Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, February 18, 1994 TAG: 9402180175
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: The Washington Post
DATELINE: LILLEHAMMER, NORWAY LENGTH: Medium
Borre Knudsen, a former Lutheran minister known for his theatrical protests against Scandinavia's liberal abortion laws, said the painting "might surface again" if Norwegian state television would broadcast "The Silent Scream," a film that shows a fetus being sucked from a womb in an abortion.
A spokesman for Norwegian television said no demand to show the film has been received and the network would not show it under such conditions.
Women here are permitted to have abortions on demand, paid for by the state, until the 12th week of pregnancy.
Knudsen cautiously refrained from claiming responsibility for the theft or saying he had direct knowledge of the crime. Police said they were "studying" his comments but had not found reason to call him in for questioning.
"We simply can't be too open about this," Knudsen said in a radio interview. "We have sent a signal, and we want this signal to be understood, but we must be very secretive about it."
Asked whether he would be willing to steal the painting to publicize his anti-abortion campaign, Knudsen responded, "Yes, absolutely." When pressed on whether his supporters were involved in the theft, he replied, "No comment."
The 1893 painting, of the ghostly outline of a woman with a terrified expression standing on a bridge with her hands clutching her face, is perhaps the most renowned work by Norway's greatest artist. The image has become an emblem here in anti-abortion literature.
Saturday, the day the Winter Olympics opened in Lillehammer, a man and an accomplice recorded by security video cameras took less than a minute to climb a ladder, smash a window, grab the painting and flee.
by CNB