People lay roses outside Oslo Cathedral, on the 10-year anniversary of the terrorist attack by Anders Breivik, in Oslo, Thursday, July 22, 2021. Commemorations were held marking the 10-year anniversary of Norway's worst ever peacetime slaughter. On July 22, 2011, rightwing terrorist Anders Breivik set of a bomb in the capital, Oslo, killing eight people, before heading to tiny Utoya island where he stalked and shot dead 69 mostly teen members of the Labor Party youth wing. (Beate Oma Dahle/NTB scanpix via AP)
The Associated Press
OSLO, Norway (AP) - Church bells rang out across Norway on Thursday, marking 10 years since the country's worst ever peacetime slaughter as leaders urged their country to fight the extremism that was behind the attack.
On July 22, 2011, right-wing extremist Anders Breivik set off a bomb in the capital, Oslo, killing eight people, before heading to tiny Utoya island where he stalked and shot dead 69 mostly teen members of the Labor Party's youth wing.
Events were held around the country, including a service in Oslo Cathedral that ended with the first peal of bells. Thousands of people gathered in the streets outside to mourn the 77 victims.
Arriving on crutches, 84-year-old King Harald took his seat for the service beside Queen Sonja at the front of Oslo Cathedral as the country observed a minute's silence.
Speaking in front of 77 roses arranged into the shape of a heart, Jens Stoltenberg, Norway's prime minister at the time of the attacks in 2011, told the congregation that 'œ10 years ago we met hatred with love, but the hatred is still there.'ť
'œThe perpetrator was a right-wing extremist. He misused Christian symbols. He grew up in our streets, belonged to the same religion and had the same skin color as the majority in this country. He was one of us," Stoltenberg said.
'œBut he is not one of us, who respects democracy. He is one of those who believe they have the right to kill for their political objectives.'ť
Around the country, people listened as emotional survivors read aloud the names of the victims at a televised memorial event.
Some parents of the victims reflected on the way the country coped with the slaughter, and said that 'œtime does not heal all wounds."
'œ(The victims) would be proud of how we reacted after the terror and how the rule of law stood strong,'ť said Lisbeth Kristine Roeyneland, whose daughter Synne was murdered by Breivik. Roeyneland now runs the national support group for victims and families.
'œWhat would those who were so brutally and unfairly killed think of us now 10 years later? I think they would be sad to know that there still are survivors and bereaved with great needs," Roeyneland said.
'œI think they would be disappointed in seeing the public debate in many ways has moved in the wrong direction," she added. "I also think they would be proud of us. Proud of how we reacted in the days after the terrorist attack and how our state under the rule of law firmly stood its ground in the face of brutality.'ť
Astrid Hoem, a survivor from Utoya who now leads the AUF, the youth wing of the center-left Labor Party, said 'œwe have not stopped the hatred'ť and urged Norway to continue facing up to the racism in the country.
'œIt is so brutal that it can be difficult to fathom," Hoem said. 'œBut it's our responsibility to do so. Because 10 years on, we must speak the truth. We haven't stopped the hatred. Far-right extremism is still alive. The terrorist was one of us.'ť
She was speaking to a group of mourners, including Crown Prince Haakon, Prime Minister Erna Solberg, survivors and families of the victims.
Solberg said it hurt to think back 'œon that dark July day'ť and added: 'œWe must not leave hate unchallenged."
'œThe terror attack on the 22nd of July was an attack on our democracy,'ť Solberg, Norway's prime minister since 2013, said. 'œIt was a politically motivated terrorist act towards the Labor Party, AUF and their ideas. But it wasn't just an attack on a political movement. A whole nation was struck. But we rose again. But Norway was changed by an experience which still causes pain.'ť
At a commemorative event on Utoya, Haakon said Norwegians must work together to resist right-wing extremism.
'œIt is our personal and collective responsibility to work against these forces every day,'ť he said.
Small boats peppered the water around the island, a reminder of attempts by many local residents to rescue people 10 years ago while Breivik fired into the water towards them.
Dignitaries laid flowers at a suspended steel memorial, inscribed with the names of the island's 69 victims.
The flowers have become a symbol of the country's response to the attacks, when a sea of roses was laid outside Oslo Cathedral in the days after the slaughter.
