New Zealand leader vows to deny notoriety to mosque gunman
CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand — He took away New Zealand’s innocence, along with 50 precious lives. And in exchange, the country’s prime minister vowed to take away the one thing the gunman so clearly craves: fame.
In a passionate speech laced with steely resolve, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Tuesday urged her wounded nation to remember the victims slain in last week’s attacks on two mosques but to never speak the name of the white supremacist responsible.
“He is a terrorist. He is a criminal. He is an extremist. But he will, when I speak, be nameless,” Ardern said in an address to Parliament.
“He may have sought notoriety, but we in New Zealand will give him nothing — not even his name.”
Ardern’s comments came after the Australian man accused of carrying out the attacks dismissed his lawyer, opting instead to represent himself. That has raised concerns he will use the trial as a platform for his racist views.
Speaking to reporters earlier in the day, Ardern said she would do everything possible to ensure that the gunman was denied any chance to lift his profile. But she demurred when asked whether she wanted the trial to occur behind closed doors, saying that was not her decision to make.
The shooter’s desire for attention was made clear in a manifesto sent to Ardern’s office and others minutes before Friday’s massacre and by his livestreamed footage of his attack on the Al Noor mosque.
The video prompted widespread revulsion and condemnation. Facebook said it removed 1.5 million versions of the video during the first 24 hours, but Ardern expressed frustration that the footage remained online, four days later.
“We have been in contact with Facebook; they have given us updates on their efforts to have it removed, but as I say, it’s our view that it cannot — should not — be distributed, available, able to be viewed,” she said. “It is horrendous and while they’ve given us those assurances, ultimately the responsibility does sit with them.”
Arden said she had received “some communication” from Facebook’s Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg on the issue. The prime minister has also spoken with British Prime Minister Theresa May about the importance of a global effort to clamp down on the distribution of such material.