Utoya now a 'place of hope,' German president says

The small Norwegian island of Utoya where 69 people died in a far-right terror attack at a political youth camp a decade ago is "a place of mourning" that has also "become a place of hope," German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said while on a commemorative visit on Friday.

It was impressive that thousands of youth still came to the island each year to take part in workshops on freedom and democracy, Steinmeier commented.

The German president is a two-day trip to the Nordic country to mark 10 years since far-right extremist Anders Behring Breivik killed a total of 77 people in Oslo and on the nearby island with a bomb and shooting spree.

He also laid a wreath on the island to commemorate the victims.

What did Steinmeier say in praise of Norway?

The German president attended a dinner in Oslo on Thursday hosted by Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store of the Labour Party where he praised Norway's response to terror incidents as an inspiration.

Steinmeier also drew parallel with far-right murders that took place in Germany.

The president, on a two-day visit to the Nordic country, said he admired the strength "with which Norwegians defy the hatred and violence that have shocked and saddened the entire country and the entire continent."

Steinmeier singled out the far-right extremist Anders Behring Breivik, whose bomb and shooting spree 10 years ago killed 77 people in Oslo and at a Labour Party youth camp on the island of Utoya.

"They will not allow terror to wound our values of democracy, freedom, and solidarity," German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said,  speaking of the Norwegian people.

An expression of the strength of democracy, he said, was the recent appointment of two survivors of the Utoya attack to posts in the new Norwegian prime minister's recently appointed Cabinet.

Store's center-left minority government took power last month.

Norway was shaken by further bloodshed in mid-October when a man murdered five people in an attack involving various weapons — including a bow and arrow — in Kongsberg.

German resolve against far-right terror

Steinmeier also drew on similarities with the actions of the National Socialist Underground (NSU) in Germany. Two members of the group were found dead on November 4, 2011, seemingly having killed themselves to avoid capture after a botched bank robbery, bringing to light a succession of far-right murders.

The terror cell killed nine people with foreign roots, plus a police officer, between 2000 and 2007. The surviving member of the cell, Beate Zschaepe, was convicted and handed a life sentence in 2018 for her role in the killings.

"The NSU's disgusting murders are an expression of xenophobia that we will never tolerate in Germany," the German president said.

Deep friendship no 'forgone conclusion'

The German president also paid tribute to his friendship with the Norwegian prime minister, who was previously his Norwegian opposite-number when the pair served as foreign ministers.

He also stressed the friendship that has been forged between Germany and Norway in the post-World War Two era. Nazi Germany occupied Norway, despite it having declared its neutrality, during the conflict.

"The deep friendship that binds our two countries was not a foregone conclusion. It is the result of conscious and active efforts. It is the work of Norwegians and Germans who have reconciled our countries," said Steinmeier.

kmm, rc/msh (dpa, AFP)