Utoya remembers one year after Anders Behring Breivik massacre

Jens Stoltenberg, Norway’s prime minister, called on the thousand young people
present to fight against extreme ideologies like Breivik’s.

“For a long time we have neglected extremism and these thoughts full of
hate,” he said. “We can’t close our eyes to them any more. We
should counter blind hate with argument and education.”

The anniversary events began on Sunday morning when Mr Stoltenberg and
Norway’s King Harald each laid a wreath at the government building, which is
still wrapped in plastic to mask windows shattered by the blast.

A memorial service was then held in Oslo Cathedral, attended by more than 900
people.

“The bomb and bullets were aimed at changing Norway,” Mr Stoltenberg
said at the wreath-laying. “The Norwegian people responded by embracing
our values. The killer failed, the people won.”

At the start of the day, nearly 500 people from among the victims’ families
were ferried by boats to Utoya to mourn their loved ones, where they
released a heart-shaped balloon.

Christin Bjelland, whose 15-year-old son survived the attack, said Sunday’s
gathering was important for the bereaved.

“All of us who have lost a dear one know that after one year it’s very
important to set aside a little bit of time and remember the person we lost.”

A further group of nearly 200 relatives of the dead was ferried to the island
in the evening, when a wreath was laid at 18.45, at around the same time
that the police arrived at the island to arrest Breivik, and bring an end to
the massacre.

The last event on the schedule was a rock concert in front of Oslo City Hall.
Among the performers was Lillebjorn Nilsen, the folk singer who led 40,000
protesters earlier this year in singing Children of the Rainbow, a song
which Breivik had said he detested.

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