Survivors relive traumatic day
Source: Agencies |
August 21, 2011, Sunday
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SURVIVORS of the massacre of 69 people in Norway last month carried flowers to the site of the killings, shed tears and laughed together yesterday as they remembered the joys of a youth camp that turned into a horror scene last month.
Norway's criminal police chief said the island was "filled with flowers, candles, pictures, poems and all things the families chose to put down yesterday," after returning from Utoya island which he visited with survivors.
Jon Staale Stamnes said the survivors had "very different" reactions.
"Some had, of course, traumatic experiences and it's clear to us that it's a really tough time for them," Stamnes said. "But also there's laughter, there's good stories, so there's a total mix and blend of emotions today."
Up to 1,000 survivors and relatives were expected on Utoya, accompanied by police and medical staff, to face the painful memories of the shooting spree by a right-wing extremist.
Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg said he would visit "to take part in their mourning and be there for them (the survivors)."
"I will be there as a friend, as a prime minister," he said.
Anders Behring Breivik has admitted killing 77 people on July 22 when he first detonated a truck bomb outside government offices in the capital, Oslo. Breivik then went on a meticulously planned shooting spree on the island, some 40 kilometers away.
Breivik denies criminal guilt because he believes the massacre was necessary to save Norway and Europe. He said the attacks were an attempt at cultural revolution, aimed at purging Europe of Muslims and punishing politicians that have embraced multiculturalism.
On Friday, the Oslo District Court extended Breivik's isolation detention by another four weeks saying it still does not know if he acted alone.
Police said they wanted to keep Breivik in isolation because they didn't want him to talk to other inmates, although they still believe he planned and committed the attacks on his own.
Breivik's case is not expected in court until some time next year. If found guilty on terrorism charges, Breivik could be sentenced to 21 years in prison.
Norway's criminal police chief said the island was "filled with flowers, candles, pictures, poems and all things the families chose to put down yesterday," after returning from Utoya island which he visited with survivors.
Jon Staale Stamnes said the survivors had "very different" reactions.
"Some had, of course, traumatic experiences and it's clear to us that it's a really tough time for them," Stamnes said. "But also there's laughter, there's good stories, so there's a total mix and blend of emotions today."
Up to 1,000 survivors and relatives were expected on Utoya, accompanied by police and medical staff, to face the painful memories of the shooting spree by a right-wing extremist.
Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg said he would visit "to take part in their mourning and be there for them (the survivors)."
"I will be there as a friend, as a prime minister," he said.
Anders Behring Breivik has admitted killing 77 people on July 22 when he first detonated a truck bomb outside government offices in the capital, Oslo. Breivik then went on a meticulously planned shooting spree on the island, some 40 kilometers away.
Breivik denies criminal guilt because he believes the massacre was necessary to save Norway and Europe. He said the attacks were an attempt at cultural revolution, aimed at purging Europe of Muslims and punishing politicians that have embraced multiculturalism.
On Friday, the Oslo District Court extended Breivik's isolation detention by another four weeks saying it still does not know if he acted alone.
Police said they wanted to keep Breivik in isolation because they didn't want him to talk to other inmates, although they still believe he planned and committed the attacks on his own.
Breivik's case is not expected in court until some time next year. If found guilty on terrorism charges, Breivik could be sentenced to 21 years in prison.
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