INL May 1 2019 Digital Edition

02
MAY 1, 2019
Homelink
Unified global action imperative to combat terrorist attacks
Priyanca Radhakrishnan
On Easter Sunday (April
21, 2019), in a series of
coordinated bomb blasts
in Churches and luxury
Hotels across Sri Lanka, lives of
about 250 people were taken and
many hundred more were injured.
It was yet another targeted, violent
attack on people who were on
holiday and at places of Worship on
what was arguably the Holiest Day
for Christians.
Our Prime Minister, Jacinda
Ardern, issued a statement that
condemned the violence and reiterated
New Zealand’s strengthened
resolve to reject terrorism after the
attacks in Christchurch. She also
emphasised the need for the global
community to collectively find
the will and answers to end such
violence.
Reflecting on changes
As I attended vigils organised by
members of Auckland’s Sri Lankan
communities and heard them discuss
what victims and their families
would need in the coming weeks
and months, Ialso reflected on the
changes made in New Zealand over
the last month.
Our government has moved
swiftly in the wake of the
Christchurch attacks.
Soon after the attacks, the PM
announced that there would be a
Royal Commission of Inquiry into
the attacks – this level of formal
inquiry is usually reserved for
the most serious matters of public
importance.
The Royal Commission will
inquire into what relevant state
sector agencies knew about the terrorist’s
activities before the attack;
what, if anything, they did with
that information; what measures
agencies could have taken to prevent
this attack and what measures
agencies should take to prevent
such attacks in the future.
Gun Laws reformed
Less than a month after the deadliest
shootings in New Zealand’s
modern history, Parliament voted
almost unanimously to reform our
gun laws.
The Arms (Prohibited Firearms,
Magazines and parts) Amendment
Bill (the Bill) that was passed on
April 10, 2019, resulted in a ban
on all semi-automatic and military-style
weapons. All weapons
used in the Christchurch terrorist
attacks were banned.
I was in the Debating Chamber as
the Bill was read for the third and
final time and was passed almost
unanimously. I felt proud to be
supporting a government that acted
swiftly and with compassion.
I felt sad that it took a massacre
of this scale to prompt gun law
reform when there have been so
many failed attempts to do just that
in recent years.
I also felt hope because when
both sides of the House work
together towards a common good
Officials inspect the damaged St Sebastian’s Church in Negombo, north of Colombo, which
was another of the Churches attacked in the bombings on Easter Sunday. Photo: AFP/Chamila
Karunarathne/Anadolu Agency
we can achieve so much for the
people who elected us.
There is so much more that can
be achieved with collective global
action.
Social Media Responsibility
In her statement in Parliament,
just days after the Christchurch
attacks Ms Ardern pledged to look
at the role social media played
and the steps that New Zealand
could take, including on the global
stage, to ensure that social media
platforms took some responsibility
in the fight against terrorism.
She said, “We cannot simply
sit back and accept that these
platforms just exist and that what
is said on them is not the responsibility
of the place where they are
published. They are the publisher.
Not just the postman.”
The Christchurch Call
Last week, she announced that
New Zealand would work with
France to bring together world
leaders and tech companies
to agree to a pledge called the
‘Christchurch Call’ to eliminate
terrorist and violent extremist
content online.
She acknowledged the benefits
of social media platforms in
connecting people and emphasised
that those aspects should continue.
However, it is possible to also use
those platforms to incite violence
and to distribute images of that
violence, as was the case during the
Christchurch attacks.
While other countries like
Australia, Germany and the United
Kingdom have already begun to
take action locally against social
media platforms that distribute
harmful content, an issue of this
scale requires collective global
action.
An inclusive society
We also need to take collective
action to build a more inclusive
society here in Aotearoa so that the
hate and ‘othering’ that underpins
extremist violence and terrorism
are stamped out.
During the recent Easter
weekend, I attended a community
gathering organised by the Somali
Education and Development Trust
that was aimed at starting a conversation
on some practical steps we
could take to build a more peaceful,
inclusive society.
There were many good speeches
and suggestions, including a short
but powerful one by Chinwe
Akomah, President of the African
Communities Forum who said that
we should all make a conscious
effort to step out of our comfort
zones and speak to people who are
different from us. They may belong
to a different ethnic or religious
community; they may come from
a different walk of life or have different
perspectives. Let’s all make it
a point to seek them out and learn
more about them.
That is one simple, tangible step
that we can all take in an attempt to
make our society a more inclusive
one that celebrates and learns from
our diversity.
Priyanca Radhakrishnan is a
Member of Parliament on Labour
List representing Maungakiekie,
Auckland.
Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi
National List MPbasedd in
Manukau East
Contact
A
P
F
E
1/131 Kolmar Road, Papatoetoe, Auckland
09 278 9302
09 278 2143
bakshi.mp@parliament.govt.nz
facebook.com/bakshiks
@bakshiks
bakshi.co.nz
Funded by the Parliamentary Service. Authorised by Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi MP, 1/131 Kolmar Road, Papatoetoe.