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Norway Gunman Deems Killings “Atrocious, “Necessary”

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..Norway gunman deems killings “atrocious,”necessary”

By Victoria Klesty and Gwladys Fouche | Reuters – 4 hrs ago

SUNDVOLLEN, Norway (Reuters) – A Norwegian right-wing fanatic who killed at least 92 people believes his acts were atrocious but necessary, his lawyer said, as the nation mourned victims of its worst attacks since World War Two.

Police were investigating on Sunday whether a possible second gunman took part in the shooting massacre and bomb attack on Friday that traumatized a normally peaceful Nordic country.

But they also defended the speed of their response to the second stage of the attack when the gunman was able to shoot unchallenged for a prolonged period on an island outside Oslo, shortly after the huge bomb went off in the capital.

In his first comment via a lawyer since he was arrested, 32-year-old Anders Behring Breivik expressed willingness to explain himself in court at a hearing likely to be held on Monday about extending his custody.

“He has said that he believed the actions were atrocious, but that in his head they were necessary,” lawyer Geir Lippestad told independent TV2 news, adding that his client admitted to both the shootings and the bombing.

Police said Breivik gave himself up to armed officers when they arrived on the small island of Utoeya in a lake about 42 km (26 miles) northwest of Oslo where at least 85 people were gunned down. Most were teenagers and young adults attending a summer camp of the youth wing of Norway’s ruling Labor Party.

About 650 people were on the island when the gunman, wearing a police uniform according to witnesses, opened fire. Police said it took them one hour to stop the massacre from when they first received information about the shootings, the worst by a single gunman in modern times.

RESPONSE TIME

“The response time from when we got the message was quick. There were problems with transport out to the island,” police chief Sveinung Sponheim said, defending the delay.

Witnesses said the gunman picked off his victims at will, forcing youngsters to scatter in panic or to jump into the lake to swim for the mainland.

Breivik was also arrested for the bombing in Oslo’s government district that killed seven people hours earlier. Norway’s toughest sentence is 21 years in jail. Police believe Breivik drove to Utoeya after the explosion in the capital.

Survivors, relatives of those killed and supporters planned a procession to mourn the dead at Sundvollen on Sunday, near the island where the massacre took place.

King Harald is due to attend a service in Oslo cathedral, a few hundred meters (yards) from where a bomb devastated government buildings including the offices of Labor Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg.

Police said they were seeking several missing people and the toll could rise to 98, in the worst case.

Lippestad, speaking late on Saturday, did not give more details of possible motives by Breivik.

Breivik hated “cultural marxists,” wanted a “crusade” against the spread of Islam and liked guns and weightlifting, web postings, acquaintances and officials said.

A video posted on the YouTube website showed several pictures of Breivik, including one of him in a scuba diving outfit pointing an automatic weapon.

“Before we can start our crusade we must do our duty by decimating cultural marxism,” said a caption under the video called “Knights Templar 2083” on the YouTube website, which took down the video on Saturday.

A Norwegian website provided a link to a 1,500 page electronic manifesto which says Breivik was the author. It was not possible to verify who posted the video or wrote the book.

“Once you decide to strike, it is better to kill too many than not enough, or you risk reducing the desired ideological impact of the strike,” the book said.

IMMIGRATION

Norway has traditionally been open to immigration, which has been criticized by the populist Progress Party, of which Breivik was a former member. The Labor Party, whose youth camp Breivik attacked, has long backed multi-culturalism to accommodate Norway’s different ethnic communities.

About 100 people stood solemnly early on Sunday at a makeshift vigil near Oslo’s main church, laying flowers and lighting candles. Soldiers with guns and wearing bullet-proof vests blocked streets leading to the government district.

“We are all in sorrow, everybody is scared,” said Imran Shah, a Norwegian taxi driver of Pakistani heritage, as a light summer drizzle fell on unusually empty Oslo streets.

“At first, people thought Muslims were behind this,” he said, referring to some initial suspicions that the attacks might have been by Al Qaeda, perhaps in protest at NATO-member Norway’s role in Afghanistan or Iraq.

Some terrified survivors of the shooting rampage said bullets came from at least two sides.

“We are not at all certain” about whether he acted alone, police chief Sponheim said. “That is one of the things that the investigation will concentrate on.”

“I heard screams. I heard people begging for their lives and I heard shots. He just blew them away,” Labor Party youth member Erik Kursetgjerde, 18, told Reuters.

