World reacts to attacks
Police arrest three men and a woman for mosque shootings
LEADERS around the world expressed disgust and sorrow at the killing of at least 49 people in mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, yesterday. Some also expressed anger at what they described as the demonisation that fuelled such attacks.
Western leaders from Donald Trump to Angela Merkel expressed solidarity with the people of New Zealand and deplored what the White House called an “act of hate”. The response from some Muslim countries went further, blaming politicians and the media for stoking that hatred.
As governments in Asia and the Middle East scrambled to find out how many of their citizens had been caught up in the bloodshed, there was anger that the attackers targeted worshippers at Friday prayers.
“I blame these increasing terror attacks on the current Islamophobia post-9/11 where 1.3 billion Muslims have collectively been blamed for any act of terror,” Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan posted on social media.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said the attack was a result of the demonising of Muslims. “Not only the perpetrators, but also politicians and media that fuel the already escalated Islamophobia and hate in the West are equally responsible for this heinous attack,” he tweeted.
Bangladeshi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam said it was “extremely lucky” the country’s cricket team, in Christchurch for a match against New Zealand, did not suffer casualties. The players arrived for Friday prayers as the shooting started.
Al-Azhar University, Egypt’s 1 000-year-old seat of Sunni Islamic learning, called the attack “a dangerous indicator of the dire consequences of escalating hate speech, xenophobia, and the spread of Islamophobia”.
Hundreds of angry protesters in Dhaka, Bangladesh’s capital, chanted Allahu akbar (God is Greatest) after Friday prayers.
New Zealand police said 49 people were killed and about 48 were injured.
One man was arrested and charged with murder in what appeared to be a carefully planned racist attack. Police also defused explosive devices in a car.
Two other armed suspects were being held in custody.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the national security threat level was being raised from low to high, the second-highest level.
Air New Zealand cancelled at least 17 flights in and out of Christchurch, saying it could not properly screen customers and their baggage following the shootings.
Police said the investigation had extended 360km to the south, where homes in Dunedin were evacuated around a “location of interest”.
Ardern said some of the victims may have been new immigrants and refugees. “They are us,” she said. “The person who has perpetuated this violence against us is not. They have no place in New Zealand.”
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said an Australian national arrested after the attack was an “extremist, right-wing violent terrorist”.
A city of about 400 000 people, Christchurch has a small Islamic community, including overseas students.
The world’s largest organisation representing Muslim nations, the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation, has condemned the attack. Its secretarygeneral Youssef al-Othaimeen, said the attack “served as a further warning on the obvious dangers of hate, intolerance, and Islamophobia”.
Britain’s Queen Elizabeth, the head of state of New Zealand, said in a statement: “I have been deeply saddened by the appalling events in Christchurch today. Prince Philip and I send our condolences to the families and friends of those who have lost their lives.”
Pope Francis says he was “deeply saddened” by “the senseless acts of violence”.
A Vatican statement said the pope “assures all New Zealanders, and in particular the Muslim community, of his heartfelt solidarity in the wake of these attacks”.
“His Holiness prays for the healing of the injured, the consolation of those who grieve the loss of their loved ones, and for all affected by this tragedy.”
US President Trump expressed his sympathy to the victims and offered the government’s support.
In Europe, German Chancellor Merkel said she was deeply saddened: “I mourn with the New Zealanders for their fellow citizens who were attacked and murdered out of racist hatred while peacefully praying in their mosques. We stand together against such acts of terrorism.”
The European Commission said: “This senseless act of brutality on innocent people in their place of worship could not be more opposite to the values and the culture of peace and unity that the European Union shares with New Zealand.”
EU Council president Donald Tusk said New Zealand has Europe’s “solidarity”. “Harrowing news from New Zealand overnight. The brutal attack in Christchurch will never diminish the tolerance and decency that New Zealand is famous for. Our thoughts in Europe are with the victims and their families,” he tweeted.
Sadiq Khan, the first Muslim mayor of London, said Londoners stood shoulder to shoulder with the people of Christchurch.
“When the flames of hatred are fanned, when people are demonised because of their faith, when people’s fears are played on rather than addressed, the consequences are deadly as we have seen so sadly today,” he said.
The prime minister of Norway, which saw 77 people killed in a far-right attack eight years ago, has expressed solidarity with New Zealand.
Erna Solberg told Norwegian broadcaster NRK that “although it is across the globe, this is a strong reminder of how important it is for all of us to help bring down tensions, work against extremism, and that we show solidarity with each other when something like that happens”.
In July 2011, confessed Norwegian right-wing extremist Anders Behring Breivik killed 77 people.
Like the presumed New Zealand attacker, he posted a manifesto online before the attacks.
“This looks like it is a terrorist attack from the extreme right against immigrants and refugees,” Solberg said, adding it is “a reminder that we have to fight extremism in all forms”.
France reacted by increasing security measures at mosques and other religious sites after the attack in New Zealand.
French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner tweeted yesterday that he had ordered regional prefects to send patrols and reinforce surveillance of places of worship “as a precaution”.
French President Emmanuel Macron, also in a tweet, denounced the “odious crimes against the mosques in New Zealand” and said that France would work with international partners to fight terrorism.
France is home to western Europe’s largest Muslim community.
Ordinary people across the world expressed horror over a live, point-ofview video posted online showing a gunman involved in the attack killing any person he came across in a mosque with his semi-automatic assault rifle.
“Feeling very sick, that person is brainless and a savage,” said one Indonesian Twitter user who identified himself as Farhan Adhitama. |