| Madhav |
Posted
on 11-May-03 07:46 PM
Here is news story:
NEWSDESK
08 May 2003 14:19:03 GMT
Bush, Blair nominated for Nobel prize for Iraq war
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By Alister Doyle
OSLO, May 8 (Reuters) - A Norwegian parliamentarian nominated U.S. President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair for the Nobel Peace Prize on Thursday, praising them for winning the war in Iraq.
"Sometimes it's necessary to use a small and effective war to prevent a much more dangerous war in the future," Jan Simonsen, a right-wing independent in Norway's parliament, told Reuters.
"If nobody acted then Saddam Hussein could have produced weapons of mass destruction and, in five or 10 years, could have used them against Israel," he said.
An award to Bush and Blair would be a U-turn after the Nobel Committee awarded the 2002 prize to former U.S. President Jimmy Carter last October. At the time, the committee chairman called it a kick in the shins to Bush's Iraq policies as Carter had been calling for a diplomatic solution.
Simonsen said the war had "made it possible to create democracy and respect for human rights in a country which for so many years has been ruled by one of the worst dictators in modern times".
However, Geir Lundestad, the director of the Nobel Institute where the five-member committee meets, said Simonsen's proposal would have to wait for the 2004 award because the deadline for nominations for 2003 passed on February 1.
The secretive five-member committee names the annual winner in mid-October. More than 160 people and organisations have been nominated for the 2003 prize, including Pope John Paul, Irish rock star Bono and Cuban dissident Oswaldo Paya.
"I'm not especially optimistic that Bush and Blair will win but I think it's worth a try," Simonsen said. He said he would encourage like-minded parliamentarians in other countries to also nominate Bush and Blair.
Nobel committees have frequently honoured the United Nations instead of unilateral action by member states. The United Nations did not give an explicit mandate for the war amid opposition from countries including France, Germany and Russia.
The 2001 Nobel Peace Prize went to the United Nations and U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
Thousands of people around the world, including members of national parliaments, professors of history, law and politics and former laureates can make nominations for the prize. The nomination process is secret, but people sometimes publicise their choice.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L08157237.htm
Here is BBC Reporting:
Tuesday, 5 February, 2002, 09:56 GMT
Nobel nomination for Bush and Blair
Observers say the pair are unlikely to win
UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and US President George W Bush have been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by a Norwegian politician.
Harald Tom Nesvik, a member of the right-wing Party for Progress, said that he had nominated the two world leaders for fighting terrorism and promoting world peace.
"The background for my nomination is their decisive action against terrorism, something I believe in the future will be the greatest threat to peace," he told the Associated Press news agency.
"Unfortunately, sometimes... you have to use force to secure peace."
'Unlikely'
However observers say that the pair are unlikely to win the award because Bishop Gunnar Staalsett, one of five members of the secretive Nobel committee, has spoken out against the air strikes in Afghanistan.
The UN and its Secretary General Kofi Annan won the prize in 2001
Although the committee does not divulge the names of those nominated, those who put names forward may reveal their choices.
Mr Nevik has the ability to nominate because he is a member of a national legislature.
Nominations for the prize were due in to the Nobel awards committee by 1 February, however as long as they are posted before the date they can still be accepted.
Prestigious
The Nobel Peace prize, named after Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, has been awarded in a glittering Oslo ceremony every October since 1901.
Last year a total of 126 individuals or organisations were nominated for the prestigious award, the winner of which receives just under $1 million.
It is expected that the events of 11 September will prove influential in this year's award, and some observers are predicting nominations for former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and architect Guy Tozzoli, who designed the World Trade Center.
Last year the Nobel Peace Prize was won by the United Nations and its Secretary General, Kofi Annan.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/1801773.stm
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