Ataxia in Lake Placid

It was with complete shock and disbelief that I digested the horrendous twin attacks in Oslo, Norway on the July 22, 2011. It was 15:30 when an explosion rocked the Norway capital causing extensive damage to the official buildings including the offices of the Norwegian Prime Minster, Jens Stoltenberg who luckily escaped unhurt. Almost all the windows of the government HQ building were shattered and a cloud of smoke was seen surging in the bottom floors. The explosion was even heard 4 km away outside Oslo! The blast area was cordoned off immediately but the motive still remained nebulous. By 17:30, the police declared that at least 2 people were killed and 15 injured in this blast.

Time 17:39, AFP reported that Prime Minister Stoltenberg had been due to attend a rally of his Labour Party's youth section on the island of Utoya where a gunman reportedly opened fire earlier. Around 560 people were attending the youth camp. The initial reports hinted that five people were injured in the shooting. The most crucial thing about the twin attacks was that the authorities were at a loss in finding out the intention behind this sudden barrage. Several questions on whether it could be a terrorist attack were raised. It was reckoned that the nation's policy towards Afghanistan and Libya could be another reason for this.

A headway was made at 18:15 when the man who opened gunfire was arrested and the authorities proclaimed that the twin attacks at Oslo and Utoeya were connected. Mr. Stoltenberg told Norwegian broadcaster NRK: "Co-workers have lost their lives today... It's frightening. That's not how we want things in our country. But it's important that we don't let ourselves be scared. Because the purpose of that kind of violence is to create fear."

Meanwhile, a witness at the Utoeya camp shooting revealed a startling fact that he saw more than 20 bodies lying by the shore. Acting Police Chief Sveinung Sponheim in Oslo said that the shooter had also been spotted in the capital prior to the explosions. At 21:45, the justice minister confirmed that the suspect arrested at the youth camp in Utoeya was 32 and a Norwegian, making another significant breakthrough.

"Attacking one of the most peaceful places, a political youth camp, is especially brutal - an act of cowardice," Mr Stoltenberg said. Later undetonated explosives were found on the Utoeya island and the death troll was expected to rise overnight as the search for missing people progressed. The death toll was upped to a staggering 93 but was later revised to 76 citing difficulties in gathering information at Utoeya.

The suspect turned out to be a Anders Behring Breivik, a man with no previous criminal record, who even recently set up a Twitter profile with a solo horrifying tweet from the account: "One person with a belief is equal to the force of 100,000 who have only interests." He nurtured radical right-wing views and was totally against the 'Islamization of the Western Europe'. The failure of his country's leadership to preclude this advance and his growing paranoia and resentment towards this fact reached a crescendo leading to the attacks.

Breivik is also a member of a neo-Nazi internet forum Nordisk, a group with right-wing proclivities. More than everything, it was Breivik's diary which gave a chilling account of his thought process and his xenophobic nature. It's of  interest that he created these social networking profiles (on Facebook as well) on July 17, just days ahead of the shooting. He even set up a farm through which he was able to buy fertiliser, which may have been used to make a bomb. He also wrote a 1,500 page manifesto detailing his attack plans which he emailed to more than 1,000 people 1 hour 17 minutes before the massacre.

During the sealed court-room appearance, according to court officials, Mr Breivik said that he was trying to "save Norway and western Europe from cultural Marxism and a Muslim takeover." He has admitted to carrying out the twin attacks, but has not pleaded guilty to charges of terrorism." The objective of the attacks was to give a 'sharp signal' to people," said the judge in the case, Kim Heger.

In his first comment after his arrest, Mr Breivik said via his lawyer that the attacks were "atrocious, but necessary" to defeat liberal immigration policies and the spread of Islam. Mr Breivik is being held in an Oslo jail pending his trial on charges of terrorism.

The lawyer defending Mr. Breivik is putting up an insanity defence against him stating that he was probably insane when he carried out the attacks. But the fact remains to be seen if Mr. Breivik would plead so. In my opinion, there shouldn't be any second thoughts in prosecuting the psychopath and mass murderer; and the maximum possible punishment has to be pronounced on him.

As Jens Breivik said about his long-estranged son, "The last thing he should have done, instead of killing so many people, is to kill himself.", this is exactly what he should have done instead of harming the innocent people. Some embarrassing questions on the delay of the arrival of the Norwegian Police have also been raised. They reached almost 90 minutes after the shooting at Utoeya, raising concerns about the nation's security services.

Whatever be the case, the sea of tranquility has been disturbed by evil and chaos. The country which was perceived as an innocent and a peaceful nation till now has been marred by violence. A minute's silence was observed as a requiem to the lost souls. At least 100,000 people took part in the Oslo march in support of attack victims. But no amount of restitution and succor can bring back those lost lives. My heart and prayers goes to all the people and families of Norway who have been afflicted by this trauma! May God give them the hope, strength and courage to deal with it and come out of this deeply harrowing experience.