Communities across Brighton & Hove stand together with One Voice following Christchurch massacre.
FOLLOWING the incidents at the Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Islamic Centre in New Zealand early this morning, Brighton’s One Voice Partnership have issued a statement strongly condemning this act of violence against innocent people.
The partnership will not tolerate violence against innocent people, wherever it takes place speaking with one voice against extremist perspectives and terrorist actions in the city and elsewhere.
A spokesperson for the partnership said: “The incident at the Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Islamic Centre in New Zealand has deeply shocked and saddened us all. We send our deepest sympathies to the families of those who have lost their loved ones, those who have been injured, and all affected communities. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families.
“We praise and reiterate the advice given by our Muslim community leaders ‘please don’t watch the distressing video and importantly please do not share the manifesto and other information as sharing will assist in promoting the attackers message further and promoting hate further.
“The Brighton & Hove ‘One Voice Partnership’ reaffirms that communities, council and police stand together in solidarity with our Muslim communities following the tragic incident in Christchurch, New Zealand. We stand firm that these acts of violence, Islamophobia and hate must not go any further. We stand together to counter the threat from the far right.
“It’s now even more important for all our communities to demonstrate that we will not let any terrorist action divide us and continue our great tradition of unity and respect for all. We must look out and care for each other and ensure that individuals, communities and places of worship are not singled out in our city.
“One Voice Partnership urges all our communities to stand together as one to stop these acts of violence and hatred from carrying on further and work together to stop Islamophobia, racist and other hate incidents.”
The leaders of the four political groups (Cllr Dan Yates – Labour and Co-operative Group; Cllr Tony Janio – Conservative, Cllr Phélim Mac Cafferty – Greens and Cllr Warren Morgan – Independent Group) on Brighton & Hove City Council have issued a joint statement.
The statement reads: “We are deeply shocked and saddened by the acts of terror which have killed and injured so many innocent people whilst they worshiped.
“We send our sincere condolences to the families of those who have lost their lives, those who have been injured, and all affected. We also send our best wishes for a fast and full recovery to everyone who was injured.”
“We repeat our commitment to unity. We stand together; strong in compassion with people from all faiths and backgrounds. Division and hatred drives people into the ranks of those trying to recruit support to their terror campaigns. We will not let this happen.”
As a sign of respect flags have flown at half-mast today and will do over the weekend at both of the city’s town halls.
Reporting Suspicious Activities
Sussex Police and Brighton & Hove City Council ask all residents and communities to remain aware to and to report any suspicious behaviour or activity immediately by calling the confidential anti-terrorist hotline on 0800 789 321 or in an emergency dial 999.
You can also report online to Sussex Police at sussex.police.uk/contact-us/report-online.
For further information and support, click here: or view:
Reporting Hate Incidents and Seeking Support
One Voice members encourage all residents and communities to report any racist, religiously motivated or other hate incidents within our communities.
To report all hate incidents click here:
If you are worried or concerned about how todays incidents have affected you or any of your communities, advise: Nahida.Shaikh@brighton-hove.gov.uk) and she will ensure that together with other statutory partners the city responds to community concerns.
You must be logged in to post a comment.