Throughout the country, preparedness has risen before May the 17th,but this year the leader of the May 17 committee in the capital experienced fewer people fearing terror attacks than last year.
Last year, more children and adults didn’t attend the celebrations to avoid the crowds.
‘’All police districts have increased preparedness on the 17th of May. Police officers in the relevant police district are responsible for assessing local preparedness and possible implementation of measures,’’ said section head,Jørn Schjelderup of the police directorate to NTB news.
Less fear
Last year terrorism put the dampers on the celebration of the national day in Oslo. But this year, the head of the May 17 committee in the capital, Eirik Lunde, told P4 newspaper that he had not received reports from schools concerned about terrorism.
“I think it’s a combination of the news being a bit different this year, and that people feel that security was well taken care of last year,” said Lunde.
25,000 children from 119 schools will participate in this year’s march in Oslo city center, and Lunde encourages everyone to attend.
“It’s going to be the people’s party that we are used to, and I’m absolutely confident that the police and emergency preparedness groups will do what they can to make it safe and enjoyable for everyone,” he said.
No threats
Prior to this year’s big party day, the Police Security Service (PST) have announced that there are no concrete threats.
‘’At present, PST are not aware of any specific threats to either May 17 or other annual celebrations. At the same time, Norway has never had better preparedness,” said Martin Bernsen, a senior adviser to PST earlier this week.
Despite the fact that PST estimates that the risk of threat is lower than last year, the police in Oslo and elsewhere put additional safety measures in place this year.
“We never go into detail about security measures, and the measures that may be implemented will vary from district to district. However, we may announce that both visible and unseen measures will be implemented on May the 17th.
Arrests may be an example of a visible measure that the police officers choose to implement,’’ said Jørn Schjelderup of the Police Directorate to NTB news.
Source: visitoslo.com / Norway Today
