Statement on the attacks in Norway
WILPF Congress, Costa Rica 

1 August 2011

Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) gathered at the Congress in Costa Rica want to express our solidarity with the Norwegian people after the bombing of the Ministries in Oslo and the massacre of the young people at the Social Democrat summer camp at an island close to Oslo.

The objective of the terrorist from the extreme right was to start a war on multiculturalism. The reactions from all parts of the Norwegian society show that he did not succeed; on the contrary, there is a growing will to unite across cultural differences based on politics, ethnicity and religion.

150.000 persons carrying roses came to an open outdoor meeting to pay their respects. The Norwegian Prime Minister said “No one can shoot us to silence, no one can bomb us to silence, we will respond with more democracy, more openness, more humanity - but no naivety.”

A young girl expressed her feelings in a sentence that will be remembered by all: “If one man can show so much hatred; think about all the love we can show together.”

One of the young girls killed was a Moslem Kurd. Her funeral was the first multicultural funeral in her community, a Christian-Moslem funeral lead by a female protestant clergy and a Moslem Imam.

The murderer did not manage to start a war again multiculturalism in Norway – he created an increased respect and commitment for the values of tolerance and democracy.

The WILPF congress sees the Norwegian response to the terror as a positive effort towards peace and freedom. WILPF also hopes for more attention to the extreme right wing organizations in many countries and their aggressive attitudes to women and feminism.

The .pdf version of this statement can be found here.