______
Lewis reported from Kristiansand, Norway
Norway's Prime Minister Erna Solberg, Crown Prince Haakon Magnus, Crown Princess Mette-Marit, AUF leader Astrid Hoem and leader of the National Support Group Lisbeth Kristine Royneland attend a memorial service marking the 10-year anniversary of the terrorist attack by Anders Breivik, in the Government Quarter, Oslo, Thursday, July 22, 2021. Commemorations will be held marking the 10-year anniversary of Norway's worst ever peacetime slaughter. On July 22, 2011, rightwing terrorist Anders Breivik set of a bomb in the capital, Oslo, killing eight people, before heading to tiny Utoya island where he stalked and shot dead 69 mostly teen members of the Labor Party youth wing. (Geir Olsen/NTB scanpix via AP)
The Associated Press
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg looks on, after delivering his speech during the memorial service at Oslo Cathedral, on the 10-year anniversary of the terrorist attack by Anders Breivik, in Oslo, Thursday, July 22, 2021. Commemorations were held marking the 10-year anniversary of Norway's worst ever peacetime slaughter. On July 22, 2011, rightwing terrorist Anders Breivik set of a bomb in the capital, Oslo, killing eight people, before heading to tiny Utoya island where he stalked and shot dead 69 mostly teen members of the Labor Party youth wing. (Torstein Bøe/NTB scanpix via AP)
The Associated Press
Norway's Queen Sonja, centre, attends a memorial service marking the 10-year anniversary of the terrorist attack by Anders Breivik, in Oslo Cathedral, Oslo, Thursday, July 22, 2021. Commemorations will be held marking the 10-year anniversary of Norway's worst ever peacetime slaughter. On July 22, 2011, rightwing terrorist Anders Breivik set of a bomb in the capital, Oslo, killing eight people, before heading to tiny Utoya island where he stalked and shot dead 69 mostly teen members of the Labor Party youth wing. (Beate Oma Dahle/NTB scanpix via AP)
The Associated Press
FILE - In this July 22, 2019 file photo, Norway's Prime Minister Erna Solberg, center, and leader of the Labour party Jonas Gahr Stoere, left, attend a memorial ceremony to mark the 8th anniversary of the shootings on Utoya Island, where sixty nine people were killed by Anders Breivik. At 3.25 p.m. on July 22, 2021, a ray of sun should have illuminated the first of 77 bronze columns on a lick of land opposite Utoya island outside Oslo. Over the next 3 hours and 8 minutes, it would have brushed each column in turn, commemorating every person killed by right-wing terrorist Anders Breivik. But on the ten-year anniversary of the terror, the memorial remains a construction site. (Terje Bendiksby/NTB Scanpix via AP, File)
The Associated Press
Leader of AUF youth political league in Norway, Astrid Hoem, Prime Minister of Sweden Stefan Lofven and leader of the Norwegian Labor Party Jonas Gahr Store, lay flower tributes at the memorial on Utoya island Wednesday July 21, 2021, the day before the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attack. The memorial to the attack victims, remains a construction site beset by changing plans, delays and court interventions, on the 10th anniversary of the July 22 attack that left 77 people dead on Utoya in Norway. (Beate Oma Dahle / NTB via AP)
The Associated Press
Floral tributes lay outside Oslo Cathedral, on the 10-year anniversary of the terrorist attack by Anders Breivik, in Oslo, Thursday, July 22, 2021. Commemorations were held marking the 10-year anniversary of Norway's worst ever peacetime slaughter. On July 22, 2011, rightwing terrorist Anders Breivik set of a bomb in the capital, Oslo, killing eight people, before heading to tiny Utoya island where he stalked and shot dead 69 mostly teen members of the Labor Party youth wing. (Beate Oma Dahle/NTB scanpix via AP)
The Associated Press
Norway's Crown Prince Haakon Magnus, centre, Crown Princess Mette-Marit, centre left and Prime Minister Erna Solberg, right, attend a memorial service marking the 10-year anniversary of the terrorist attack by Anders Breivik, in the Government Quarter, Oslo, Thursday, July 22, 2021. Commemorations will be held marking the 10-year anniversary of Norway's worst ever peacetime slaughter. On July 22, 2011, rightwing terrorist Anders Breivik set of a bomb in the capital, Oslo, killing eight people, before heading to tiny Utoya island where he stalked and shot dead 69 mostly teen members of the Labor Party youth wing. (Geir Olsen/NTB scanpix via AP)
