Leader: From believing in absurdities to committing atrocities

The most shocking thing about Breivik is how many people agree with his opinions.

New Statesman
It was Breivik’s actions, rather than his beliefs, that distinguished him from other right-wing ideologues. Photograph: Getty Images.

How should a free society respond to terror? After the attacks of 11 September 2001, the US and the UK curtailed civil liberties to a degree unprecedented in peacetime, insisting that there was a trade-off to be made between liberty and security. But Norway, where the far-right terrorist Anders Breivik murdered 77 civilians last July, offers a different model. While Tony Blair declared that “the rules of the game have changed” after the 7 July 2005 bombings in London, the Norwegian prime minister, Jens Stoltenberg, confronted by an even greater atrocity, insisted that the rules remained the same. After Breivik’s massacre, Stoltenberg promised “more democracy, more openness and greater political participation”. This week, as Breivik’s trial opened in an Oslo courtroom, a short distance from the site of his car bomb attack, his country fulfilled that pledge.

Breivik, the biggest mass murderer in Norway’s recent history, is on trial in the normal way and accorded the same rights as other criminal defendants, including the right to address the court. That he has used this as an opportunity to hold forth on the “Islamisation” of Norway and the evils of immigration has not diminished the country’s commitment to due process. The Norwegian judiciary has made every effort to avoid jeopardising Breivik’s right to a fair trial. A lay judge who posted a comment last year on Facebook calling for Breivik to receive the death penalty was dismissed on the grounds that the statements “may weaken trust in his impartiality”. There have been notably few calls from voters to revise the maximum statutory penalty of 21 years imprisonment (a sentence that can be renewed at five-year intervals) and polls show that just 16 per cent support the reinstatement of capital punishment.

Such liberalism is all the more admirable from a population, which, owing to its small size (five million), was irrevocably scarred by the murders. One in four Norwegians knew, or knew of, one or more of the victims. On a per capita basis, Norway lost twice as many people that day as the US did on 9/11. In his opening remarks to the court, Breivik did not deny responsibility for the deaths of 77 people. Rather, he claimed that this was an act of “self-defence” against the “state traitors” who opened Norway to multiculturalism.

It is convenient for some to dismiss Breivik’s views as the ramblings of a mad narcissist and a psychopath. But strip away his more outlandish rhetoric and there is little to separate them from those frequently expressed on the pages of the conservative press. It was Breivik’s actions, rather than his beliefs, that distinguished him from other right-wing ideologues. His tropes of choice – the rise of “Eurabia”, the insidious influence of “cultural Marxism” – will be familiar to anyone who has read the work of Melanie Phillips or Mark Steyn, two of the writers cited in Breivik’s manifesto. The neoconservative author Norman Podhoretz titled his work on “Eurabia” World War IV. Breivik merely pursued such ideas to their extreme conclusion. As Voltaire wrote, “those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities”.

Even now, supposedly mainstream figures encourage the beliefs that animate fanatics such as Breivik. In France, fighting for re-election as president, Nicolas Sarkozy has run a shamelessly demagogic campaign, indulging anxieties over immigration and the influence of Islam in a desperate attempt to win over the supporters of the National Front’s Marine Le Pen. He has argued that there are “too many foreigners” in France and has vowed to ban halal meat from state schools. In Britain, much of the mainstream press continues to treat Muslims as an alien force, fuelling Islamophobia through misinformation and distortion. So long as this remains the case, the rhetoric of those same publications that express horror at Breivik’s behaviour – his fascist salute, his absence of regret – will be seized on by more of his kind. 

149 comments

szoople's picture

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jocurioseu's picture

Norway had no qualms about signing up for the War on Terror crafted by the US under the leadership of Bush and Blair. Always following an aggressive policy of promoting Western geo -strategic interests, Norway maintained the "high moral" ground by adopting a hectoring tone when it came to countries like Sri Lanka!

shan jack's picture

The evolution of the hat in China
The hat was invented a NBA caps long time ago in China. Such as the Chinese idiom "dressed", "sounding", "Crown", "crown" refers to the hat.
The ancient crown system is an important component of China's clothing system, the men's 20-year-old started wearing the crown, wearing the crown, to be held in the "Rites", said adult.
China in ancient times the crown is different from 59Fifty Fitted caps the hat now, it is only a narrow crown beam to cover part of the head, unlike the hat to cover all.
Crown after being elected, the Crown has graded on a scale of equal status, humble undocumented people are not allowed to wear the crown. Dynasty crowns, crown system over previous generations have.
Han 47 Brand Snapback Hats Dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD), its form in general has been with the cap-style class. The crown had with a veil with the humble can only wear a veil, minors can only wear the veil of the empty top. Crown system has been affected to the Ming Dynasty.
Ming Dynasty (1368 AD - 1644 AD) in the public service but also his job. "Crown" earlier than the "crown", generally refers to the feudal emperors special "crown" plus "crown" when the prince to ascend the throne. Workers can only wear the hijab, used to wipe the sweat, and later as a hat wrapped head.
Chinese hat has its own national characteristics, more than wearing a fur hat in ancient times, Liao and Jin, Yuan more than wearing a helmet type and hat, flower hat, Tu baseball hats of the hat of the Uighur, Mongolian fox fur hat. Daily life, hats, warm cold, the role of decorative dress.

