NZ PM announces to broadcast ‘Azaan’ nationally on Friday

Monitoring Desk

CHRISTCHURCH: New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Wednesday said Azaan (the call to prayer) will be broadcast nationally along with a two minutes’ silence this Friday to show support to the Muslims community, RNZ reported.

Speaking to media on her second visit to Christchurch since the terror attack, she said there would be a memorial service on Friday.

“While it will be in Christchurch we want to involve the rest of New Zealand. There is a desire to show support to the Muslim community as they return to Mosques, particularly on Friday.”

“To acknowledge this there will be a two minutes’ silence on Friday. We will also broadcast nationally, via TVNZ and RNZ, the call to prayer.”

She said there were a “large number of loopholes” in New Zealand’s gun laws and there were a range of things to be fixed. “Many New Zealanders would be astounded to know that you can access military-style semi-automatics.”

She hoped New Zealand could now demonstrate what could be done with gun control.

She also said New Zealand was not free of white supremacist groups and ultra-right wing extremist groups.

Ms Ardern said policy makers had worked through the night since Friday’s attack, exploring changes to gun control for presentation to cabinet this week.

She said Australia, after the Port Arthur massacre, had changed its laws in 12 days, and New Zealand would do it in less.

Ms Ardern said she was not aware the NRA had been targetting and lobbying in New Zealand. She anticipated that the country’s gunholders and users would be with the government on the issue of regulation.