Speaking to her nation’s Parliament for the first time since last week’s terror attacks on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern called on the world to deny the gunman the fame he was seeking.
“That’s why you will never hear me mention his name,” Ardern said. “He is a terrorist, he is a criminal, he is an extremist. But he will, when I speak, be nameless.”
“He may have sought notoriety, but we in New Zealand will give him nothing. Not even his name,” she added.
She assured her fellow Kiwis that the “families of the fallen will have justice.” She also said that authorities will be studying the role social media played in the gunman’s radicalization.
“They are the publisher, not just the postman,” she said, referring to tech companies. “There cannot be the case of all profit, no responsibility.”
Ardern reiterated her commitment to changing New Zealand’s current gun laws, saying that “some decisions” will be coming before her Cabinet meets again this Monday.
The PM’s new resolve has the country’s gun owners wondering what’s coming next. NPR reports that one change could come in the form of restrictions on purchases and modifications of semi-automatic weapons.
Ardern’s actions in the wake of the tragedy have been getting worldwide praise. On Monday, she reaffirmed her country’s commitment to being a welcoming home to immigrants.
“They are New Zealand,” she said. “They are us.”
Fifty people have now been confirmed killed in the attack, with some 30 still hospitalized.
Featured image via screen grab/Guardian News
