April 4, 2019
NEW DELHI: The Dalai Lama has said New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern
is "wonderful" and "a living example" of compassion. Addressing a press conference
here on Thursday, he praised the way Ardern handled the shooting incident at
Christchurch.
"I really admire the New Zealand Prime Minister, that lady. She is wonderful.
So, that is a living example, and everyone can learn from that," he said.
Fifty people were killed in a terror attack on two mosques in Christchurch
last month by a White Supremacist extremist.
Ardern's humane approach in the aftermath of the violence like the way she
consoled the grieving families had received worldwide applause.
Following the shooting incident, the Dalai Lama had also expressed his deep
sadness through a letter last month to the New Zealand Prime Minister.
He wrote, “I applaud the way you and the people of New Zealand have reached
out with compassion and support to members of the Muslim community among you.
It is encouraging too that across the world, people of all faiths are visiting
mosques in solidarity with Muslims after the Christchurch shootings.
“Your Government's determination to reform gun laws will contribute to peace
and security, but equally important is to resist hatred and fear by cultivating
warm-heartedness as you have shown,” His Holiness said in his letter.
Meanwhile, on Friday morning local time in New Zealand, Brenton Tarrant, 28,
the Australian accused of the shooting, appeared via video link in the Christchurch
High Court. He was formally charged. Tarrant appeared on screen, handcuffed.
He looked relaxed. The court ordered a mental health assessment as is the practice
to determine the fitness for trial. He will appear next on June 14.
Sobbing relatives of those killed had assembled in the court.
Tarrant was arrested soon after the crime on March 15 and produced in the court
the next day.
