Memorial held for 77 killed in Norway massacre
OSLO, Norway — Norway’s prime minister urged his countrymen to look after each other and be vigilant for intolerance, as the nation concluded a monthlong mourning period with a candlelit memorial service Sunday to the 77 people killed by a right-wing extremist.
Speaking at the ceremony in Oslo, Jens Stoltenberg said “we need you. No matter where you live, no matter which god you worship, each and every one of us can take responsibility and can guard freedom.”
Anders Behring Breivik, a 32-year-old Norwegian, has admitted to carrying out the July 22 killings — first detonating a car bomb that killed eight people outside government offices in Oslo, and then shooting dead 69 others at a youth camp on the island of Utoya, about 25 miles away.
The prime minister, who received standing ovations from the 6,700 relatives, survivors and officials in the audience during his speech, said “together we are an unbreakable chain of care, democracy and safety — that is our protection against violence.
“Today time stops in order to remember those who died,” Stoltenberg added. “We do it as one nation. Every candle has warmed, every thought has comforted, every rose has given hope. We are a small country, but we are a large people.”
Norwegian singer-songwriter Susanne Sundfoer opened the memorial service with a heartfelt performance of a popular Norwegian song “My Little Country,” which has taken on special significance since the terror attacks and left many in the audience quietly wiping away tears.
Addressing the somber gathering, Norway’s King Harald said he felt for each person in the country, but that he was certain Norway would surmount its pain.
“I firmly believe that we will uphold our ability to live freely and securely in our country,” he said.
Later, Norwegian rap group Karpe Diem performed a song about tolerance.
“I am a Muslim, Chirag is a Hindu and our friends they are also different, but we have never felt as Norwegian and we have not felt as much togetherness before as we do now, after July 22,” rapper Magdi Omar Ytreeide Abdelmaguid said before performing the song.
As the names of each one of the 77 victims were read out loud, some relatives broke out in loud sobs while others sat in silence.
Elsewhere in the city, flags flew at half-staff as people lay flowers and children blew soap bubbles outside the cathedral.
The ceremony included performances by some of Norway’s top musical names, such as 1980s pop group A-ha, soprano Sissel Kyrkjeboe and the Norwegian Radio Orchestra.
The event in the arena, which also hosts the Nobel Peace Prize Concert, was broadcast live on national television and was attended by survivors of the attack, relatives of the deceased, rescue workers, government members, lawmakers and leading politicians and royals from neighboring countries.
Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt was noticeably moved when he met with the media after the ceremony.
“This has been a powerful manifestation of solidarity,” Reinfeldt said.
“The feeling of loss becomes extremely evident in a hall where the relatives are sitting and the emotion of grief and expressions of tears move across the room as the names are read out.”