Jacinda Ardern commemorates two years since Christchurch mosque massacre

Names of all 51 people who lost their lives that day read aloud

New Zealand’s Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern on Saturday spoke at a remembrance service on the second anniversary of the Christchurch Massacre.

On March 15 2019, on one of the country’s most traumatic days, 51 worshipers were killed at two Christchurch mosques by a white supremacist gunman, Australian Brenton Tarrant. 

Ms Ardern addressed several hundred people who had gathered at the Christchurch Arena on Saturday, telling the crowd she had been lost for words while preparing her speech because nothing she could say could “change what happened”.

“But while words cannot perform miracles, they do have the power to heal,” she said.

She said the Muslim community had experienced hatred and racism even before the attacks and words should be used for change.

“There will be an unquestionable legacy from March 15,” Ardern said. “Much of it will be heartbreaking. But it is never too early or too late for the legacy to be a more inclusive nation.”

The service, which was similar to the service planned last year that had to be cancelled due to coronavirus, was also livestreamed for those not able to make it to the event. 

The names of all 51 people who lost their lives that day were read aloud at the service, and the efforts of police and medics were also commemorated. 

Speaking at the service, Kiran Munir, whose husband Haroon Mahmood was killed in the attacks, told the crowd she had lost the love of her life and her soulmate and called the day of the attack “the darkest day in New Zealand’s history”.

She said: “Little did I know that the next time I would see him the body and soul would not be together.

“Little did I know that the darkest day in New Zealand’s history had dawned. That day my heart broke into a thousand pieces, just like the hearts of the 50 other families.”

Temel Atacocugu, who survived being shot nine times during the attack on the Al Noor mosque, said the slaughter was caused by racism and ignorance and that the hearts of survivors would never be the same. 

“However, the future is in our hands,” he said. “We will go on and we will be positive together.”

In the 15 March, 2019, attacks, Australian Brenton Tarrant killed 44 people at the Al Noor mosque during Friday prayers before driving to the Linwood mosque, where he killed seven more.

Last year Tarrant, 30, pleaded guilty to 51 counts of murder, 40 counts of attempted murder and one count of terrorism, He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

After the attacks, New Zealand quickly passed new laws banning the deadliest types of semiautomatic weapons.

Last December, an inquiry into the attack found it was unpreventable, despite the shortcomings of various agencies, because there were no signs the attack was imminent. 

It did, however, detail failings in the police system for vetting gun licenses, and said that New Zealand’s intelligence agencies were focused on the threat posed by Islamic extremism rather than white supremacists.

Ms Arden apologised at the time for the failings and said the government had agreed to implement all of the recommendations given by the inquiry, including setting up a are national intelligence agency.