Norway marks one year since massacre (Aljazeera)

Date : 2012-07-22 07:38:52

Norwegians are marking the first anniversary of twin attacks that killed 77 people, the worst atrocity carried out in the country since World War II. Commemorative events are taking place across the country on Sunday, a year after 33-year-old Anders Behring Breivik set off a bomb near a government building in Oslo and then went on a shooting rampage on nearby Utoeya Island.

 Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg laid a wreath in Oslo and is expected to be joined by hundreds of people on Utoeya, including the families of those who were killed.

"The killer failed; the people have won," said Stoltenberg.

"The bomb and bullets were aimed at changing Norway. The Norwegian people responded by embracing our values. Let us honour the dead by being happy about the life they had, and the life we share."

Breivik, on July 22, 2011, killed 69 people on the island, where the ruling Labour Party's youth wing was hosting a summer camp. Eight people were killed in the blast in the capital earlier that day.

Religious services and commemorative gatherings will also be held from the very south of the country to the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard, about 1,100 kilometres from the North Pole.

'More openness and humanity'

Stoltenberg, who made a deep impression shortly after the massacre with his vow that Norway's response to the bloodbath would be "more democracy, more openness and more humanity, but never naivety", will be present at many of the events.

The Labour Party leader along with Norway's king and queen took part in a service at the city's cathedral, which in the weeks after the attacks was surrounded by an ocean of roses left by mourners. 

Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg laid a wreath in Oslo and is expected to be joined by hundreds of people on Utoeya, including the families of those who were killed.

"The killer failed; the people have won," said Stoltenberg.

"The bomb and bullets were aimed at changing Norway. The Norwegian people responded by embracing our values. Let us honour the dead by being happy about the life they had, and the life we share."

Breivik, on July 22, 2011, killed 69 people on the island, where the ruling Labour Party's youth wing was hosting a summer camp. Eight people were killed in the blast in the capital earlier that day.

Religious services and commemorative gatherings will also be held from the very south of the country to the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard, about 1,100 kilometres from the North Pole.

'More openness and humanity'

Stoltenberg, who made a deep impression shortly after the massacre with his vow that Norway's response to the bloodbath would be "more democracy, more openness and more humanity, but never naivety", will be present at many of the events.

The Labour Party leader along with Norway's king and queen took part in a service at the city's cathedral, which in the weeks after the attacks was surrounded by an ocean of roses left by mourners.