showing him escorted into the courtroom, which, in the judge's view, will protect his right to a fair trial.
Despite support and praise for New Zealand's consequences of the mbadacre, the families of the victims are increasingly frustrated by the delay in receiving the bodies of their loved ones.
The death of the 50 victims had been completed, police said in a statement Tuesday night, more than four days after the attacks. Twelve victims had been identified but only six bodies had been returned to their families.
"The police are extremely aware of the families' frustration with the time required for the identification process following Friday's terrorist attack," police said.
According to Muslim beliefs, bodies should be washed and buried as soon as possible, preferably within 24 hours. Delays are causing even more trauma to families after the attacks.
"Normally, we should not wait too long to be buried, but in this case, they still take time," said Mohammed Bilal, whose cousin Syed Areeb Ahmen was killed, told the newspaper New Zealand Herald.
Tariq Mohammed, whose father was killed, said the tension was rising.
"The fathers are dead, the brothers are dead, everyone wants to get his body back, man," he told Stuff, a local news site. "There will be a lot of emotions, man. We are humans, we are not angels. We will have feelings. "
Police authorities said they were aware of cultural concerns and were trying to proceed as quickly as possible.
"Although the identification may seem simple, the reality is much more complex, especially in a situation like this," says the police statement. "We are doing everything in our power to undertake this work as quickly as possible and return the victims to their loved ones."
Deborah Marshall, chief coroner of Christchurch, had previously stated that the process "would take as long as necessary".
"There is nothing worse than sending the wrong body back to the wrong family and we find foreign examples when you try to speed up a process or miss a step, that's exactly what's happening and that's not happening. will not happen here, "she said.
Ardern said Monday that she was expecting all bodies to be returned to their families by Wednesday, but that now seems unlikely.
A funeral home awaits the bodies so that they can be washed and wrapped according to Muslim custom, and rows of graves were dug in a Christchurch cemetery. The New Zealand government offered to pay the funeral expenses of all victims, including the repatriation of the bodies, if necessary.
Fifield reported from Christchurch, New Zealand.
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