Digital Desk, New Delhi. Following the terrorist attack on Jews celebrating Hanukkah festival on Bondi Beach, Premier Chris Minns of New South Wales state in Australia said on Wednesday that Parliament will be convened next week to pass major reforms in laws related to guns and protests. The attack has shocked the nation and heightened fears of rising anti-Semitism and violent fundamentalism.
People are angry about how weapons were allowed to reach an attacker when he was being investigated for his links to radicals. In view of this, New South Wales state Premier Mins said in a press conference that the Parliament meeting will be called again on December 22 so that immediate reforms can be discussed.
These reforms include limiting the number of firearms a person can be issued and making it more difficult to access certain types of shotguns. The state government will also look at reforming the law to make it difficult for major street protests to take place after terrorist incidents, so that tensions do not escalate further after the incident.
It is noteworthy that among the father-son attackers, 50-year-old Sajid Akram was killed by the police on the spot, while his 24-year-old son Navid Akram, who was injured in the police firing, came out of coma on Tuesday afternoon.
New South Wales Police Commissioner M. Lanyon said police were waiting for the drug to take effect before formally questioning him. Police also said that Naveed has been charged with 59 crimes, including 15 of murder, 40 of attempt to murder with intent to injure people, one of terrorism and other charges. He will be produced in the local court through video link on Monday morning.
Funeral of those killed begins
The funeral rites of those killed in the terrorist attack began on Wednesday. The funeral site is not far from the site of the attack. The atmosphere there was quiet, tense and serious. There was a heavy police presence on the nearby roads and officers were checking the identity cards of people. Jews are usually buried within 24 hours of their death, but funerals have been delayed due to police investigations.
Philippines said the attackers did not receive training there
Philippines National Security Adviser Eduardo Año said on Wednesday that there was no evidence to suggest that the two attackers involved in the Bondi Beach attack received any kind of military training while living in the Philippines. In a statement, Eduardo Año said that merely traveling to the Philippines did not prove allegations of terrorist training and that the length of his stay was not long enough for any kind of meaningful or systematic training.
He said the government was investigating the travel of the two attackers and coordinating with Australian authorities to determine the motive. He dismissed as "outdated" and "misleading" media reports portraying the southern Philippines as a hotspot of violent radicalism.
(With inputs from news agency Reuters)