Radu Mihaila's picture

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bahu virupaksha's picture

Norway has always regarded it self as the conscience of the civilized world. The self appointed custodian of "western values" was always quick to defend every terrorist group in the world the latest being the LTTE, the terrorist group which was responsible for killing more than 50,000 civilians. Norway was one of the prominent EU countries which followed a split policy on terrorism: condemn the state if it tries to defend the territorial integrity of the country, but always defend sundry terrorist and anarchist groups in the name of human rights. Norway had no qualms about signing up for the War on Terror crafted by the US under the leadership of Bush and Blair. Always following an aggressive policy of promoting Western geo -strategic interests, Norway maintained the "high moral" ground by adopting a hectoring tone when it came to countries like Sri Lanka which faced one of the worst terrorist groups in the world with cynide capsules and human bombs.

The Western media always labels political acts of violence anywhere in the world with a religious tag. Thus we have the well known category of Islamic terrorism. Given this fact can we call the massacre of 94 young people on the island of Uteoya by Anders Behring Breivik as an act of Christian terrorism just as the world seems to recognize the existence of Islamic terrorism. There is an eerie similarity in the planning and execution of the plot with Timothy McVeigh's Oklahoma Federal Building bombing nearly a decade back. McVeigh too was inspired by fundamentalist Christian values and he too used ammonium nitrate as the explosive charge for the bomb.

The suggestion that there is a Christian terrorism is just as wrong as the assertion that there is Islamic terrorism. The Moslem countries have certain grievances which must be addressed and they are all of a political nature, By giving a religious complexion to protest and its attendent violence the Western world is basically evading its own responsibility is generating the grievances that lead to violence. Norway with its ruling labour Party has followed a policy of giving shelter to groups that will be labeled terrorist by any definition.

The man who killed 94 young people and blew up the Prime Minister's office in downtown Oslo was a home grown terrorist and I am sure that Norway will be more circumspect while condemning other state for protecting the territorial integrity of the state.

bahu virupaksha's picture

Norway has always regarded it self as the conscience of the civilized world. The self appointed custodian of "western values" was always quick to defend every terrorist group in the world the latest being the LTTE, the terrorist group which was responsible for killing more than 50,000 civilians. Norway was one of the prominent EU countries which followed a split policy on terrorism: condemn the state if it tries to defend the territorial integrity of the country, but always defend sundry terrorist and anarchist groups in the name of human rights. Norway had no qualms about signing up for the War on Terror crafted by the US under the leadership of Bush and Blair. Always following an aggressive policy of promoting Western geo -strategic interests, Norway maintained the "high moral" ground by adopting a hectoring tone when it came to countries like Sri Lanka which faced one of the worst terrorist groups in the world with cynide capsules and human bombs.

The Western media always labels political acts of violence anywhere in the world with a religious tag. Thus we have the well known category of Islamic terrorism. Given this fact can we call the massacre of 94 young people on the island of Uteoya by Anders Behring Breivik as an act of Christian terrorism just as the world seems to recognize the existence of Islamic terrorism. There is an eerie similarity in the planning and execution of the plot with Timothy McVeigh's Oklahoma Federal Building bombing nearly a decade back. McVeigh too was inspired by fundamentalist Christian values and he too used ammonium nitrate as the explosive charge for the bomb.

The suggestion that there is a Christian terrorism is just as wrong as the assertion that there is Islamic terrorism. The Moslem countries have certain grievances which must be addressed and they are all of a political nature, By giving a religious complexion to protest and its attendent violence the Western world is basically evading its own responsibility is generating the grievances that lead to violence. Norway with its ruling labour Party has followed a policy of giving shelter to groups that will be labeled terrorist by any definition.

The man who killed 94 young people and blew up the Prime Minister's office in downtown Oslo was a home grown terrorist and I am sure that Norway will be more circumspect while condemning other state for protecting the territorial integrity of the state.

ddsa's picture

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reveria's picture

Dr. Thurairajan Varatharajah was one of the three government doctors who treated Tamil civilians as the military shelled and bombed areas near their makeshift hospital during the final months of the war.

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During that time he gave an interview to the international media about civilian casualty numbers.

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