New Zealand is a peaceful little country in the South Pacific and it received world attention for all the wrong reasons on March 15 last year. Brenton Tarrant, a 29 year old Australian who had migrated to that country went on a shooting rampage that left fifty-one people dead and many others wounded. It was a hate crime that shocked the world and now Tarrant is facing justice in the New Zealand court system.
Tarrant is facing fifty-one charges of murder, forty charges of attempted murder and a charge of engaging in a terrorist act in the High Court in Christchurch, the city in which he committed these crimes. Appearing by video link from prison, he changed his plea from " not guilty " to " guilty " and this will save relatives of his victims from enduring a long trial in which the ghastly events of mass murder will be played out in court.
This was a crime that people on both sides of the Tasman sea are unable to understand. Tarrant is both a white supremacist and a religious bigot. He amassed an arsenal of guns, ammunition and petrol bombs and drove from his Dunedin home on March 15 to the Al-Noor mosque where Friday prayers were being held. He sprayed automatic gunfire on those at prayer, got back in his car and drove across town to the Linwood mosque where he repeated that shooting spree. He was on his way to a third mosque when police rammed his car and arrested him.
In all other respects, Tarrant seems to be a perfectly sane, ordinary citizen and unfortunately there are others with his outlook on both sides of the Tasman. Not only did he commit mass murder, he filmed those events as they happened and brought the crime to world attention by posting it live on the internet. There is no doubt those with similar interests will be encouraged to consider similar crimes. It will have appeal to those who detest skin colour that is other than white and hate the Muslim religion.
Tarrant is yet to be sentenced, but both Australia and New Zealand have ended death sentences and the only outcome will be for this mass murderer to be locked away for the rest of his natural life.He will be considered a martyr by those with a similar white supremacist, racist outlook and will no doubt continue to spread his views within the New Zealand prison system.
Sadly, the democracy under which we live allows residents to hold view that are repugnant to their fellow citizens. Our freedom of speech law allows them to spread those views openly.and the law only comes to our aid when a crime similar to that which happened in New Zealand brings death and harm to victims of that style of thinking..
In some parts of the world the " secret police " are active in discovering thinking that is itself a crime and removing those people from society. This New Zealand crime is the price we have to pay for allowing freedom of thought.
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