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The Maori Party has distanced itself from the remarks of its former candidate Derek Fox on the Charlie Hebdo massacre.
The veteran journalist said yesterday's attack by suspected Islamist gunmen on the offices of the French satirical newspaper was a response to the racism and bigotry of its editorial content.
The Paris offices were firebombed in 2011 after the newspaper ran a cartoon of the prophet Mohamed, but it continued to run similar cartoons.
Maori Party co-leader Te Ururoa Flavell says the murder of 12 people was a mindless and brutal act.
"Our aroha goes out to those families who have lost their loved ones and the people of France who will be mourning at this time," he says.
Co-leader Marama Fox says the Maori Party does not condone any form of violence.
"We understand that this devastating action is politically motivated. We do not accept that there is ever a reason for people to kill others because they hold and express a different view to their own," she says.
Copyright © 2015, UMA Broadcasting Ltd: www.waateanews.com
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