The Associated Press
NATO leader Jens Stoltenberg, centre, arrives to attend a memorial service marking the 10-year anniversary of the terrorist attack by Anders Breivik, in the Government Quarter, Oslo, Thursday, July 22, 2021. Commemorations will be held marking the 10-year anniversary of Norway's worst ever peacetime slaughter. On July 22, 2011, rightwing terrorist Anders Breivik set of a bomb in the capital, Oslo, killing eight people, before heading to tiny Utoya island where he stalked and shot dead 69 mostly teen members of the Labor Party youth wing. (Geir Olsen/NTB scanpix via AP)
The Associated Press
FILE - In this July 24, 2011 file photo, women react in Oslo at the end of a memorial service at Oslo Cathedral in the aftermath of the attacks on Norway's government headquarters and a youth retreat. At 3.25 p.m. on July 22, 2021, a ray of sun should have illuminated the first of 77 bronze columns on a lick of land opposite Utoya island outside Oslo. Over the next 3 hours and 8 minutes, it would have brushed each column in turn, commemorating every person killed by right-wing terrorist Anders Breivik. But on the ten-year anniversary of the terror, the memorial remains a construction site. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti, File)
The Associated Press
People sit during the memorial service at Oslo Cathedral, on the 10-year anniversary of the terrorist attack by Anders Breivik, in Oslo, Thursday, July 22, 2021. Commemorations were held marking the 10-year anniversary of Norway's worst ever peacetime slaughter. On July 22, 2011, rightwing terrorist Anders Breivik set of a bomb in the capital, Oslo, killing eight people, before heading to tiny Utoya island where he stalked and shot dead 69 mostly teen members of the Labor Party youth wing. (Torstein Bøe/NTB scanpix via AP)
The Associated Press
FILE - In this Sunday, July 24, 2011 file photo, a female lights a candle at a makeshift memorial to victims of the bombing and shooting attacks, opposite Utoya island, Norway. At 3.25 p.m. on July 22, 2021, a ray of sun should have illuminated the first of 77 bronze columns on a lick of land opposite Utoya island outside Oslo. Over the next 3 hours and 8 minutes, it would have brushed each column in turn, commemorating every person killed by right-wing terrorist Anders Breivik. But on the ten-year anniversary of the terror, the memorial remains a construction site. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, File)
The Associated Press
FILE - In this Saturday, Sept. 28, 2019 file photo, people look at the newly unveiled memorial "Iron roses" is unveiled outside Oslo Cathedral, in Oslo. The memorial is in memory of the 77 people who lost their lives on July 22, 2011 during a bombing and shooting attacks. At 3.25 p.m. on July 22, 2021, a ray of sun should have illuminated the first of 77 bronze columns on a lick of land opposite Utoya island outside Oslo. Over the next 3 hours and 8 minutes, it would have brushed each column in turn, commemorating every person killed by right-wing terrorist Anders Breivik. But on the ten-year anniversary of the terror, the memorial remains a construction site. (Terje Bendiksby/NTB Scanpix via AP, File)
The Associated Press
FILE - In this Monday, July 25, 2011 file photo, relatives of a victim gather to observe a minute's silence on a campsite jetty on the Norwegian mainland, across the water from Utoya island, seen in the background, where people have been placing floral tributes in memory of those killed in the shooting massacre on the island. At 3.25 p.m. on July 22, 2021, a ray of sun should have illuminated the first of 77 bronze columns on a lick of land opposite Utoya island outside Oslo. Over the next 3 hours and 8 minutes, it would have brushed each column in turn, commemorating every person killed by right-wing terrorist Anders Breivik. But on the ten-year anniversary of the terror, the memorial remains a construction site. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, File)
The Associated Press
NATO leader Jens Stoltenberg delivers his speech during the memorial service at Oslo Cathedral, on the 10-year anniversary of the terrorist attack by Anders Breivik, in Oslo, Thursday, July 22, 2021. Commemorations were held marking the 10-year anniversary of Norway's worst ever peacetime slaughter. On July 22, 2011, rightwing terrorist Anders Breivik set of a bomb in the capital, Oslo, killing eight people, before heading to tiny Utoya island where he stalked and shot dead 69 mostly teen members of the Labor Party youth wing. (Torstein Bøe/NTB scanpix via AP)
