The Turkish Foreign Ministry commemorated the victims of the terrorist attack on a Christchurch mosque in New Zealand five years ago, urging a joint global stance against anti-Muslim hatred.
"On the fifth anniversary of the heinous terrorist attack perpetrated in Christchurch, New Zealand on 15 March 2019, we remember with respect the 51 victims, including one Turkish citizen, who lost their lives in the attack, and wish Allah’s mercy upon them," a Foreign Ministry statement said.
The ministry also called on the global community to "take a common stance against anti-Islam tendencies" on the occasion of International Day to Combat Islamophobia.
"We are pleased by the adoption of the resolution today (15 March) by the U.N. General Assembly on measures to combat Islamophobia, which we tabled together with the other member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation," the statement concluded.
On March 15, 2019, Brenton Tarrant, an Australian white supremacist, killed 51 people and injured 40 more at the Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Islamic Centre in Christchurch city.
He was sentenced to life in prison in 2020 without the possibility of parole, in the first such ruling ever handed down in the island country.
Later, the government formed a Royal Commission of Inquiry to find out whether there were any failings by government agencies in the Christchurch mosque attack.
The 792-page report, which took about 18 months to compile, had identified deficiencies in the firearms licensing system, as well as "inappropriate concentration of resources" on the part of security agencies.
It had made a list of recommendations, including changes to how firearms are managed, establishing a new national intelligence and security agency, and a proposal for the police to better identify and respond to hate crimes.
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.
In its initial reaction, Türkiye welcomed the ruling by the New Zealand court sentencing, noting, “Türkiye will continue to maintain its determined and principled stance against all types of discrimination."
After the attacks, New Zealand quickly passed new laws banning the deadliest types of semiautomatic weapons.
