"The acts of the shooter are sadistic and inhuman," he told local journalists in response to the brutal shootings at two mosques in Christchurch on March 15, killing 50 people, including an Indonesian citizen, and wounding 50 others.
Muhammad Hatta said that as human beings, all people should respect one another, and as followers of different religions, they are not allowed to hurt one another. What Brenton Tarrant, a 28-year-old Australian man, did was really a very serious crime.
Tarrant had planned his brutal shootings at Muslim worshippers. He even live streamed his attacks on them at two mosques. For his acts of crime, Hatta urged the New Zealand Government and Court authorities to punish him severely.
Al Jazeera reported that Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison described Tarrant as an "extremist, right-wing, violent terrorist".
The Indonesian government condemned Tarrant's brutal shootings at two mosques in Christchurch last Friday.
Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla believed that the shootings were well organized and planned criminal acts, as the attacker had even installed a camera to enable him to live stream the shooting at his targeted mosque.
"We pray for the victims. We also strongly condemn the attackers. According to information, four people were involved in the shootings. It reveals that this crime was really well organized and well planned," he stated in Jakarta on the day the shootings occurred.
According to Foreign Minister Retno L. P. Marsudi, six Indonesian citizens were inside the mosque when the shootings occurred. Three of them survived the shootings. However, one got killed, and two others sustained injuries. The dead Indonesian was identified as Lilik Abdul Hamid
Following the terrorist attacks, all Indonesians living in Christchurch and other cities in New Zealand had been advised to remain cautious and to maintain vigil. According to the Foreign Ministry, of the 331 Indonesians in Christchurch, 134 are students.
The Guardian reported that New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern called the incident, which occurred when Muslims were performing their Friday prayers at the mosques, as "one of New Zealand's darkest days".
Translator: Munawar Mandailing, Rahmad Nas
Editor: Sri Haryati
Copyright © ANTARA 2019
