Norway attacks shock, disgust Europe

BERLIN — The attacks in Oslo on Friday have riveted new attention on right-wing extremists not just in Norway but across Europe, where opposition to Muslim immigrants, globalization, the power of the European Union and the drive toward multiculturalism has proven a potent political force and, in a few cases, a spur to violence.


The success of populist parties appealing to a sense of lost national identity has brought criticism of minorities, immigrants and in particular Muslims out of the beer halls and Internet chat rooms and into mainstream politics. While the parties themselves generally do not condone violence, some experts say a climate of hatred in the political discourse has encouraged violent individuals.


“I’m not surprised when things like the bombing in Norway happen, because you will always find people who feel more radical means are necessary,” said Joerg Forbrig, an analyst at the German Marshall Fund in Berlin who has studied far-right issues in Europe. “It literally is something that can happen in a number of places and there are broader problems behind it.”


Last November a Swedish man was arrested in the southern city of Malmö in connection with more than a dozen unsolved shootings of immigrants, including one fatality. The shootings, nine of which took place between June and October 2010, appeared to be the work of an isolated individual. More broadly in Sweden, though, the far-right Sweden Democrats experienced new success at the polls. The party entered Parliament for the first time after winning 5.7 percent of the vote in the general election last September.


President Obama called Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg to express personally and on behalf of the American people his deepest condolences for the dozens of innocent Norwegians killed and injured in what he called the "senseless attacks" in Oslo and Utoya Island, the White House said Saturday.
The U.N. Security Council members also issued a statement in which they "condemned in the strongest terms the terrorist incidents in Norway, calling "terrorism in all its forms and manifestations ... one of the most serious threats to international peace and security."
Germany's top Jewish leader also highlighted the need to fight extremism.
"As a group that itself is always threatened by hatred, fanaticism and terrorism, we can identify particularly with the terrible loss of Norwegian society," Dieter Graumann said, German news agency dapd reported.
Austria's opposition Freedom Party, which has drawn criticism in the past for anti-immigration and anti-Islamic rhetoric, condemned the attacks sharply. "It is absolutely abhorrent how young people were systematically killed," general secretary Harald Vilimsky said, according to the Austria Press Agency.
Pope Benedict XVI said in a condolence message to Norway's King Harald V that he was "profoundly saddened" by the great loss of life caused by the "senseless violence" in the bombing and the following massacre.
The pope invoked God's peace on the dead and offered "fervent" prayers for the victims and their families.
Earlier Saturday, the pope's envoy to Norway Archbishop Paul Tscherrig said Roman Catholics would be praying for the victims and remembering the dead at Sunday Mass.
European Parliament President Jerzy Buzek expressed shock at the targeting of youths at a political party camp.
"This is an unimaginable tragedy for the families who lost their loved ones, young people at the outset of their adult life, fascinated with public service," he said. "It's shocking how one can inflict so much evil."
Pakistan, which has been a frequent target of attacks by Islamic extremists, said its president and prime minister "strongly condemned" the attacks.
"Pakistan itself has suffered enormously from terrorist attacks and fully empathizes with the government and the people of Norway," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Closer to home, Finland's European affairs minister, Alexander Stubb, said that "when I see what happened in Norway I just want to cry."
"It just feels so wrong," Stubb wrote on Twitter. "Wish I could give Norway a big hug."
Other leaders condemning the attacks in Norway included Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. In a statement, Venezuela's Foreign Ministry said Chavez "extends his message of solidarity and hope to all the relatives and friends of the victims, to the Norwegian people and their authorities in this painful moment.