Residents living near site of Anders Breivik’s terror massacre object to ‘cemetery-like’ memorial

A computer-generated handout view released on January 6, 2021 shows the future memorial to the 77 victims of Norwegian far-right extremist Anders Behring Breivik

Credit: AFP

Residents of the lakeland spot where Norwegian terrorist Anders Breivik committed his massacre are objecting to a "cemetery-like" memorial, claiming it will stop them ever getting over their trauma.

The project near Utoya Island, which is already under construction, will feature 77 large bronze columns, each representing one of the victims of Breivik’s 2011 gun and bomb attack.

But 16 locals have now filed a lawsuit to stop the memorial, saying it is being built too close to residential areas and may also draw grief tourists to the area.

"We have been given a cemetery-like memorial: 77 three-metre-high bronze columns that will stand 75 metres from our house," said Terje Lien, 75, who used his boat to rescue survivors of the rampage as they swam from Utoya. "The first thing we’ll see when we look out of the kitchen window will be these columns."

Sixty nine people died at Utoya when Breivik – a right-wing extremist — opened fire on a camp organised by Norway’s Labour Party youth league on July 22, 2011.

A further eight people died in a bomb he planted in Oslo. A memorial is already in place on Utoya island itself, which is privately owned by the Workers’ Youth League.

Terje Lien points to the construction site near Utoya

Credit: AFP

The new one is being built at a ferry harbour nearby, and is intended to act as a permanent public monument. A previous proposal called the "Memory Wound", featuring a sharp gash to be cut in a rocky peninsula, was also scrapped in 2017 after local protests.

The objections to latest plans have dismayed Lisbeth Kristine Royneland, whose daughter Synne Royneland died on Utoya.

“I understand that they (the residents) see Utoya every day, and there are many who hurt at the sight of the island, “she told the New York Times. But she added: “It’s important to recognise that it did happen.”

Residents insist they have no objection to the memorial as such, merely its location. Mr Lien says he even offered an alternative site on some of his own land. Mental health experts have been called to give evidence on behalf of both sides in the lawsuit.

Those acting on behalf of victims’ relatives are claiming a "hierarchy of mourning" under which their wishes should get priority. Breivik is currently serving a 21-year prison sentence, which may be extended indefinitely.