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A tale of two isles - Island Editorial
Now that the Norwegians know what the horror of terror is really like, it is hoped that they will gain wisdom to bid farewell to their misguided liberal values which have stood terrorists in good stead the world over and pressure their government to abandon Norway's longstanding policy of harbouring foreign terrorist groups on its soil, states the Island in an eye opening editorial on Tuesday( July 26).
Full text of The Island Editorial on Tuesday, July 26th, 2011.
Norway, still reeling from last week's twin terror strikes, is said to be struggling to make sense of the carnage. The criminals responsible for those cowardly attacks stand condemned for their barbarity.
Living in a country which had been known until last week as one of the most peaceful places on earth, the Norwegians may not have ever thought they would one day have to taste terrorism in this dreadful manner. It is only natural that, stunned, they find it extremely difficult to come to terms with what has befallen them and their beloved country.
The Norwegians are, as is the way with all disaster victims, trying to reassure themselves that the carnage they have just witnessed is a one-off simply because a lone assailant has claimed responsibility for it. But, let them be warned that there could be much more to the acts of savage terror at issue than meets the eye. Norway is a haven for terrorists of all sorts and it has its share of neo-Nazis, Jihadists and xenophobic far right extremists champing at the bit; given half a chance, they will bare their fangs. Anti-Semitic and anti-immigrant tensions are also said to be high in that country. It is a powder keg to all intents and purposes!
Besides parallels that one may draw between last week's mass murder of Norwegian youth and scores of massacres carried out by terrorists in this country (for nearly three decades) until 2009, Norway's Utoya Island, where Friday's killing took place, has a remarkable resemblance in shape to Sri Lanka (as could be seen from a picture we carry in the World View section today).
The tragedy evokes one's memories of how Norway sponsored the LTTE in spite of the latter's mindless terror, which plagued Sri Lanka. Among the victims of LTTE terrorists who kept on attacking civilian targets here were many infants and even unborn children, some of whom were taken out of their dying mothers' wombs and dashed on trees and walls. LTTE death squads also targeted packed trains and buses killing men, women and children alike. In spite of such heinous crimes, Norway had no qualms about backing the LTTE to the hilt internationally, allowing it to raise funds on its soil for terrorist activity and about urging Sri Lanka to make peace with the outfit notorious for its insatiable thirst for blood. Had the remedies prescribed by Norway been adopted by this country, it would still have been experiencing massacres like the Utoya killings.
It is believed that the mass murderer, Anders Behring Breivik, responsible for Friday's carnage went on his killing spree after he had met Right-wing extremists in London. A hunt is reportedly under way for his British counterparts. But, Norway and Britain launched no such hunts for Sri Lanka's terrorists who perpetrated worse crimes. Instead, they backed those psychos!
The developed world may have duped themselves into believing that threats to its interests emanated only from religious fanatics like Jihadists. But, the Oslo attacks have blown that myth sky high. They ought to take cognisance of the fact that terrorism transcends religion and ethnicity. It, like a virulent killer disease, spares none and poses a grave threat to mankind. Some countries have assisted in its spread by being selective in fighting it or promoting it in a bid to tame their rivals.
Now that the Norwegians know what the horror of terror is really like, it is hoped that they will gain wisdom to bid farewell to their misguided liberal values which have stood terrorists in good stead the world over and pressure their government to abandon Norway's longstanding policy of harbouring foreign terrorist groups on its soil.
Courtesy: The Island