Anders Breivik, the Norwegian accused of conducting a bombing and shooting in his home country last year, decided to represent himself in the court proceedings which began April 16.
Breivik is charged with destroying basic functions of society under Norwegian law. Authorities say he killed eight people last year by bombing a government building in Oslo, only hours later opening fire at a youth camp at Utøya island, allegedly killing 69 people.
Breivik’s defense is just that — he was defending. He asserts that he was protecting the culture of Norway. He said there is a dictatorship of multiculturalism in the country, and that those trying to advocate for nationalism are prosecuted as racists.
He said only small amounts of immigration are useful for society; large percentages are too much, citing info from the Department of Statistics in Norway that said native Norwegians would become the minority group by 2040. He also cited examples from Japan’s nationalist policies which lead an economy and research culture while rarely garnering criticism for racism.
It is doubtful the law will accept these assertions as a valid justification for his charged crimes.
The media describes Breivik as a far-right fanatic, a crazed madman and a violent terrorist. Breivik thinks of himself as a nationalist, a crusader against Islam and a defender of Norway. The question is, what collection of words describes him? What he did was both violent and political, both attention-grabbing and horrific.
The label of terrorist might be closest. Terrorism is the use of force or the threat of force to make a political statement. If Breivik’s actions are seen as terrorism, he cannot qualify as an insane madman. More specifically, he cannot be saved by an insanity plea, not that he is asking for one.
Breivik has said he was surprised to have survived after the massacre and that he finds even a life sentence an insult. He said he would prefer either complete acquittal or capital punishment — the death penalty. The outline of why he deserves either complete freedom or the ultimate price is less explained by his defense and better relayed by his manifesto.
Breivik’s 1,500 page manifesto, which he distributed electronically en masse around the time of the massacre, incorporates his ideas about nationalism, Zionism and Islam. It also includes his justification for his actions.
In a nutshell, Breivik wrote that people like him see no government action or media attention of the soft intervention of the Islamic world into Norway. As such, the only action that can promote attention is drastic and violent action.
If Breivik gets the death penalty, which Norway does not typically institute, he would be seen by extremists as a martyr. This is probably the title he would prefer.
However, Norway is likely to incarcerate him. Breivik will have to settle for the title of inmate.
Igor Tretyakov is a computer science senior and may be reached at [email protected].
He is right about the demographics of Europe soon becoming majority muslim. Baby Mecca will soon be in Europe.