Bodies of NZ victims handed to relatives

Christchurch, March 19

Bodies of six of the Christchurch massacre victims have been released to their families, the New Zealand police said on Tuesday, but they warned only a fraction of the 50 persons killed had been fully identified, with the delay angering anguished relatives.

Muslims whose loved ones were gunned down by an Australian white supremacist at two mosques on last Friday have had their grief compounded by the failure of the authorities to return the bodies to families in time for a speedy burial, as required under the Islamic custom.

The police in Christchurch said only 12 of the 50 victims had been identified, and appeared to warn next of kin to brace for further delays.

“We are doing all we can to undertake this work as quickly as possible and return the victims to their loved ones,” a police statement said.

“While the identification may seem straightforward the reality is much more complex, particularly in a situation like this.” Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern vowed on Tuesday that gunman Brenton Tarrant would face the “full force of the law” as she opened a sombre session of parliament with an evocative “as-salaam alaikum” message of peace to the Muslims.

But the black-clad Ardern pledged to grieving Kiwis that she would deprive the 28-year-old gunman of the publicity he craved by never uttering his name. “That is why you will never hear me mention his name. He is a terrorist. He is a criminal. He is an extremist. — AFP

Won’t take name

That is why you will never hear me mention his name. He is a terrorist. He is a criminal. He is an extremist. But he will, when I speak, be nameless. I implore you: Speak the names of those who were lost rather than the name of the man who took them. — Jacinda Ardern, PM, NZ