>From: Jabou Joh <[log in to unmask]> >Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list <[log in to unmask]> >To: [log in to unmask] >Subject: FWD: JIMMY CARTER WINS NOBEL PEACE PRIZE >Date: Fri, 11 Oct 2002 12:53:42 EDT > >I think the man from Plains Georgia definitely deserves a Nobel Peace Prize. > >Jabou > > >OSLO, Norway (Oct. 11) - Former President Jimmy Carter won the Nobel Peace >Prize on Friday for his ''decades of untiring effort'' to find peaceful >solutions to international conflicts and efforts to advance democracy and >human rights. In an unusual move, the chairman of the award committee >criticized President Bush's Iraq policy. > >Gunnar Berge, the Nobel committee chairman, contrasted the 78-year-old >Carter's success in using diplomacy to negotiate peace between Egypt and >Israel with Bush's threats to use force against Iraq. > >''It (the award) should be interpreted as a criticism of the line that the >current administration has taken,'' he said. ''It's a kick in the leg to all >that follow the same line as the United States.'' > >The Norwegian Nobel Committee cited Carter's ''vital contribution'' to the >Camp David Accords between Israel and Egypt and his efforts in conflict >resolution on several continents and the promotion of human rights after his >presidency. > >''In a situation currently marked by threats of the use of power, Carter has >stood by the principles that conflicts must as far as possible be resolved >through mediation and international co-operation based on international law, >respect for human rights, and economic development,'' the citation said. > >The award is worth $1 million. > >Bush called his predecessor to congratulate him and the two spoke for a few >minutes. > >''It was a friendly conversation,'' White House press secretary Ari Fleischer >said, adding that Bush was ''pleased to be able to congratulate a former >American president on winning such a prestigious award.'' > >There was no immediate White House comment on Berge's remarks. > >Although the committee has often used the prize to send a political message, >it rarely makes such a direct comment. And Berge's statements were not >approved by other members of the committee. > >The citation did not mention Iraq and other members of the Nobel committee >distanced themselves from Berge's criticism of Bush, saying it was his own >opinion and had not been part of the discussions leading to the prize. > >''In the committee, we didn't discuss what sort of interpretation of the >grounds there should be. It wasn't a topic,'' committee member Hanna Kvanmo >was quoted as telling the Norwegian news agency NTB. > >In a statement posted on the Carter Center's Web site, the 39th president >said, ''My concept of human rights has grown to include not only the rights >to live in peace, but also to adequate health care, shelter, food, and to >economic opportunity. I hope this award reflects a universal acceptance and >even embrace of this broad-based concept of human rights.'' > >Earlier, Carter told CNN that when he left the White House he decided to >''capitalize on the influence I had as the former president of the greatest >nation of the world and decided to fill vacuums.'' Carter refused to comment >on Bush's Iraq policy. > >Carter has said his most significant work has been through the Carter Center, >an ambitious, Atlanta-based think tank and activist policy center he and >wife, Rosalynn, founded in 1982 and which celebrates its 20th anniversary >this year. > >Perhaps his crowning achievement as president was the peace treaty he >negotiated between Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Premier >Menachem Begin. Carter kept them at Camp David for 13 days in 1978 to reach >the accord; Sadat and Begin shared the Nobel Peace Prize. > >The Nobel committee said Carter, who was in the White House from 1977-1981, >didn't share in that prize because he wasn't nominated in time. > >The five-member committee made its decision last week after months of secret >deliberations as it sought the right message for a world still dazed by the >Sept. 11 terror attacks, the war on terrorism that followed and concern about >a possible U.S. military strike against Iraq. > >Afghan President Hamid Karzai, one of this year's nominees, had called a >press conference in Kabul in advance of the announcement, but ended up >congratulating Carter. > >''He deserved it better than I, and he won it, and I'll try for next year,'' >he said at his presidential palace in Kabul. > >Portuguese President Jorge Sampaio said the prize was ''a just reward'' and >''wholly deserved.'' He singled out Carter's efforts to find a peaceful >solution for East Timor, a former Portuguese colony annexed by Indonesia. > >Carter, a Democrat and former Georgia governor, rose from a small-town peanut >farmer to the nation's presidency in 1976 after a campaign that stressed >honesty in the wake of the Watergate controversy. > >But he returned home after a landslide loss to Republican Ronald Reagan in >1980, his candidacy undermined by double-digit inflation, an energy crunch >that forced Americans to wait in line for gasoline, and the 444-day hostage >crisis in Iran. > >Carter overcame the voter repudiation and has doggedly pursued a role on the >world stage as a peacemaker and champion of democracy and human rights. > >He helped defuse growing nuclear tensions in Korea, then helped narrowly >avert a U.S. invasion of Haiti in 1994, as well as leading conflict mediation >and elections monitoring efforts around the world. > >Last year's award was shared by the United Nations and its secretary-general, >Kofi Annan. > >The peace prize announcement capped a week of Nobel prizes after the awards >for literature, medicine, physics, chemistry and economics were announced in >Sweden's capital, Stockholm. > >The Norwegian Nobel committee received a record 156 nominations - 117 >individuals and 39 groups - by the Feb. 1 deadline. > >The list remains secret for 50 years, but those who nominate sometimes >announce their choice with known nominees this year including Karzai, Bush >and British Prime Minister Tony Blair. > >The first Nobel Peace Prize, in 1901, honored Jean Henry Dunant, the Swiss >founder of the Red Cross. > >The prizes were created by Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel in his will and >always are presented on Dec. 10, the anniversary of his 1896 death. > > > >Copyright 2002 The Associated Press. > >~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > >To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface >at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html >To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: >[log in to unmask] > >~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~