The Associated Press
Norway's Queen Sonja, centre, attends a memorial service marking the 10-year anniversary of the terrorist attack by Anders Breivik, in Oslo Cathedral, Oslo, Thursday, July 22, 2021. Commemorations will be held marking the 10-year anniversary of Norway's worst ever peacetime slaughter. On July 22, 2011, rightwing terrorist Anders Breivik set of a bomb in the capital, Oslo, killing eight people, before heading to tiny Utoya island where he stalked and shot dead 69 mostly teen members of the Labor Party youth wing. (Torstein Bøe /NTB scanpix via AP)
The Associated Press
Crown Princess Mette-Marit, Princess Ingrid Alexandra and Crown Prince Haakon during the memorial service on Utoya island, Norway, Thursday July 22, 2021. Commemorations to mark 10-years since Norway's worst ever peacetime slaughter when right wing extremist Anders Breivik set off a bomb in the capital, Oslo, killing eight people, before heading to tiny Utoya island where he stalked and shot dead 69 mostly teen members of the Labor Party's youth wing. (Beate Oma Dahle / NTB via AP)
The Associated Press
Crown Princess Mette-Marit and Princess Ingrid Alexandra during the memorial service on on Utoya island, Norway, Thursday July 22, 2021. Commemorations to mark 10-years since Norway's worst ever peacetime slaughter when right wing extremist Anders Breivik set off a bomb in the capital, Oslo, killing eight people, before heading to tiny Utoya island where he stalked and shot dead 69 mostly teen members of the Labor Party's youth wing. (Torstein Boe / NTB via AP)
The Associated Press
Laying flower tributes, include from left, Raymond Johansen, Peggy Hessen, Thorbjorn Jagland, Prime Minister Erna Solberg, Jonas Gahr Store, Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette Marit at the July 22 memorial during the memorial service on Utoya. Commemorations to mark 10-years since Norway's worst ever peacetime slaughter when right wing extremist Anders Breivik set off a bomb in the capital, Oslo, killing eight people, before heading to tiny Utoya island where he stalked and shot dead 69 mostly teen members of the Labor Party's youth wing. (Torstein Boe / NTB via AP)
The Associated Press
Crown Prince Hakon and Princess Ingrid Alexandra, with Crown Princess Mette-Marit obscured right, lay flowers at the July 22 memorial during the memorial service on Utoya. Commemorations to mark 10-years since Norway's worst ever peacetime slaughter when right wing extremist Anders Breivik set off a bomb in the capital, Oslo, killing eight people, before heading to tiny Utoya island where he stalked and shot dead 69 mostly teen members of the Labor Party's youth wing. (Torstein Boe / NTB via AP)
The Associated Press
Flowers are placed at a memorial outside Oslo Cathedral marking the 10-year anniversary of the terrorist attack, Thursday July 22, 2021. Commemorations have begun to mark 10-years since Norway's worst ever peacetime slaughter when right wing extremist Anders Breivik set off a bomb in the capital, Oslo, killing eight people, before heading to tiny Utoya island where he stalked and shot dead 69 mostly teen members of the Labor Party's youth wing. (Torstein Boe / NTB via AP)
The Associated Press
Crown Prince Hakon of Norway walks with Bishop Jan Otto Myrseth during the memorial service in Hole Church, marking the 10-year anniversary of the terrorist attack, Thursday July 22, 2021. Commemorations have begun to mark 10-years since Norway's worst ever peacetime slaughter when right wing extremist Anders Breivik set off a bomb in the capital, Oslo, killing eight people, before heading to tiny Utoya island where he stalked and shot dead 69 mostly teen members of the Labor Party's youth wing. (Geir Olsen / NTB via AP)
The Associated Press
Norway's King Harald and Queen Sonja sing, during the memorial service at Oslo Cathedral, on the 10-year anniversary of the terrorist attack by Anders Breivik, in Oslo, Thursday, July 22, 2021. Commemorations were held marking the 10-year anniversary of Norway's worst ever peacetime slaughter. On July 22, 2011, rightwing terrorist Anders Breivik set of a bomb in the capital, Oslo, killing eight people, before heading to tiny Utoya island where he stalked and shot dead 69 mostly teen members of the Labor Party youth wing. (Annika Byrde/NTB scanpix via AP)
The Associated Press