News Analysis: This year’s celebration of pride in Norway was particularly important as it has been 50 years since homosexuality was virtually non-criminalized in 1972. Also, three years have passed since the last pride event was held for the pandemic. However, public debates over the scope of the celebration flew around, and anomalous shootings linked to pride put the country in an “abnormal terrorist situation.”
Saturday’s news also flew violently, with mass shootings in the middle of the night killing two people, injuring 21 and forcibly canceling the Pride Parade and all pride events. Labor Party Raymond Johansen, leader of the city government in Oslo, said at a press conference late Saturday afternoon that “Oslo’s pride will be bigger and stronger than ever” and they are simply “postponed.” “.
The outline of other developments is as follows.
*** Norwegian police intelligence PST poses a terrorist threat Rogerberg, PST’s deputy chief, also announced that the PST considers the shootings that began shortly after 1 am to be “extremist Islamic terrorist acts.” This is because the shooter, now identified as the 42-year-old Zaniar Matapour, has long been worried about the PST because of the history of violence and radical Islamic views.
Berg told state broadcaster NRK after a press conference on Saturday afternoon that Matapour had been on the PST radar since 2015 and had a “conversation” with him recently in May. PST officials decided he wasn’t dangerous, and Berg added that “it’s hard to know what people think,” and predicted how they would behave.
He is the third time in at least the last few years that PST has not acted more aggressively against warnings from the general public and their own intelligence, but the former calm of suspected terrorist threats. Defended a good reputation. A young Norwegian who started shooting at a mosque in Bærum in 2019 has also started shooting at another man who started a murder assault in Kongsberg last fall.
*** Minister of Justice Emilie Enger Meer, Political officers of the PST and police declined to comment on the defendant’s assessment by the PST until the results of all investigations into the ongoing shootings were available. She explains that the high threat of terrorism in Norway largely reflects the current “state remains unclear”, allowing citizens to lead a normal life, but need to be vigilant. Emphasized that there is.
She urged anyone with information that could be related to the case to share it with the police, helped the police with eyewitness testimony in the middle of the night, and when the defendant showed strong resistance to arrest. I thanked the people who helped the police manage the defendants. “Many people helped save lives last night,” Mehl said at a government press conference on Saturday afternoon.
Mehl also ordered the normally unarmed Norwegian police to carry weapons for the foreseeable future. The PST has no solid sign of a more deliberate attack, but the shootings were “very serious,” Mehl said, as the shootings could trigger other attacks, so the weapons It is considered legitimate.
*** Police were finally able to ask the defendant, Norwegian citizens from the Kurdish region of Iran, Saturday afternoon, but not long. Matapur, who has a criminal record of violence and intimidation, refused to work with police after his arrest and claimed that they would manipulate his remarks.
John Christian Elden, one of Norway’s most famous defense lawyers, has been appointed lawyer in Matapour and his client has told NRK that he is skeptical of the police. He does not accept the charges filed against him and is subject to a mental health assessment. Elden sought to downplay allegations of terrorism against him, in addition to attempted murder and attempted murder.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said “I don’t know” if the LHBT + community is his target, but “they were victims,” ​​he said at a government press conference.
Anette Trettebergstuen, Minister of Justice Mel and Minister of Equality and Culture, said on a day when it was supposed to promote diversity and gender equality, “Norway is once again hit by a brutal attack on innocent people. It will be a day to be killed. ” Man. “Two men in their 50s and 60s were killed, 10 were seriously injured, and 11 were slightly injured.
“When the defendant started shooting … happiness, laughter, and love turned into hatred, bullets, and murder,” Støre said. “Our thoughts are directed at those who have lost their loved ones, and those who are injured and feel feared and targeted today.”
Støre also said that many Norwegian Muslims are “despaired today.” It is our responsibility to ensure that no one but the person behind the attack is liable, not the entire Muslim.
The area where the shootings took place was blocked by police, but many flowed into nearby corners to place flowers and rainbow-colored flags. Thousands also marched in a voluntary parade to show solidarity. Storre, some of his fellow ministers, and members of the royal family also paid tribute to the victims of the scene, and local city officials stated that “they show to hateful terrorists that they can never win.” ..
There is a lot of local debate, But whether Oslo pride has become too big, too commercial, or too political. Few argue that celebrating gender diversity and the freedom to love the one you want is justified. And no one should forget that it was once a criminal offense. Norwegian law on sex between men was abolished in 1972, but homosexuality was also removed as a psychiatric diagnosis until 1977. Many non-heterosexuals have faced discrimination and harassment for years, and they still do.
However, although there was resistance to the celebration of pride, it is symbolized by another round of the flag of pride that was demolished and even burned from the school flagpole.Not everyone liked to see the pride flag set Storting (Norwegian Parliament) Last week, two pride flags flying at the Borer School on the eastern side of Oslo were breached. “It makes me sad and angry,” school principal Brit Boymo told the newspaper. Dagsavisen.. “We celebrate our pride, so everyone feels welcome and can be ourselves.” She responded to flag vandalism and she has some flags in reserve. I confirmed that.
Some parents and teachers also complained When Oslo’s principal, Labor Party Marte Jerhalsen, urged the school and its students to participate in a parade that had to be postponed in the end.One teacher said Dagsavisen Gerhalsen and her staff said they were “imposing their ideology” on school children, but others said the school would not participate in, for example, the May 1 parade to celebrate workers. rice field. Some parents also responded to how gender diversity is currently taught in schools. Christian Democratic leader Kjell Ingolf Ropstad also criticized Oslo’s schools for attending too many pride events in Oslo.
Others argued that such involvement was solely aimed at promoting tolerance and human rights.Mina Haudi Naland, Newspaper Commentator Aftenposten“Perhaps those who are currently sexually aroused will be able to show more understanding of intolerant people,” he suggested. She lamented that pride seemed to turn into a culture war.
newspaper Aftenposten Last week, some key voices in the LHBT + community also reported that they believed they were guilty of intolerance because the pride movement ignored important criticisms. Inger Kristin Haugsevje, leader of Oslo Pride, claims that the organization “represents everyone” and emphasizes that Oslo Pride is independent of the FRI. This organization introduces a third legal gender and promotes assistance to those who are confused about their gender.
But on Saturday, they all mourned the shootings, their victims, and how it completely ruined the long-awaited celebration. The Minister of Equality and Culture, Trettebergstuen, probably best summarizes his mood. “I’m very sad,” she said at a government press conference. “There must have been a parade for the first time in three years. It was necessary and worth it. Today the rainbow flag went black.”
newsinenglish.no/Nina Berglund