“I was certain I was going to die,” he said. “People ran everywhere. They panicked and climbed into trees. People got trampled.”

Breivik, tall and blond, owned a farming company called Breivik Geofarm, which a supply firm said he had used to buy fertilizer — possibly to make the Oslo bomb.

Home-grown anti-government militants have struck elsewhere in the past, notably in the United States, where Timothy McVeigh killed 168 people with a truck bomb in Oklahoma City in 1995.

The district attacked is the heart of power in Norway. But security is not tight in a country unused to such violence and better known for awarding the Nobel Peace Prize and mediating in conflicts, including the Middle East and Sri Lanka.

(Additional reporting by Walter Gibbs, Anna Ringstrom, Henrik Stoelen, Terje Solsvik, Patrick Lannin, Johan Ahlander, Wojciech Moskwa, John Acher and Ole Petter Skonnord in Oslo, William Maclean in London; Writing by Alister Doyle; Editing by Matthew Jones/David Stamp)

Credit: yahoo news

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110722 Norway Attacks: World Reaction To Bombing and Shooting

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22 July 2011

Norway Attacks: World reaction to bombing and shooting

World leaders and other key political figures give their reaction to twin attacks in Norway – a massive bomb blast in the capital Oslo, and a shooting attack on young people at a governing Labour Party youth camp.

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon

The Secretary-General [Ban Ki-moon] was shocked to learn about the large explosion in central Oslo and the shooting that took place in Utoeya today.

He condemns this violence and expresses his condolences to the government of Norway and the families of the victims. The United Nations stands together with the people of Norway at this terrible moment.

Nato Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen

Our solidarity with Norway remains steadfast. Nato countries stand united in the battle against these acts of violence.

On behalf of Nato, I condemn in the strongest possible terms the heinous acts of violence in Norway. I would like to convey my sincere condolences to the Norwegian government, the Norwegian people and the families and loved ones of all those who suffered in these cruel and cowardly acts.

US President Barack Obama

I wanted to personally extend my condolences to the people of Norway. It’s a reminder that the entire international community holds a stake in preventing this kind of terror from occurring. We have to work co-operatively together both on intelligence and in terms of prevention of these kinds of horrible attacks.

British Prime Minister David Cameron
I was outraged to hear about the explosion in Oslo and attack in Utoeya today that have killed and injured innocent people. My thoughts are with the wounded and those who have lost friends and family, and I know everyone in Britain will feel the same.

These attacks are a stark reminder of the threat we all face from terrorism. I have called Prime Minister Stoltenberg this evening to express my sincere condolences and to let him know that our thoughts are with the Norwegian people at this tragic time.

I have offered Britain’s help, including through our close intelligence co-operation. We will work with Norway to hunt the murderers who did this and prevent any more innocent deaths. We can overcome this evil, and we will.

Thorbjorn Jagland, Secretary-General, Council of Europe and former Norwegian PM
My feelings of sympathy go out to the victims of today’s tragic events which have shaken my home country of Norway. The attacks were aimed at the heart of our democratic institutions and our open and peaceful nation. Those responsible for them must be brought to justice.

It appears the attack on the Utoeya youth camp was intended to hurt young citizens who actively engage in our democratic and political society. But we must not be intimidated. We need to work for freedom and democracy every day.

The Oslo bombing has reminded Europeans of the acute threat of terrorism which can strike out at innocent citizens anywhere. The Council of Europe will do all it can to combat terrorism and organised crime together with its international partners.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper

I was shocked and intensely saddened to learn of the attacks in Oslo and Utoya today. Canada stands with Norway on this tragic day.

We deeply regret the loss of life and injuries resulting from the explosion which occurred today in the government quarters… We were also horrified to learn that a gunman has opened fire at a youth camp at Utoya.

Canada condemns these barbarous and senseless acts of violence and our thoughts and prayers are with
the victims, witnesses and all those affected by these attacks.

Credit: BBC News

Momma’s Source: BBC News

110722 Norway Hit By Deadly Bomb and Shooting Attacks

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22 July 2011 Norway hit by deadly bomb and shooting attacks

Norway has been hit by twin attacks – a massive bomb blast in the capital and a shooting attack on young people at a governing Labour Party youth camp.

At least seven people were killed in the bombing, which inflicted huge damage on government buildings in Oslo.

