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WELLINGTON (Reuters) – New Zealand’s security agencies focused “almost exclusively” on the perceived threat of Islamist terrorism before a white supremacist gunman killed 51 Muslim worshipers last year, according to a report on the worst massacre in the world. country.
The Royal Commission of Inquiry also criticized police for failing to enforce proper controls when granting a firearms license to Australian gunman Brenton Tarrant, who posted a racist manifesto shortly before the attack and broadcast the shots live on Facebook.
But despite the shortcomings, the report found no flaws within government agencies that would have prevented the attack on two mosques in Christchurch on March 15, 2019.
“The commission did not conclude that these problems would have stopped the attack. But both were flaws and for that I apologize,” Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said after the report was released.
Tarrant was sentenced to life in prison without parole in August for the attack, which left dozens of injuries.
Ardern received worldwide praise for his compassionate response to the attack and for swiftly banning the sale of the high-capacity semi-automatic weapons used by Tarrant. He also launched a global movement against extremism online.
However, the authorities were criticized for ignoring repeated warnings from the Muslim community that hate crimes against them were increasing.
The 800-page report said there was an “inappropriate concentration of resources” on the threat of extremist Islamist terrorism.
Submissions to the commission from various Muslim organizations described how they felt attacked by security agencies, while threats against them were not taken seriously.
“We are concerned that the commissioners have found systemic flaws and an inappropriate concentration of resources towards Islamic terrorism, yet they claim that these would not have made a difference for the terrorist to be detected prior to the event,” said the Council of Islamic Women in statement.
The report said there was no plausible way Tarrant’s plans could have been detected “except by chance.”
Gamal Fouda, the imam of the Al Noor mosque who was targeted by the attacker, said the report shows that there is “institutional bias and unconscious bias” in government agencies.
HATE CRIMES
The government accepted the report’s 44 recommendations, including the establishment of a new national intelligence and security agency and the appointment of a minister to coordinate the government’s response.
He said he would create an Ethnic Communities Ministry and Ethnic Communities Graduate Program to support the country’s diverse population.
The government would also toughen firearm licensing laws, strengthen counterterrorism laws, and make changes so that police can better record and respond to hate crimes.
The report found that despite having no record in New Zealand, the police approved Tarrant’s application for a firearms license.
It recommended mandatory reporting of firearm injuries by healthcare professionals, after it was revealed that Tarrant was treated by doctors in the months leading up to the attack after accidentally shooting himself.
SOCIAL ISOLATION
The report described Tarrant as “socially isolated” with few childhood friends, but an avid internet user and online gamer.
Before arriving in New Zealand in August 2017, he traveled extensively, visiting dozens of countries between 2014 and 2017, mostly alone.
“The individual was able to present himself well and behave in a manner that did not raise suspicions. He was not identified as someone who posed a threat,” the report says.
Other than an email that Tarrant sent eight minutes before he opened fire, there was no other information available that could have alerted authorities to the attack, he said.
Tarrant trained for the attack in New Zealand by developing weapons experience at a rifle club, working out at a gym and taking steroids to bulk up, according to the report.
He frequented far-right discussion boards like 4chan and 8chan, but YouTube was a much more important source of information and inspiration.
Ardern said he planned to raise this directly with YouTube leadership.
(Praveen Menon report; Lincoln Feast edition.)
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