PST Boss ‘We Realize People Are Angry At Us’

Norway’s police intelligence agency, PST, was recently bashed after it was found to have been tipped about a possible terrorist attack in Scandinavia in mid-June but not to local police. . Six days later, gunmen began firing at Norwegians celebrating the Oslo Pride, and the PST later got into trouble.

The PST’s new chief, Beate Gangås, has drawn both criticism for how he handled the information, despite its ambiguous content, and subsequent public outrage, particularly within Oslo’s gay community. Admitted.The two men sitting in the gay bar killed and many injured.

“Of course there are reasons to question why the attack could not be prevented,” Gangas told the newspaper. Aftenposten last week. “We pose the same problem. We are our own worst critics.”

Gangas also said he “understood” that many were angry with both the PST and the police. gunman arrestedHe was subsequently identified as Islamic extremist Zaniar Matapour, who allegedly worked with extremist Islamist Alfan Bhatti. Also recently charged in a caseBhatti, who has a long police career, is believed to have traveled to Pakistan shortly before the shooting occurred, and an international warrant was issued for his arrest.

‘We cannot guarantee that terrorist attacks will not occur,’ said Gangas Aftenposten“At the same time, we are expected to communicate in a way that people can understand and do what we can to protect groups that may be targeted by terrorist threats.”

This includes Oslo Pride organizers who recently met with Gangers and analysts at PST. They wanted answers to 19 questions to maintain confidence in PST.Oslo pride leader Dan Bjorke said Aftenposten It is difficult to understand why the PST did not pass on information it received about possible terrorist threats, especially to Oslo police, who were not informed until two days after the June 25 shooting.

“I think PST understands our frustration.” Björke said Aftenpostenbut he worries that intelligence agencies lack insight and capacity on the gay community and the threats to it.

“We are gathering information from abroad and domestically to assess the situation within vulnerable groups,” she said. One of her biggest challenges for PST is that the information she receives is classified and often not communicated, but she wants direct contact with potential target groups.

“We want to tell them what we can talk about,” Gangas said, adding, “It’s no wonder targeted groups want and need information.” She wants information from them too. Among other things, the gay community is seen as a target of terrorism by both Islamic extremists and ultra-right extremists.

“I want to say to the gay community, ‘Information please. If you have any concerns or are receiving threats, please let us know,” said Gangus. She does not believe that the PST underestimated the threat to the gay community, and that the various groups that make up the community are drawing attention among both right-wing extremists and her Islamic State environment. added, “There is no doubt about it.” It is also shown in international attacks. ”

She has not yet elaborated on information about the potential attack PST suffered last June, but it reportedly could have occurred anywhere in Scandinavia, not just Norway or Oslo. Gangers confirmed it was from a Norwegian international intelligence agency associated with the military. Etterretningstjenesten“There was no information on the timing[of the attack]but it proved to be a race against time,” she said, after PST was presented with an assessment of how it was handled. , added, “Back to the details.”

newsinenglish.no/Nina Berglund