NAISA Council and 2019 Local Host Committee Statement on Terrorism

March 15, 2019

Ka tangi a Aotearoa ki ngā mahi mōrikarika a te hunga whakaweti. Ka tūwhitia e mātau ngā mahi whakaweti ake, ake. (Aotearoa mourns the heinous crime of terrorism.  We condemn acts of terrorism and always will).

NAISA and the 2019 NAISA Local Host Committee write this message in solidarity with the Muslim community in Aotearoa/New Zealand and elsewhere following the violent and hateful killing of innocent Muslim worshippers at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, yesterday. We offer our prayers and condolences for our Muslim brothers and sisters particularly in the Aotearoa/New Zealand community who have a right to peace and freedom from hatred. Our NAISA community and Indigenous communities more broadly will be deeply saddened and angered by yesterday’s terrorism. Consequently, NAISA and the 2019 Local Host Committee at this time want to clarify our stance against hate speech, against religious intolerance, and against white supremacy in all its forms including the micro-aggressions people of colour face everyday. We wish Aotearoa strength for the healing that must follow.