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Opinion Editorials, April 2012 |
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By Abdus Sattar Ghazali Al-Jazeerah, CCUN, April 23, 2012
Perhaps terrorist is a prohibited jargon when you are reporting about the Norway terrorist Anders Behring Breivik whose trial began on Monday for killing 77 people last July. He killed eight people by detonating a bomb in Oslo and a further 69 during a shooting spree at political youth camp on nearby Utoya island. Here are sample headlines in the major American, British, Australian and New Zealand newspapers/news networks on the first and second day trial of the Norway terrorist which perhaps give credence to my argument: The U. S. Media ABC News: Norway Shooter Anders Breivik Pleads Not Guilty, Cries in Court Denver Post: Oslo defendant says he killed 77 to protect Norway from Islam CNN: What will happen to Norway mass killer Breivik? Huffington Post: Anders Behring Breivik, Norway Mass Killer, Claims 'Self Defense' As Trial Begins. Huffington Post: Anders Breivik Trial: Suspect Defends Norway Massacre, Insists He Would Do It Again. MSNBC: Norway mass killer Anders Breivik: I was motivated by goodness and 'would have done it again' New York Times: Norwegian Man Claims Self-Defense in Killings New York Times: On Witness Stand, Norwegian Says He Would Kill Again Washington Post: Trial against confessed killer Anders Behring Breivik has started in Norway The British newspapers: The Guardian (UK): Anders Behring Breivik unmoved by tape of victims' screams The Independent (UK): Unrepentant and shameless, Anders Breivik faces justice at last The Telegraph (UK): Anders Behring Breivik forced to confront cold reality of his crimes The Telegraph (UK): Anders Breivik isn’t mad – he was a man on a mission The Telegraph (UK): Norwegian extremist Anders Breivik invoked Enoch Powell as he took the stand to justify a mass-killing he described as "the most sophisticated and spectacular political attack seen in Europe since the Second World War." Australian newspapers Perth Now (Australia): No remorse: Trial of Norwegian mass killer Anders Breivik begins Sydney Morning Herald (Australia): A ghastly litany of relentless slaughter: man of stone Breivik eventually reduced to tears New Zealand Media Stuff (New Zealand): Smirking Norway killer Breivik pleads not guilty According to MSNBC, the self-confessed mass killer Anders Behring Breivik told his trial Tuesday that he was motivated by "goodness, not evil" and said, "I would have done it again." On the second day of his trial, he boasted about last July's massacre in a pre-pared statement to court, saying: "I have carried out the most sophisticated and spectacular political attack committed in Europe since the Second World War." In the court hearing, Breivik has repeated his well known views against Islam and Muslims and argued that the aim of the massacre was to end "multicultural drift." Breivik compared himself to other racist serial killers in Europe, such as Peter Mangs, the Malmo serial killer who in 2010 picked off immigrants with a sniper rifle, and Germany's NSU group, who killed more than 10 immigrants over the last decade. As Telegraph reported: "It is important that more patriots in Europe assume responsibility like I did, and men like Peter Mangs in Malmo did," he said. "They are all perfect foot soldiers …. for nationalist rebirth. Europe needs more great heroes like them." The killer argued that since the Second World War, democracy in Europe had been stifled by a conspiracy of Liberal and Marxists, who "feared that new Hitlers would pop up and cause the Third World War". I will not go into the detail of his trial since a lot of material is available on the internet. By giving the above headlines I would like to make only one point. I wanted to ask, if brutally killing 77 people is not terrorism and Anders Behring Breivik should not be called “The Norway terrorist Breivik.” Call a spade a spade. From these headlines I can speculate that in the stories also Breivik is not labeled as terrorist but as extremist, killer and mass killer. Abdus Sattar Ghazali is the Chief Editor of the Journal of America (www.journalofamerica.net) and Executive Editor of the American Muslim Perspective (www.amperspective.com) Email: asghazali2011 (@) gmail.com |
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