‘Tonight the streets are filled with love’

AT least 100,000 people, many carrying white or red roses, held a rally in Oslo yesterday to show support for victims of the attacks that killed 76 people on Friday.

“Tonight, the streets are filled with love,” crown prince Haakon told the crowd.

“In remembrance of the victims... I declare one minute’s national silence,” prime minister Jens Stoltenberg said on the steps of Oslo University, flanked by Norway’s king and queen.

The silence stretched to five minutes as thousands more stood around a carpet of flowers outside nearby Oslo cathedral. Only squawking seagulls and a barking dog broke the silence.

One of the mourners at the rally was mechanic Sven-Erik Fredheim, who said: “This is a tragic event to see all these young people dying due to one man’s craziness. It is important to have this minute of silence so that all the victims and the parents of the families know that people are thinking about them.”

Anders Behring Breivik is responsible for the car bomb in Oslo and a shooting spree on the island of Utoyah that left 76 people dead.

The maximum jail term in Norway is 21 years, although that can be extended if there is a risk of repeat offences.

“In theory he can be in jail for the rest of his life,” said Staale Eskeland, professor of criminal law.

The police revised down the estimated death toll from Friday’s twin attacks. The numbers had steadily risen over the weekend, but police said yesterday that at least 76 had been killed, around 20 less than had been cited earlier.

A police spokesman attributed this to difficulties in gathering information at Utoya.

The daily newspaper Dagsavisen asked “Why didn’t you come earlier?” citing screams by youth as police arrived on the island — an hour after they were notified of the shooting.

Police efforts to reach Utoya had stalled after one boat, overloaded with officers and equipment, was forced to stop when it began to take on water.

The attack has focused attention on Norway’s attitude towards immigration. Breivik is anti-Muslim and highly critical of his country’s stance in his 1,500-page online manifesto.

Norway’s immigrant numbers nearly tripled between 1995 and 2010 to almost half a million. This led to a surge in support for the Progress Party, which became Norway’s second biggest in parliament after 2009, based largely on an anti-immigration platform.

Breivik once belonged to the party, but left saying it was too politically correct.