Language Art Speech

Done by: Mervin Lim

Class: 2A220

Language Art Speech: Mercy and Justice

Norway Terrorist Attack

Good afternoon Mr. Lundberg and fellow classmates. Today, I will present on my speech, entitled "Norway Terrorist Attack Controversy-Mercy or Justice?"

This terrorist attack involved a series of car bombings, and a shooting spree, in a span of a few hours, killing 93 people, and left many injured. The gunman, Anders Behring Breivik, is a far-right zealot, and  the rationale of his killing spree was to "market" his manifesto calling for a revolution that would rid Europe of Muslims.

During the court hearing, Anders demanded a public speech to emphasize on the "need" for the killing spree he committed, in other words, to brain wash the innocent citizens of Norway. However, the demand was denied by the judge, and furthermore, to add on to the debating and discussion of people from all over the world reading this piece of news, Anders will only face a jail term of maximum 21 years, despite the number of lives he took, since Norway does not have the death penalty, and worse of all, he is yet to be charged for crime against humanity. Hence, we now come to the my viewpoint, that justice should be carried out, instead of mercy. But why so?

Firstly, look at the consequences if Anders is not persecuted for his atrocious crime against humanity. Currently, he is 32 years old, and after his 21 year jail term, he will come out, only 53 years old. At that age, he can continue with his far right activities, and his "marketing" of the revolution, as he claimed it to be. Hence, many more innocent lives are at stake. Furthermore, since Norway is already a country full of racial sensitivity, due to the sudden influx of immigrants from Africa and other Islamic countries such as Pakistan, the release of Anders will lead to him brainwashing the public through his speeches and "rallies", which he demanded for, and was denied. This will lead to a large number of people joining the "revolution" Anders aim to make, and supporting the manifesto that Anders created. Thus, the Norway at that stage would be extremely chaotic, due to the far-right terrorist activities being so prominent, and it would be much harder to stop all the Islamophobia views among the Norweigeins by then.  Moreover, the civil war in Europe that Anders was hoping for would come true, and bloodshed would be never ending. 


Secondly, if Anders is not persecuted, and sentenced to death, for taking the lives of 93 innocent people, the repercussions would be dire. The relatives and affected Norweigeins are definitely angry at Anders. They are demanding for a public persecution of Anders on the 22nd of July, and if this rightful demand from the Norweigeins are not met, they would definitely feel frustrated and agitated, and this may escalate to strikes, and even riots and bloodshed. Furthermore, the fact is that the number of anti-Anders around the world is very significant, and their views are now being conveyed through social medias, such as Facebook and Twitter. For example, a Facebook page has been set up by a relative of a victim, and currently, it has 64318 likes, within just a week, which is an astounding amount of people. Next, the Islamic immigrants and people all over the world are now greatly affected, insulted and threatened, will definitely be unhappy if Anders is not persecuted, and hence a civil war may really break out, as in plan, for Ander's massacre. Hence, if Anders is not persecuted, the prominent amount of anti-Anders around the world will be extremely unhappy, and Norway will definitely face the dire consequences.

Last but not least, justice is ultimately important, particularly for the injured survivors, and also the family members of the deceased. This is because persecution of Anders would then signify the closure and ending of this whole terror attack. The people mentioned above are already affected tremendously by this incident, particularly psychologically. If Anders is not persecuted, the affected will still live in fear and hatred, and this incident would be etched in their minds, unable to be forgotten.

In conclusion, justice should definitely be carried out, instead of mercy. This is so as to prevent all the dire repercussions and consequences from taking effect, and for the rightfulness of the affected, to aid them to recover from the trauma they have experienced, through this ridiculous massacre of Anders.

Thank you.