COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg said Tuesday the best way to honor the 77 people who died in terror attacks in her country three years ago is to “fight for openness, tolerance and diversity.”
In a wreath-laying ceremony at the government headquarters, Solberg said “violent extremism can never be excused.”
Far-right fanatic Anders Behring Breivik has confessed to the July 22, 2011, attacks in which he killed eight people in a bombing attack against the government headquarters and 69 others in a shooting spree at the left-wing Labor Party’s youth camp on Utoya island.
In 2012, Breivik received a 21-year prison sentence that can be extended for as long as he’s considered dangerous to society. Legal experts say that likely means he will be locked up for life.
Later in the day, Solberg, Labor Party head Jonas Gahr Stoere and members of the party’s youth movement attended a second commemoration on Utoya, which sits in a lake 25 miles from Oslo.
“We can show this community’s strength: we do not surrender to hatred and violence. We can show that there is another strength that is infinitely more powerful: compassion and solidarity,” Stoere said before wreaths were put on the island’s quay.
Comments are not available on this story. Read more about why we allow commenting on some stories and not on others.
We believe it's important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers. At its best, our comments sections can be a productive platform for readers to engage with our journalism, offer thoughts on coverage and issues, and drive conversation in a respectful, solutions-based way. It's a form of open discourse that can be useful to our community, public officials, journalists and others.
We do not enable comments on everything — exceptions include most crime stories, and coverage involving personal tragedy or sensitive issues that invite personal attacks instead of thoughtful discussion.
You can read more here about our commenting policy and terms of use. More information is also found on our FAQs.
Show less