IN HIS statement to court in Oslo, terrorist Anders Breivik made a number of bold assertions. Do they have any basis in fact?
CLAIM: “Three out of five Englishmen believe that the UK has turned into a dysfunctional society as a result of multiculturalism.” Breivik claimed to be quoting from a survey in the London Times newspaper on Feb 9, 2010.
FACT: Breivik appears to be inaccurately citing its lead story on that date, based on a Populus poll, which makes no reference to multiculturalism. It reads: “Nearly three-fifths of voters say they hardly recognise the country they live in.” But the target of their ire does not appear to be immigrants.
The Times says: “Voters’ main fire is directed at political institutions: 73 per cent say politics is broken in Britain and 77 per cent say there are far fewer people in public life that they admire than there used to be. The poll suggests anger at MPs who have had to repay expenses. A third say that they will vote against their local MP if he or she is required to repay money.”
CLAIM: Breivik asked his audience to look at Luton in Bedfordshire near London “and the more than 1,000 Islamic no-go zones where police do not dare pass through”. The city was, he said, living in “warlike conditions”.
FACT: Bedfordshire police said in a statement that “no-go areas do not exist in Bedfordshire”. According to the 2001 census, 60 per cent of inhabitants in Luton are Christian and 15 per cent are Muslim. A 2009 Office for National Statistics report estimates that Asian or Asian-British people make up 18.9 per cent of the local population.
It has, however, been cited as a home to some people with extremist views. The Muslin group al-Muhajiroun was based there before it was banned. A Muslim protest in March 2010 was staged against soldiers returning from the Iraq war. The English Defence League has staged protests there.
CLAIM: “Norwegians are becoming a minority in their capital city.”
FACT: According to a Statistic Norway report in January 2011, the number of immigrants and Norwegians born to immigrant parents accounted for 12.2 per cent of the total population in Norway on Jan 1, 2011, with immigrants from Poland making up the largest group, followed by Swedes, Germans and Iraqis.
It adds: “During 2010, the number of Norwegian-born to immigrant parents increased from 93,000 to 100,400 persons. Those with Pakistani parents made up the largest group of all Norwegian-born to immigrant parents, with 14,400. Norwegian-born to Somali parents were the second largest group (7,800), followed by those with parents from Vietnam (7,400), Iraq (6,600) and Turkey (5,900).” Of the 599,200 inhabitants of Oslo, 28.4 per cent were immigrants or Norwegians born to immigrant parents.
CLAIM: The liberal left boycotts democracy when nationalists take power. “For example, when [Jorg] Haider came to power in Austria, 14 countries in the EU boycotted Austria.”
FACT: The “boycott” referred to by Breivik appears to be a reference to the diplomatic sanctions imposed by 14 members of the European Union, led by France and Germany, on Austria in February 2000 after the Freedom party and its leader, Haider, entered the ruling coalition in Vienna as a junior partner to Schuessel’s People’s party.
The EU members acted, according to the German foreign minister, Joschka Fischer, because “this is the first time an anti-European, xenophobic party with a very dubious relationship with the Nazi past has come into the government of a member state”. The boycott lasted seven months.
By arrangement with Guardian