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Norway Attacks: Latest

The latest following the double terrorist attack in Norway, from Laurie MacDonald and Edward Payne.

EP:

Norwegian terrorist Anders Behring Breivik’s lawyer has revealed a list of demands, described as “unrealistic” and “far from the real world”, made by his client. Breivik has admitted that he committed the horrific crimes of July 22nd and remains in isolated custody. Included in the list are demands that the current Norwegian government step down and that his mental health be assessed by Japanese specialists.

LM:

The shocking double terror attack in Norway claimed 77 lives. Anders Behring Breivik, the far right Christian fundamentalist who committed the attacks, left a car bomb in Oslo which killed 8 people, before making his way to Utoeya Island, the site of a Labour Party youth camp, where, dressed in a police uniform, he shot and killed 69, many of them adolescents. He eventually surrendered to police special forces when they arrived to apprehend him.

Geir Lippestad, Breivik’s lawyer has been quoted as saying “He (Breivik) thought it was gruesome having to commit these acts, but in his head they were necessary,” adding that his client expected to explain his actions when he appeared in court charged with two counts of terrorism.

Breivik’s massacre on Utoeya will go down in history as the bloodiest attack ever committed by a lone gunman. It later emerged that Breivik had been in contact with several members of the English Defence League, and had described himself as an admirer of the organization. British and Norwegian police are investigating any outside involvement in the attacks.

EP:

Many have called for Anders Behring Breivik’s name to be forgotten, saying that he deserves to be ‘a nobody’ for the horrific acts that he committed. However, in reality his name is unlikely to be forgotten as Norway tries to recover from this appalling tragedy. The attacks are a reminder that extremism and ‘acts of terror’ can come from many different directions.

Questions have been asked about the police’s response to the attacks because Breivik had many minutes to rampage through Utoeya Island before they arrived, but criticism of the authorities seems a little harsh given that Breivik planned his double attack perfectly, drawing forces to Oslo with his bomb to give him time elsewhere. Nonetheless, there will be an independent July 22 Commission to scrutinize events.

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