The Philippines on Saturday (July 23, 2011) joined governments worldwide in condemning the attacks that claimed 91 lives in Norway, home to 16,000 Filipinos and peace talks with the Asian country’s Maoist rebels.
Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario has been told there were no known Filipino victims of the gun and bomb attacks on Friday, according to Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) spokesperson Raul Hernandez.
“The secretary of Foreign Affairs states the Philippines deplores the tragic twin attacks in Norway and extends his condolences to the Norwegian government and people,” Hernandez told Agence France Presse.
“As of this time, initial report from our embassy in Oslo … states there are no Filipinos adversely affected by the recent bombing and shooting incidents,” Hernandez added.
Del Rosario is attending a regional security meeting in Indonesia.
Added sadness
“We sympathize with the families of (those) who perished in the attack and we would like to send our sympathies to them,” deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said on state-run radio dzRB.
“There is an added sadness … because they are the third-party facilitator in our peace talks,” Valte said.
Oslo has been hosting peace talks this year between the Philippine government and Maoist rebels waging a deadly, 42-year-old armed rebellion in the Southeast Asian nation.
Valte said Filipinos may check on their loved ones in Norway through the DFA hotline, 834-4444.
Norway Attacks Put Spotlight on Rise of Right-Wing Sentiment in Europe
The attacks in Oslo on Friday have riveted new attention on right-wing extremists not just in Norway but across Europe, where opposition to Muslim immigrants, globalization, the power of the European Union and the drive toward multiculturalism has proven a potent political force and, in a few cases, a spur to violence
The success of populist parties appealing to a sense of lost national identity has brought criticism of minorities, immigrants and in particular Muslims out of the beer halls and Internet chat rooms and into mainstream politics. While the parties themselves generally do not condone violence, some experts say a climate of hatred in the political discourse has encouraged violent individuals.
“I’m not surprised when things like the bombing in Norway happen, because you will always find people who feel more radical means are necessary,” said Joerg Forbrig, an analyst at the German Marshall Fund in Berlin who has studied far-right issues in Europe. “It literally is something that can happen in a number of places and there are broader problems behind it.”
Last November a Swedish man was arrested in the southern city of Malmö in connection with more than a dozen unsolved shootings of immigrants, including one fatality. The shootings, nine of which took place between June and October 2010, appeared to be the work of an isolated individual. More broadly in Sweden, though, the far-right Sweden Democrats experienced new success at the polls. The party entered Parliament for the first time after winning 5.7 percent of the vote in the general election last September.
The bombing and shootings in Oslo also have served as a wake-up call for security services in Europe and the United States that in recent years have become so focused on Islamic terrorists that they may have underestimated the threat of domestic radicals, including those upset by what they see as the influence of Islam.
The success of populist parties appealing to a sense of lost national identity has brought criticism of minorities, immigrants and in particular Muslims out of the beer halls and Internet chat rooms and into mainstream politics. While the parties themselves generally do not condone violence, some experts say a climate of hatred in the political discourse has encouraged violent individuals.
“I’m not surprised when things like the bombing in Norway happen, because you will always find people who feel more radical means are necessary,” said Joerg Forbrig, an analyst at the German Marshall Fund in Berlin who has studied far-right issues in Europe. “It literally is something that can happen in a number of places and there are broader problems behind it.”
Last November a Swedish man was arrested in the southern city of Malmö in connection with more than a dozen unsolved shootings of immigrants, including one fatality. The shootings, nine of which took place between June and October 2010, appeared to be the work of an isolated individual. More broadly in Sweden, though, the far-right Sweden Democrats experienced new success at the polls. The party entered Parliament for the first time after winning 5.7 percent of the vote in the general election last September.
The bombing and shootings in Oslo also have served as a wake-up call for security services in Europe and the United States that in recent years have become so focused on Islamic terrorists that they may have underestimated the threat of domestic radicals, including those upset by what they see as the influence of Islam.
Written by Makisig Bayani
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