Peace Prize no longer reflects original intent, lawyer says
The Norwegian Nobel Committee has no respect for founder Alfred Nobel's will and the Peace Prize has actually been turned into the "Norwegian Parliament Prize," said Norwegian lawyer Fredrik S. Heffermehl, who has been studying the laureates and Nobel's will, to Xinhua.
"Prizes awarded no longer respect Nobel, who wished to support global disarmament," Heffermehl said. "On the contrary, the prizes (now) reflect the attitudes of Norwegian politicians who believe in military strength, loyalty to NATO, and subservience to the United States of America."
On October 8 the Norwegian Nobel Committee decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2010 to Liu Xiaobo. Heffermehl said it was not a courageous move by the Nobel Committee.
"Again this year, even reminded of its legal obligation, the Nobel Committee did not dare to confront the force most powerful in world affairs – the military-industrial juggernaut," he said.
Nobel's will stipulates that the Peace Prize should be awarded to the person who "shall have done the most or best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses."
"Very long ago, the committee forgot that Nobel made a fundamental choice of approach to peace, between two opposing ideas of security," Heffermehl said. "Instead of relying on strength and threats, Nobel wished nations to develop a deep mutual trust and abolish their military forces and arms industry."
Heffermehl accused committee members, which he said comprised of retired lawmakers, of ignoring the indisputable evidence of Nobel's will and the rule of law.
In his most recent book, "The Nobel Peace Prize: What Nobel Really Wanted," Heffermehl writes that the committee is free to make decisions without any instructions from Norwegian authority, but because most are retired politicians with a "Cold War mindset," they lack understanding of how Nobel wanted to promote peace. He criticizes Norwegian politicians and the Norwegian Nobel Committee's attitudes toward democratic ideas.
"The mission of the Nobel Committee is to help achieve a new level of civilization and rule of law on the international level and free humanity from the deadly grip of militarism," Heffermehl insisted. "I am sure that Norwegian lawmakers will soon realize that it is a legal obligation to appoint a committee of people dedicated to Nobel's ideas."
Go to Forum >>0 Comments