WACC's General Secretary, Karin Achtelstetter, has sent a letter of condolence to WACC members in Norway. In it she said, “As the days pass and the real and full horror of what happened becomes clearer, WACC members around the world as well as WACC staff will continue to have you and the Norwegian people in their thoughts and prayers."

The letter emphasized that WACC stands for communication that builds understanding, greater awareness of other people and their beliefs, sensitivity to other cultures and, above all, tolerance for alternatives opinions and worldviews. The bombing and killings witnessed in Oslo are forms of non-communication, an expression not just of intolerance and hatred, but an extreme inability to communicate.

The letter pointed out that there are too many examples today of “war as the continuation of politics by other means”. WACC and its members promote peaceful ways of challenging political systems, ways that are positive and democratic, and that can express dissatisfaction without resorting to the extremes of violence. “Informal dialogue, formal public debate, citizens’ power, and even civil disobedience can lead to change in political processes and decision-making persuasively and non-violently,” Achtelstetter said.

WACC hopes that those responsible for mass and community media will play a vital role in such public debates, offering fair, balanced, and nuanced accounts of political and social questions. Since the media are in a position to advocate peaceful solutions to strife, it is vital to provide spaces for alternative points of view that are critical while remaining tolerant and sympathetic.

“Freedom of expression is not, and never was, the freedom to sow dissension and hatred,” wrote Achtelstetter. “It is the right to communicate constructively and positively in a spirit of a shared humanity.”

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