Ardern vows to fix accountability for 2019 Christchurch carnage
Sydney, Australia, Dec 7 (efe-epa).- New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Monday vowed that her government would fix the accountability for the Christchurch massacre in a supremacist attacker killed 51 Muslim worshipers in two mosques on Mar.15, 2019.
Ardern was speaking to reporters a day ahead of the release of a report on a royal commission inquiry into the worst terror attack in the country.
She said she ordered the investigation to know if there was any failure of government agencies or if anything could have been done to prevent the attack.
“We cannot deny the opportunity for New Zealand to make sure we learn from this horrific event,” she said.
Australian white supremacist Brenton Tarrant attacked two mosques in the southern city of Christchurch with large-caliber firearms.
He streamed the attack live on social networks.
The New Zealand High Court gave life imprisonment, without the possibility of parole, to Tarrant for terrorism, murder, and attempted murder.
The nearly 800-page probe report has taken about 18 months. It will be tabled in parliament on Tuesday and contains interviews with hundreds of people, including representatives of government agencies, leaders of the Muslim community, and security experts.
The prime minister said the government would announce some of the initial responses, with some recommendations by the Royal Commission that would take time to implement.
“I absolutely appreciate the (Mulsim) community will want to see accountability in terms of implementation. They will want to see who is responsible for coordinating some of those efforts. We will be providing that,” Ardern said.
The prime minister was praised internationally for her handling of the sensitive situation in the aftermath of the carnage and her continuous display of empathy and support for the families of the victims.
Ardern launched a global campaign against the publication of extremist content on social networks and.
She tightened the laws for the possession of semi-automatic weapons and assault rifles in New Zealand and promoted amnesty through which thousands of weapons were handed over to the authorities. EFE-EPA
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