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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Majority calls for July 22 memorial

A new public opinion poll indicates that a majority of the Norwegian population wants to make July 22, the day Norway was attacked by a domestic terrorist, a memorial day on the official calendar to be marked year after year.

The poll, conducted by research firm InFact for newspaper VG, showed that 62.9 percent of those questioned wanted to set aside July 22 as what the Norwegians call a “minnedag,” or day of remembrance. Of those, 39 percent think the day should feature rose parades in cities, towns and villages nationwide.

The poll results come as funerals for the victims are being held from Finnmark in the far north to Sarpsborg in the south. Bombing and shooting attacks on government headquarters in Oslo and on a Labour Party summer camp on island in the Tyri Fjord have left 77 persons and many more seriously injured.

Government minister Trond Giske of the Labour Party said the day wouldn’t be forgotten but it was unclear whether it would become a day marked in red on Norwegian calendars.

Meanwhile, members of the youth groups for other political parties in Norway were moving forward with their summer meetings, rejecting any talk of cancelling them in the wake of the attacks on the island. “It’s now that we need to get together more than ever,” said a spokesperson for Unge Venstre, the youth organization for the Liberal Party.

They met on the island of Tromøy outside Arendal over the weekend. News bureau NTB reported that the mood was sombre but there were also smiles and laughter as the young future politicians met and stuck to their agenda. Police were present at the meeting, but without imposing any major security measures.

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