Social Democrats to hold youth congress

“In support for our friends in Norway, we want the congress to go ahead as

planned,” outgoing SSU chairwoman Jytte Guteland told AFP.

“Our members think its important to show our support to AUF (the youth branch of the Norwegian Labour Party) … it’s important to show our (political) committment,” she said.

She added that like AUF, SSU vowed “not to give up” in the face of an attack on politically involved youths.

Guteland would not comment on extra security measures but stressed that the

organisation was always in contact with police for large events and trusted them to assess the security situation.

“We understand that some people may feel worried and that is natural after what has happened … we will be taking extra steps to address any concerns or worries,” she said.

The congress will gather some 500 participants from throughout Sweden, aged 13 to 30, in central Stockholm from August 2nd to 5th.

Anders Behring Breivik, a 32-year-old ring-wing extremist, on Friday killed 68 participants to an island retreat of the youth branch of the Norwegian Labour Party.

He also killed eight people by detonating a car bomb in front of offices of the Labour-led government in central Oslo.

SSU has called for a gathering in Stockholm’s main square Friday evening to commemorate the twin attacks in Norway.

Ingvar Carlsson, a former Social Democrat prime minister, is set to speak.