OSLO, Norway (AP) — Church bells rang out across Norway on Thursday to mark the 10th anniversary of the country’s worst peacetime slaughter as leaders urged renewed efforts to fight the extremism behind the attack that left 77 people dead.
On July 22, 2011, right-wing extremist Anders Breivik set off a bomb in the capital, Oslo, killing eight people. Then he headed to tiny Utoya island, where he stalked the mostly teen members of the Labor Party's youth wing, killing another 69.
Events were held across the country, including a service in Oslo Cathedral that ended with an initial ringing of bells. Thousands of people gathered outside to mourn the victims.
Arriving on crutches, 84-year-old King Harald took his seat for the service beside Queen Sonja at the front of the cathedral for a minute of silence.
Speaking in front of 77 roses arranged in the shape of a heart, Jens Stoltenberg, who was prime minister at the time of the attack, told the congregation that “10 years ago, we met hatred with love, but the hatred is still there.”
“The 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.
“But 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.”
Emotional survivors read aloud the names of the victims at a televised memorial event.
Some parents of the victims reflected on how the country coped with the slaughter, saying that “time does not heal all wounds."
“(The victims) would be proud of how we reacted after the terror and how the rule of law stood strong,” said Lisbeth Kristine Roeyneland, whose daughter, Synne, was...
