[E-rundbrief] Info 1150 - Degeneration of the Peace Prize

[Matthias Reichl]

E-Rundbrief - Info 1150 - Mairead Maguire (Irland): Where are the 
Peacemakers? A Nobel Laureate on the Degeneration of the Peace Prize

Bad Ischl, 31.10.2012

Begegnungszentrum für aktive Gewaltlosigkeit

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Where are the Peacemakers?
A Nobel Laureate on the Degeneration of the Peace Prize

Mairead Maguire

spectrezine, October 30, 2012 14:49

Alfred Nobel was a visionary who believed in a demilitarized peaceful 
world.  In his will he left his Nobel peace prize to those who would 
work for ‘fraternity among nations’, ’abolition or reduction of 
standing armies’, and ‘holding and promotion of peace congresses’.

In Nobel’s will the award for Peace was to go to Champions of peace, 
those working to replace militarism with international order based on 
law and the abolition of national military forces.  Nobel’s vision and 
dream was to replace the power of militarism and war, with the power 
of law.   I believe the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to the 
European Union, does not meet the criteria of Alfred Nobel’s vision 
and spirit, and his vision of a demilitarized peaceful world.

In many ways the European Union has done much in the past sixty years 
for peace and reconciliation amongst nations, but it has sadly done 
little for the demilitarization of Europe.  Whilst the EU imposes 
severe austerity measures upon many EU  countries it simultaneously 
supports the growing militarisation of Europe by its support for 
US/NATO (guilty of war crimes against Iraq, Afghanistan,  etc.,)  It 
continues to support the policies of the USA - nuclear weapons held in 
six EU States.  It supports arms sales from European States (UK, 
Germany, etc.,) to countries all around the world.   The EU instead of 
upholding human rights for countries such as Palestine, has rewarded 
Israel by giving them special trading status and huge grants (EU tax 
payers money) for its military research and weapons thus enabling it 
to continue it illegal policies of occupation and apartheid  of Palestine.

I cannot support this decision to give the peace prize to EU and 
appeal to the Swedish Foundation Authority to hold the Nobel Committee 
accountable for giving, yet again, a political award instead of 
supporting people taking courageous, and often dangerous stands to 
help move the human family away from military international relations 
to one based on peaceful resolution of conflict.

I believe that the reform of the Nobel Peace Committee is now 
necessary. As is the case of all other Nobel Prize committees, which 
are made-up of experts in their particular field, perhaps it is time 
too for the Nobel Peace Prize Committee to be comprised of people 
experienced in the field of peacemaking and International Law.

Mairead Maguire is a Nobel Peace Laureate and a co-founder of Northern 
Ireland’s Peace People.

http://www.spectrezine.org/where-are-peacemakers-nobel-laureate-degeneration-peace-prize

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