Survivors of massacre return to face painful memories

Norwegian Premier to join 1,000 people visiting Utoya island

Survivors of the massacre at a youth camp on a Norwegian island, in which 69 people were killed, on Saturday revisited the scene of the killings to grieve their lost friends.

Around 1,000 survivors and relatives were expected on Utoya island, accompanied by police and medical staff, to face the painful memories of the shooting spree by a right-wing extremist.

Being there for them

Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg said he too would visit Utoya “to take part in their mourning and be there for them [the survivors].”

“I will be there as a friend, as a Prime Minister,” he said.

Anders Behring Breivik has admitted to killing 77 people on July 22 when he first detonated a truck bomb outside government offices in Oslo, and then went on a shooting spree on the island, some 40 km away.

Lopsided belief

Breivik denies criminal guilt because he believes the massacre was necessary to save Norway and Europe. He said the attacks were an attempt at a cultural revolution, aimed at purging Europe of Muslims and punishing politicians who have embraced multiculturalism.

On Friday, the Oslo District Court extended Breivik's isolation detention by another four weeks saying it still does not know if he acted alone.

Did he act alone?

The police said they wanted to keep Breivik in isolation because they didn't want him to talk to other inmates, although they still believe he acted alone.