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World|life|March 19, 2019 / 02:54 PM
New Zealand PM urges her country to make gunman 'nameless'

AKIPRESS.COM - New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, in her first speech to her nation's Parliament after last week's terrorist attacks on two mosques in Christchurch, said the gunman should be denied the publicity he was seeking, NPRreports.

"That's why you will never hear me mention his name," said Ardern. "He is a terrorist, he is a criminal, he is an extremist. But he will, when I speak, be nameless."

The alleged shooter had written a 74-page screed promoting his white supremacist views and had livestreamed his attack on the Al Noor mosque in Christchurch.

"He may have sought notoriety, but we in New Zealand will give him nothing. Not even his name," she said.

Ardern said that that the gunman is an Australian citizen facing one count of murder. She said that other charges will follow, adding, "The families of the fallen will have justice."

The prime minister also said her government "will look at the role social media played" in the publicizing the attacks.

Ardern said it is no longer acceptable for companies operating social media platforms to shirk their responsibility for what is published on their sites.

"They are the publisher, not just the postman," she said. "There cannot be the case of all profit, no responsibility."

Ardern repeated her earlier promise to seek changes in New Zealand's gun laws.

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