Breivik's father: I wish my son killed himself

French police officers at the house of Jens Breivik, the father of Anders Behring Breivik, in Cournanel, southern France, July 25, 2011.

/ AP Photo/Bob Edme

The father of Anders Behring Breivik, the Norwegian who confessed to last Friday's twin terror attacks, said he was ashamed and disgusted by his son's acts and wished he had committed suicide.

Jens David Breivik, a former diplomat who lives in retirement in the south of France, said he first learned of his son's attacks from media websites.

"I couldn't believe my eyes. It was totally paralyzing and I couldn't really understand it," he said.

Breivik's parents divorced in 1980, and his father lived in London while he and his mother lived in Oslo.

In an interview with the Swedish tabloid Expressen, Breivik said he and his son have had virtually no contact with one another since 1995 (when Anders was 16), except for a "bland" phone call about 10 years ago.

"I don't feel like his father," said Breivik from his secluded home in southern France. "How could he just stand there and kill so many innocent people and just seem to think that what he did was OK? He should have taken his own life, too. That's what he should have done."

"I will have to live with this shame for the rest of my life. People will always link me with him," he said.

When asked what he would say to his son if he had the opportunity, Jens Breivik said he didn't know, and didn't know if Anders would listen. "He must live in another world; I do not think he would understand."

He added that his son should consider the sorrow and suffering he has caused. "He has ruined so many lives. He must think of the consequences," Jens Breivik said.

On Monday police surrounded the elder Breivik's house in the south of France, to ensure the safety of Breivik after reporters and photographers swarmed to his property.

[SOURKREME]

Leave the father alone about his son. Would you want what is happening to this man over a horrible crime that his son committed be held against you ? This man's life is now ruined for something his son did. I think if you gave the man a loaded gun and put him in the same room as his son he would not hesitate to turn the gun on his son and kill him. There are enough victims in this unimaginable crime, we don't need to add the father to it.

[SusanMassachusetts]

His life is far from ruined. He had nothing to do with the kid for years. They share a name and some DNA. However the article does read that the father is a little too self-absorbed and is more concerned how this will impact him.

[SusanMassachusetts]

billy jo roachuba, you are a psychotic fruit loop. as your profile states, cute but psyche-o, not really cute, down right ugly in fact, but 100% a spamming flake

[Bojax39]

"Breivik's father: I wish my son killed himself"

We wish he had too, dad. About a month ago would have been the optimum time......

[mr_kommedal]

Any time before Friday the 22 of July would have done just fine.

[winstonion]

agreed

[rf35]

I'm forced to agree with the father.

[smc341]

Maybe the son was trying to get his father's attention after being ignored for years...

Or he could have turned out to be a mental case if the father had been in his life, we'll never know the answer to this one.

[192011]

That's what I was thinking. This father seems very self-centered with no sense of responsibility for the effect that his desertion had on a sixteen-year-old boy. He seems much more concerned about what others will think of him. Well now he knows.

[rf35]

@192011 and others,
I'm still trying to find where it said the father deserted this man. If the mother left, she likely took the boy without Jens Breivik getting any say in it. Courts side with the mother in the vast majority of custody cases. He may have fought to be allowed to have a role in raising Anders but was denied. Jens obviously spent a lot of time traveling abroad as a diplomat and maybe the courts felt that was a poor situation for a child. Now all he can do is live in shame for the atrocities his son committed. You people judging him as a father is exactly why he is reacting this way to his son's crimes.

[mr_kommedal]

I have now noticed an important bit is missing in this article.
I will therefore show part of a copy of the original interview with the Norwegian TV2. He says there that this is the only interview he will give, so it is good to have at least part of the original.
Here is the quote:
har latt seg intervjue av TV 2s Elin S?rsdahl. Han ?nsket ikke ? vise ansiktet. Dette blir if?lge mannen det eneste tv-intervjuet han vil gi.

Klarer ikke ? forst?

- Jeg kommer aldri til ? ha noe mer kontakt med ham. Og i de verste stunder tenker jeg at det siste han burde gj?re, var at han i stedet for ? drepe s? mange mennesker, s? burde han tatt sitt eget liv, sier mannen til TV 2.

- Det er sterke ord fra en far?

- Ja, det er det. Men n?r jeg tenker tilbake p? det som har skjedd, s? blir jeg helt fortvilet. Jeg forst?r fortsatt ikke hvordan noe s?nt kunne skje. Det er ikke et normalt menneske som gj?r noe s?nt, fortsetter han.

This is in Norwegian. I do speak Norwegian, but do not just take my word for it. You should be able to get an usable translation somewhere.

The quote is from:
http://www.tv2.no/nyheter/utenriks/breiviks-far-han-burde-tatt-sitt-eget-liv-3545669.html

If CBS wants to look into this, the may have to sort out the copyrights first.

[mr_kommedal]

Here is a part translation. I have on purpose kept as much of the original sentence building in order to make it easier to follow the word for word sequence. Some changes I had to make for it to be at all readable in English.
Here it is:
Not able to understand.

I will never more have any contact with him.And in the worst moments I think that the last he should do, was that instead of killing so many people, he should have taken his own life, says the man (the father) to TV2.

That is strong words from a father ?

Yes, it is. But when I think back to what has happened, then i become completely dispaired. I still do not understand how such (a thing) could happen. It is not a normal human that does any such ( thing), he continues.

I hope you can make out what was said. English and Norwegian sentence building is at times very different.

[pleasereadcarefully]

Sorry, I had only read the CBS article when I commented. Any translations I find say "too" or "also" but, I don't speak Norwegian and I will take your word for it. It does show what can get lost in translation and how emotions often fuel what we say and do. What I wish for instead is that you will accept my apology, for I meant no harm.

[pleasereadcarefully]

To mr_kommedal
His father was quoted as saying "He should have killed himself TOO"-NOT INSTEAD. The word INSTEAD isn't anywhere in the article.

[mr_kommedal]

It is in the Norwegian article.
Original in Norwegian:
"Og i de verste stunder tenker jeg at det siste han burde gj?re, var at han i stedet for ? drepe s? mange mennesker, s? burde han tatt sitt eget liv."
Translation: And in the worst moments I think the last he should have done, was that instead of killing so many people, he should he taken his own life.

I HAVE noticed the absence of this in the CBS article, but what i just quoted is from Norwegian TV2s interview with the father.
Feel free to verify on this site:
http://www.tv2.no/nyheter/utenriks/breiviks-far-han-burde-tatt-sitt-eget-liv-3545669.html
You should be able to get a usable translation somewhere. There is no need to take my word for it.

[AlFranken]

Gosh darn it. If I had only known him before he got caught -- then we could have had a field day snuffing out teabaggers.

[mr_kommedal]

He would not have killed them first.
He would have tried to get them more extreme right wing instead.
He would also have promoted even more hate.

[formrusmcsgt]

"I will have to live with this shame for the rest of my life. People will always link me with him," he said.
----
What a revealing statement. It shows the depths of this man's selfishness.

He lost a son. There was massive carnage inflicted on innocents and what this fool's concerned about most is being associated with the perp.........

[mr_kommedal]

You must have missed the crucial point.
He said:
I wish he had killed himself INSTEAD of all those he killed.

One little question: Do you NOT wish the same ?

[spindriftsea]

I agree. Looks like Pop's life is fxxxxx up now. I'm old school too-you don't wish your child to commit suicide regardless. If he did, again, life would be easier for daddio.

[unclebernies]

This idiot made no sense. He did the attacks because he dosen't like muslim infiltration in the country and terrorism. So this dim wit goes out and commits a terrorist act.