Norway marks 10th anniversary of mass killing in Oslo and Utoya island

Raymond Johansen, Peggy Hessen, Thorbjorn Jagland, Erna Solberg, Jonas Gahr Store, Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette Marit lay floral tributes. Photo / Torstein Boe, NTB via AP

Church bells have rung out across Norway to mark the 10th anniversary of the country’s worst peacetime slaughter as leaders urged renewed efforts to fight the extremism behind the attack that left 77 people dead.

On July 22, 2011, right-wing extremist Anders Breivik set off a bomb in the capital, Oslo, killing eight people. Then he headed to tiny Utoya island, where he stalked the mostly teen members of the Labor Party’s youth wing, killing another 69.

Among those killed was New Zealand-born Sharidyn Svebakk-Bohn, 14 and the mass killing reportedly inspired, in part at least, the attack on mosques in Christchurch on March 15, 2019.

Events were held across the country, including a service in Oslo Cathedral that ended with an initial ringing of bells. Thousands of people gathered outside to mourn the victims.

Crown Princess Mette-Marit, Princess Ingrid Alexandra and Crown Prince Haakon during the memorial service on Utoya island, Norway. Photo / Beate Oma Dahle, NTB via AP

Arriving on crutches, 84-year-old King Harald took his seat for the service beside Queen Sonja at the front of the cathedral for a minute of silence.

Speaking in front of 77 roses arranged in the shape of a heart, Jens Stoltenberg, who was prime minister at the time of the attack, told the congregation that “10 years ago, we met hatred with love, but the hatred is still there”.

Floral tributes lay outside Oslo Cathedral, on the 10-year anniversary of the terrorist attack. Photo / Beate Oma Dahle, NTB scanpix via AP

“The perpetrator was a right-wing extremist. He misused Christian symbols. He grew up in our streets, belonged to the same religion and had the same skin colour as the majority in this country. He was one of us,” Stoltenberg said.

“But he is not one of us, who respects democracy. He is one of those who believe they have the right to kill for their political objectives.”

NATO leader Jens Stoltenberg delivers his speech during the memorial service at Oslo Cathedral. Photo / Torstein Bøe, NTB scanpix via AP

Emotional survivors read aloud the names of the victims at a televised memorial event.
Some parents of the victims reflected on how the country coped with the slaughter, saying that “time does not heal all wounds”.

“[The victims] would be proud of how we reacted after the terror and how the rule of law stood strong,” said Lisbeth Kristine Roeyneland, whose daughter, Synne, was killed by Breivik. Roeyneland now runs the national support group for victims and families.

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“What would those who were so brutally and unfairly killed think of us now 10 years later? I think they would be sad to know that there still are survivors and bereaved with great needs,” Roeyneland said.

Norway’s King Harald and Queen Sonja sing during the memorial service at Oslo Cathedral. Photo / Annika Byrde, NTB scanpix via AP

“I think they would be disappointed in seeing the public debate in many ways has moved in the wrong direction,” she added. “I also think they would be proud of us. Proud of how we reacted in the days after the terrorist attack and how our state under the rule of law firmly stood its ground in the face of brutality.”

Astrid Hoem, a survivor from Utoya who leads the AUF, the youth wing of the centre-left Labor Party, said, “We have not stopped the hatred”, and urged Norway to face up to the racism in the country.

“It is so brutal that it can be difficult to fathom,” Hoem said. “But it’s our responsibility to do so. Because 10 years on, we must speak the truth. We haven’t stopped the hatred. Far-right extremism is still alive. The terrorist was one of us.”

PM Erna Solberg, Crown Prince Haakon Magnus, Crown Princess Mette-Marit, AUF leader Astrid Hoem and National Support Group leader Lisbeth Kristine Royneland. Photo / Geir Olsen, NTB scanpix via AP

She spoke to a group of mourners, including Crown Prince Haakon, Prime Minister Erna Solberg, survivors and families of the victims.

Solberg said it hurt to think back “on that dark July day” and added: “We must not leave hate unchallenged.”

“The terror attack on the 22nd of July was an attack on our democracy,” said Solberg, who has been prime minister since 2013.

“It was a politically motivated terrorist act towards the Labor Party, AUF and their ideas. But it wasn’t just an attack on a political movement. A whole nation was struck. But we rose again. But Norway was changed by an experience which still causes pain.”

Crown Prince Haakon and Princess Ingrid Alexandra with Crown Princess Mette-Marit lay flowers at the July 22 memorial on Utoya. Photo / Torstein Boe, NTB via AP

At a commemorative event on Utoya, Haakon said Norwegians must work together to fight right-wing extremism.

“It is our personal and collective responsibility to work against these forces every day.”

Small boats dotted the water around the island, a reminder of attempts by many residents to rescue people 10 years ago while Breivik fired toward them.

Dignitaries laid flowers at a memorial, inscribed with the names of 69 victims who were killed on the island.

The flowers have become a symbol of the country’s response to the attack, when roses were piled outside Oslo Cathedral in the days after the slaughter. — AP