{"id":15139,"date":"2019-03-20T10:22:32","date_gmt":"2019-03-20T02:22:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.namnewsnetwork.org\/?p=15139"},"modified":"2019-03-20T10:24:13","modified_gmt":"2019-03-20T02:24:13","slug":"funerals-begin-for-new-zealand-mosques-massacre-victims","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/?p=15139","title":{"rendered":"Funerals begin for New Zealand mosques massacre victims"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-twitter wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">We utterly reject the ideology that led to this horrific attack on people at prayer. We are grateful for the show of solidarity and support pouring in from around the world, including from our friends in Islamic nations.  <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Christchurch?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Christchurch<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/NewZealand?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#NewZealand<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/lQ6hjOTGF9\">pic.twitter.com\/lQ6hjOTGF9<\/a><\/p>&mdash; New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs &amp; Trade (@MFATNZ) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MFATNZ\/status\/1107840585627385856?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 19, 2019<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>CHRISTCHURCH, March 20 (NNN-AGENCIES)  -Hundreds of mourners gathered in a Christchurch cemetery on Wednesday for the first funerals of those killed in the twin mosque massacre as New Zealanders braced for days of emotional farewells following the mass slayings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>An Australian white supremacist gunman shot down 50 Muslim worshippers at two mosques in the southern city of Christchurch last Friday in a killing spree he broadcast live.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On Wednesday morning hundreds of mostly Muslim mourners gathered at a cemetery not far from Linwood Mosque, the second of the two places of worship targeted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p> They hugged and embraced each other, milling under a large marquee next to rows of freshly dug graves. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"615\" src=\"http:\/\/www.namnewsnetwork.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/CHRISTCHURCH-1024x615.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-14676\" srcset=\"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/CHRISTCHURCH-1024x615.jpg 1024w, http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/CHRISTCHURCH-300x180.jpg 300w, http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/CHRISTCHURCH-768x461.jpg 768w, http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/CHRISTCHURCH-600x360.jpg 600w, http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/CHRISTCHURCH.jpg 1839w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>Photo courtesy PTI<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Among those in attendance was Abdul Aziz, an Afghan refugee who bravely confronted the gunman at Linwood Mosque. He was hugged by many mourners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Council officials did not release the names of who was being buried but some of those attending told they had been informed two people were being laid to rest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAfter a short time for prayers, family and friends will carry the body to the grave site where it will be laid to rest,\u201d council official Jocelyn Ritchie told reporters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Muslims whose loved ones were gunned down have had their grief compounded by the failure of authorities to return bodies to families in time for a speedy burial, as required under Islamic custom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Only six of the 50 victims have been returned to their families so far.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Authorities say they are doing all they can to speed up autopsies and the formal identification of those killed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Police commissioner Mike Bush said that the process had been slow because of the need to identify victims conclusively and to avoid hindering the prosecution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a briefing on Wednesday, he said he hoped a further six bodies would be returned to families by midday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So far 21 victims have been formally identified by the coroners, he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe are doing all we can to undertake this work as quickly as possible and return the victims to their loved ones,\u201d police said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhile identification may seem straightforward the reality is much more complex, particularly in a situation like this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3>SAD MOMENT<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The killings have sparked outrage and revulsion in New Zealand as well as a debate about the country\u2019s comparatively permissive gun laws and whether authorities have done enough to track far-right extremists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Wednesday visited Cashmere High School, which lost two students in the shootings: Sayyad Milne, 14 and Hamza Mustafa, a 16-year-old refugee from Syria who died alongside his father at Al Noor mosque.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Asked by a student how she felt, Ardern replied simply: \u201cI am sad\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A day earlier Ardern vowed gunman Brenton Tarrant would face the \u201cfull force of the law\u201d as she opened a sombre session of parliament with an evocative \u201cas-salaam alaikum\u201d message of peace to Muslims.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But she pledged that she, and much of New Zealand, would deprive the 28-year-old gunman of the publicity he craved by never uttering his name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cHe is a terrorist. He is a criminal. He is an extremist. But he will, when I speak, be nameless,\u201d she told assembled lawmakers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI implore you: Speak the names of those who were lost rather than the name of the man who took them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3>FAMILIES GATHER<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Dozens of relatives of the deceased have begun arriving from around the world, some hoping to take bodies back with them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Of the six bodies released so far, four are expected to be repatriated overseas, council officials said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Javed Dadabhai, who travelled from Auckland to help bury his cousin, said families and volunteers had been warned of a slow process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe majority of people still have not had the opportunity to see their family members,\u201d he told<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a rambling \u201cmanifesto,\u201d the gunman had said he was motivated partly by a desire to stoke a violent response from Muslims and a religious war between Islam and the West.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Islamic State group, in a message on social media, appeared to encourage retaliatory attacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe scenes of killing in the two mosques&#8230; incite members of the caliphate living there to avenge their religion and the children of the umma (Muslims) who are being slaughtered in all corners of the earth with the sponsorship and blessing of the Crusader countries,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Following the mass shooting, Ardern has promised to reform New Zealand laws that allowed the gunman to legally purchase weapons used in the attack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>New Zealanders have already begun answering government appeals to hand in their weapons, including John Hart, a farmer in the North Island district of Masterton.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hart said it was an easy decision for him to hand in his semi-automatic and tweeted: \u201con the farm they are a useful tool in some circumstances, but my convenience doesn\u2019t outweigh the risk of misuse. We don\u2019t need these in our country.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The tweet drew a barrage of derogatory messages to his Facebook account \u2014 most apparently from the US, where the pro-gun lobby is powerful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ardern has said details of the proposed reform will be announced by next week, but she indicated they could include gun buybacks and a ban on some semi-automatic rifles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-twitter wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Following the attack in Christchurch last Friday, we&#39;ve made temporary changes to some of Parliament&#39;s processes and protocols. We&#39;ll continue to update these as the week goes on. Our thoughts remain with everyone affected by this tragedy. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/4kI30jCzEK\">https:\/\/t.co\/4kI30jCzEK<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/nzpol?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#nzpol<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/6dqe5QBTo4\">pic.twitter.com\/6dqe5QBTo4<\/a><\/p>&mdash; NZ Parliament (@NZParliament) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NZParliament\/status\/1107499845089026048?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 18, 2019<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>CHRISTCHURCH, March 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) -Hundreds of mourners gathered in a Christchurch cemetery on Wednesday for the first funerals of those killed in the twin mosque massacre as New Zealanders braced for days of emotional farewells following the mass slayings. An Australian white supremacist gunman shot down 50 Muslim worshippers at two mosques in the southern [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":15146,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[215,296],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15139"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15139"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15139\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/15146"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15139"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15139"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15139"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}