Norway commemorated the victims of two separate terror attacks that killed a total of 93 people on Friday, the government said on Monday.
Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg announced a minute of silence at a ceremony held in the afternoon (local time) at the University of Oslo. King Harald V, members of the royal family and the head of the government signed a book of condolences.
Sweden, Iceland, Finland and Denmark joined Norway on Monday in honoring the memory of the victims.
The Norwegian consulate in St. Petersburg has opened a book of condolences to be signed by Russian citizens on Monday and Tuesday.
Dozens of local residents in St. Petersburg brought flowers and candles to the Norwegian consulate. A plaque near the building says: "Russians mourn the victims together with Norway, our deepest condolences."
In central Oslo, the prime minister spoke to a packed house at a memorial mass held on Sunday at the Domkirke cathedral. Thousands of mourners appeared to pay their respects to loved ones, leaving an ever growing bouquet of flowers, toys, and candles on Oslo’s main square. Yet among those visitors, the possible social tensions that the trial could release were already evident.
“This is Nazism,” said Svetlana, one of several Russians who was visiting the memorial. “Of course it’s a terrible tragedy, it’s sad, but it was to be expected that something like this would happen. I expected something even worse.”
The memorial by the Domkirke has attracted thousands of mourners since the attack. In the middle of the memorial yesterday, a young man was weaving between the flowers and relighting candles that had blown out. He had originally attempted to provide help to rescue efforts at the site of the bomb, but was forced out of the area by police, he said. He had found the impromptu candlelight vigil and had been working there overnight.
“I think the experience that everyone is going through is shock,” said Jang Kim, an ethnic Korean who was adopted by Norwegian parents. “The best thing I can do for the country right now is to look after the candles and make sure they don’t go out. It’s sad, it’s raining, the wind is blowing, you can see they would go out.”
“I came along, and then we started, talking and we have been doing this for hours now,” said Joaquin Frosmo, who was helping Kim in the center of the memorial. “You can’t just go home and forget. Even if people don’t come here, they are probably going to stay active in one way or another with the collective grieving process.”
The city government has quickly been cleaning up the wreckage left behind from last Friday’s attack. Over the weekend, shattered glass that had been left from the explosion of the massive car bomb had been cleaned up and the police this morning moved the barricades closing off the area around the building of the Prime Minister within a block of the site of the attack.
Many said that though Norwegians had been greatly affected by the attacks, the initial shock had been overcome. Though people were more cautious, they were trying to move on.
“I was somewhat shocked when I came out here today to see that there were no metal detectors or police by the entrance to the church,” said Denis Borisenko, a local web developer who felt the blast last Friday while he was working in the capital.
“But I don’t have a huge fear of something like this happening again.”
A massive explosion ripped through the government headquarters in Oslo on Friday. Several hours later, a man dressed as a police officer opened fire at the youth who had gathered at the summer camp on the Utoya Island.
Police arrested 32-year-old Norwegian Anders Behring Breivik, who confessed on Saturday to the mass killing on Utoya and is suspected of being behind the blast in Oslo.
