Letter of condolence to the Norwegian people

The representative of Flemish speaking humanists in Belgium, deMens.nu, would like to express its deep grief for the mass murders in Norway. To all the families and friends of the victims and to the Norwegian people we would like to offer our genuine sympathy.

With disbelieve we heard of the attacks on the 22nd of July 2011 in Oslo and the resort island Utoya. This barbaric act sheds a dark cloud over a society. It is a crime against humanity, freedom, tolerance, democracy and the rule of law. Any form of extremism or fundamentalism goes against our humanistic beliefs and should be condemned.

In august a delegation of deMens.nu will attend the tri-annual International Conference of the IHEU in Oslo about "Humanism and Peace". In light of the recent attack both the theme and location of this congress has now a special dimension. In the serenity of the conference we hope to give an answer to the violence and terror in this world based on humanistic values.

Sonja Eggerickx
president deMens.nu