Australia's government plans to censure a far-right senator who claimed Muslim immigration was to blame for the New Zealand mosque attacks. The Islamophobic comments also caught the attention of a teenager with an egg.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo
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Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced Saturday that the government would censure Senator Fraser Anning over his "appalling" comments about the mosque shootings in southern New Zealand.
Anning, a far-right, independent politician from the state of Queensland, sparked outrage in the massacre's aftermath when he wrote on Twitter, "Does anyone still dispute the link between Muslim immigration and violence?"
The terror attacks targeting mosques in the city of Christchurch on Friday killed 50 Muslim worshippers and injured dozens of others.
Anning later released a statement denouncing the shooting, but insisted "the real cause of the bloodshed" was "the immigration program which allowed Muslim fanatics to migrate to New Zealand in the first place."
Morrison said his conservative coalition government and the opposition Labor party had agreed to pass a bipartisan censure motion against Anning when Parliament returns in April.
"I would normally not want to give this any oxygen, but I want to absolutely and completely denounce the statements made by Senator Anning ... in his attack on Islamic faith specifically," the prime minister said.
"These comments are appalling and they're ugly, and they have no place in Australia ... let alone the Australian Parliament," Morrison added. "He should be, frankly, ashamed of himself."
Given that Anning is an independent politician, censure is the strongest action the two major parties can take against him.
Egged by teen
The senator's comments also appeared to rile a 17-year-old protester, who smashed a raw egg on the back of Anning's head during a Melbourne press conference on Saturday.
The incident, which was captured on camera, showed the politician spin around and punch the boy in the face before they could both be restrained. A police statement said the boy was arrested but later released without charge.
A GoFundMe page set up to collect donations to cover his legal fees and buy "more eggs" has raised more than AU$3,000 (€1,875; $2,215).
It's not the first time Anning's comments have sparked a furor. In August, he called for a "final solution" to Australian immigration. Critics accused him of making a thinly veiled reference to the Holocaust, but he claimed to be unaware of the phrase's connection to the Nazis' extermination campaign.
Christchurch grieves right-wing terror attack
New Zealand and the world reeled from a right-wing mosque massacre on Friday. The terror shooting left behind grievous scenes.
Image: Reuters/H. Nicholls
'There was blood everywhere'
A witness said "there was blood everywhere," after a right-wing terror attack on two New Zealand mosques killed 50 on Friday. Another witness saw a man in black enter the Al Noor mosque during prayers in Christchurch and heard dozens of shots before fleeing, adding that he saw several dead on the scene. As of Friday afternoon 48 people, including children, were being treated for gunshot wounds.
Image: Reuters/SNPA/M. Hunter
Twin attacks target two mosques
Police asked all mosques across New Zealand to close while they hunted those responsible for the twin attacks. Al Noor mosque (above) is approximately 7 kilometers across the city from Linwood Mosque, the site of the second shooting.
Image: Reuters/SNPA/M. Hunter
City on lockdown
Police initially arrested four people, two of them armed, and later charged one with murder. An Australian man, Brenton Tarrant, is alleged to have filmed himself carrying out the shooting and streamed it on social media. A manifesto was also published online, praising white men who had carried out similar massacres. It also called US President Donald Trump a "symbol of renewed white identity."
Image: Reuters
'Atmosphere of fear'
The attacker's stated aim was to "create an atmosphere of fear" and "incite violence" against Muslims. Police said they recovered several guns from the mosques and two explosive devices in two vehicles at the scene. While the suspects were unknown to police, they said the attack appeared to have been well planned. Police were not searching for other suspects, but were on alert
Image: Reuters
Narrow escape as shock spreads
The world reacted in shock. Anger spread in some countries and security was heightened at prayers at this mosque in Bangladesh as news was released that the Bangladeshi cricket team had narrowly escaped the shooting. The players had arrived at one of the mosques as the attack was unfolding when they heard gunshots.
Image: Reuters/M. Ponir Hossain
'One of New Zealand's darkest days'
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern described the attack as terrorism, calling it "one of New Zealand’s darkest days." "Many directly affected by this shooting may be migrants to New Zealand, they may even be refugees here...They are us. The person who has perpetuated this violence against us is not," she said.
Image: Getty Images/M. Tantrum
World in mourning
Friday sermons across the world were dominated by grief and prayers for the lives lost in the attack. Prayers at the Al Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem (here) mourned the victims. Demonstrations in other major cities such as Sydney, Istanbul and London condemned global terror.
Image: picture-alliance/AA/F. Abu Rmeleh
Dismay at 'senseless violence'
Leaders across the world expressed solidarity with the victims and their families, including Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn outside New Zealand House in London. Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed solidarity against "racist hatred," and Foreign Minister Heiko Maas called it an "attack on all of us." Queen Elizabeth was "deeply saddened," while other leaders expressed their outrage at hate speech.