A few hours later a gunman opened fire at the camp on an island outside Oslo, killing at least 10.

The suspected gunman was arrested at the camp and the government have confirmed that he is Norwegian.

Police have said the 32-year-old suspect was also linked with the bomb attack.

Witnesses described the gunman as tall, blonde and say he was dressed as a policeman.

‘Shaken by evil’

Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg, whose Oslo offices were among those damaged by the bomb, described the attacks as “bloody and cowardly”.

He said Norway had been “shaken by evil” but that Norwegian democracy and ideals would not be destroyed.

“We are a small nation and a proud nation. No-one will bomb us to silence, no-one will shoot us to silence,” he said in a televised address.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks.

There are fears the number of dead from both attacks could rise, says the BBC’s Richard Galpin, north of Oslo.

Several people from the camp are still missing and rescue teams have been scouring the waters around the island after dead bodies were reportedly seen in the water.

Eyewitnesses say that after the gunman started shooting, people jumped into the water to try to escape the hail of bullets.

There are concerns more victims may still be inside buildings hit by the initial explosion.

Emergency services have had difficulty accessing these buildings amid concerns about further possible explosions as well as fears the blast may have left buildings unstable.

‘Posed as policeman’

The gunman is reported to have been armed with a handgun, an automatic weapon and a shotgun.

“He travelled on the ferry boat from the mainland over to that little inland island posing as a police officer, saying he was there to do research in connection with the bomb blasts,” NRK journalist Ole Torp told the BBC.

Oslo blast: Your pictures

“He asked people to gather round and then he started shooting, so these young people fled into the bushes and woods and some even swam off the island to get to safety.”

One 15-year-old eyewitness described how she saw what she thought was a police officer open fire.

“He first shot people on the island. Afterward he started shooting people in the water,” youth camp delegate Elise told the Associated Press news agency.

Mr Stoltenberg had been due to visit the camp on Saturday. Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Store, who visited the camp on Thursday, praised those who were attending.

“The country has no finer youth than young people who go for a summer camp doing politics, doing discussions, doing training, doing football, and then they experience this absolutely horrendous act of violence.”

‘No justification’

In Oslo, government officials urged people to stay at home and avoid central areas of the city.

Rubble and glass from shattered windows littered the streets and smoke from the fires drifting across the city could be seen in television footage from the devastated government quarter.

Norway’s prime minister Jens Stoltenberg: “No one will bomb us into silence”

Earlier Egil Vrekke, Assistant Chief Constable of Oslo police, told the BBC the rescue operation in Oslo was ongoing, with large areas still cordoned off as bomb experts established whether there were other devices in the area.

Friday was a public holiday in Norway so although there were hundreds of people in the government offices hit by the blast, they were not as busy as they might usually have been, said State Secretary Kristian Amundsen.

“We have to focus on the rescue operation – there are still people in the building, there are still people in the hospital,” he told the BBC.

Journalist Hanne Taalesen on island attack: “There are reports that youths hid in bushes”

The oil ministry was reportedly among the government buildings hit, while the headquarters of tabloid newspaper VG were also said to have been damaged in the blast, which was heard across the capital.

“It’s complete chaos here. The windows are blown out in all the buildings close by,” NRK journalist Ingunn Andersen told AP.

The US has condemned the “despicable acts of violence” in Oslo, while the President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, said the “acts of cowardice” had no justification.

Our correspondent says that the attacks have been a huge shock for people: Norway has never experienced anything like this in the past and the violence of the past day has left people totally stunned.

Oslo Explosion

Are you in Oslo and did you see what happened? Get in touch and let us know if you witnessed this event. Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7725 100 100 (International).

Analysis
Gordon Corera

Security correspondent, BBC News

——————————————————————————–
The prime minister and justice minister have declined to speculate on a motive behind the attack but police are saying that they believe the car bomb and the shooting are linked and that they have a suspect in custody from Utoeya.

The ministers are confirming he is Norwegian. During the day, after an initial focus on an al-Qaeda link, the possibility of domestic extremism increasingly came into focus.

The choice of targets – government buildings and a political youth rally – suggested a possible political agenda rather than the mass casualty approach typically employed by al-Qaeda.

Constructing a large car bomb requires a degree of sophistication and the crucial factor for the police will be establishing how many people are behind this attack, whether any are still at large and to whom they might be connected.

Credit: Gordon Correra BBC News via Newseurope

Momma’s Source: BBC News