Obama’s Nobel win splits world press

PARIS, Oct 10, (Agencies): The world’s media were divided Saturday after the shock award of the Nobel Peace Prize to President Barack Obama, with some calling it a victory for ideals and others condemning it as deeply politicised. The prize-giving committee in Oslo named Obama the winner of the prestigious prize on Friday, hailing his “extraordinary” efforts in international diplomacy and hastening nuclear disarmament. But the announcement proved as controversial as it was surprising. The Washington Post’s Dan Balz said there was amazement all around that the award had gone to “a president still in his first year in office with no major accomplishments internationally”. “The breadth of reaction, from exuberant gratification in some quarters to scorn and dismissal in others, underscored the political divisions over the direction of Obama’s policies and the sharply polarised impressions of his leadership,” wrote Balz.

The New York Times called it a “mixed blessing” for Obama that highlighted “the gap between the ambitious promise of his words and his accomplishments”. It said the award further demonstrated that Obama was still celebrated as the “anti-Bush” while in fact he had not shifted as much as he once implied he would from the previous administration’s national security policies. London’s Daily Telegraph said it was “one of the biggest shocks Nobel judges have ever sprung” and would also be seen as one of the most political, with nominations closing just 12 days after Obama took office. France’s Liberation wrote that the prize was deserved “because he’s Obama, with his life symbolically on three continents (and) because his success has become synonymous with dignity and hope.” But, the editorial said, “Could a Nobel Peace Prize laureate decide to attack Iran?” India’s Tribune declared “Obama is Nobel peacemaker”, while the Times of India hailed a “Lifetime award for debutant Obama”.

In China the unofficial Beijing News called it “an award of encouragement”. The paper said the Nobel jury’s decision was more “symbolic” than anything else, and that it was “very clear that Obama’s ‘feats’ are still purely verbal and it will be very difficult to implement them”. Japanese media said the award would increase global expectations of the Obama administration, with the mass-circulation Yomiuri Shimbun saying it was “an important task for him to achieve fruitful results from now on”. Egypt’s Al-Dustur daily called the award “political hypocrisy.” “What’s he done to get this prize?” the paper asked, recalling that US troops remained in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Middle East peace process was still deadlocked and Obama “hasn’t done anything to oblige Israel to get rid of its nuclear weapons.”
In Iran, reformist daily Etemad headlined its story: “Iran’s share in Obama receiving peace prize.”


Liberty
The Dalai Lama on Friday congratulated President Barack Obama on joining him as a Nobel Peace Prize winner and called for the US leader to champion “freedom and liberty.”
The exiled Tibetan leader, who is in Washington, sent Obama a letter of congratulations even though the president, in an apparent bid not to upset China, avoiding meeting the Buddhist monk during his weeklong visit.
The Dalai Lama, who won the prestigious award in 1989, told Obama that the Nobel committee “recognized your approach towards resolving international conflicts through the wisdom and power of dialogue.”
He praised Obama’s advocacy for ridding the world of nuclear weapons and improving the environment. “I have maintained that the founding fathers of the United States have made this country the greatest democracy and a champion of freedom and liberty,” the Dalai Lama wrote.
“It is, therefore, important for today’s American leaders to adopt principled leadership based on these high ideals. Such an approach will not only enhance the reputation of the United States, but also contribute tremendously to reducing tension in the world.”


Obama basked in new-found glory Saturday, vowing to consider his surprise Nobel Peace Prize as “a call for action” to address the challenges of the new century.
But critics argued the award may have been premature.
A visibly surprised Obama, 48, said Friday he did not feel fit to join the honor roll of revered Nobel peace laureates, but vowed to use the prize as a “call to action” to lead the world in confronting its deepest challenges. As shockwaves from the Nobel committee in Oslo raced around the world, many saw the award as a final swipe at ex-president George W. Bush. Critics complained Obama had few big achievements to justify such an illustrious prize.
Gasps greeted the announcement at the Nobel Institute in Oslo, where the jury hailed Obama’s “extraordinary” efforts in international diplomacy and hastening nuclear disarmament.


“Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world’s attention and given its people hope for a better future,” the Nobel jury said.
As criticism of the jury’s unanimous decision swelled, the head of the Norwegian Nobel Committee Thorbjoern Jagland denied the award was premature and said it recognized great deeds to come, as well as Obama’s record so far.
“We want to emphasise that he has already brought significant changes,” Geir Lundestad, the secretary of the Nobel Committee, told AFP.
“We do of course hope that there will be many concrete changes over the years but... we felt it was right to strengthen him as much as we can in his further struggle for his ideals.”


Record
Obama’s conservative foes pounced on his Nobel Prize win on Friday as an opportunity to lambast the US president’s record and his alleged celebrity status overseas.
The prize may have placed Obama alongside Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa and Martin Luther King, but it did little to stem a flood of acrimonious political debate that courses through Washington.
Republicans and conservatives derided the Nobel committee’s decision to award its venerated peace prize to the 48-year-old president as “unfortunate” and an “embarrassment.”


Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele accused Obama of having celebrity status but no “real achievements” that merited the award.
“The real question Americans are asking is, ‘what has President Obama actually accomplished?’” Steele said in a statement.
“It is unfortunate that the president’s star power has outshined tireless advocates who have made real achievements working towards peace and human rights,” Steele said.
“One thing is certain — President Obama won’t be receiving any awards from Americans for job creation, fiscal responsibility, or backing up rhetoric with concrete action,” Steele said.
Republican lawmaker Gresham Barrett was also critical.
“I’m not sure what the international community loved best; his waffling on Afghanistan, pulling defense missiles out of Eastern Europe, turning his back on freedom fighters in Honduras, coddling Castro, siding with Palestinians against Israel, or almost getting tough on Iran,” he said.


“Hopefully, this surprise award will give the President cause to reevaluate his current course.”
The leader of Norway’s main opposition called Saturday for the resignation of the Nobel Committee’s chairman, one day after Obama was awarded the peace prize, a newspaper reported.
Siv Jensen, head of the far-right Progress Party, said committee head Thorbjoern Jagland should step down because his new job as secretary general of the Council of Europe compromised his independence.
“It would be politically intelligent for Jagland, after having studied the situation, to announce his resignation to avoid” trying to do two jobs at once, Jensen told daily paper Bergens Tidende.
Erna Solberg, leader of Conservative party Hoejre, also criticised Jagland’s attempt to do two jobs and questioned his decision to hand Obama the peace prize.


Jagland, who has headed a Labour government in Norway and also served as foreign minister, was elected secretary general of the Council of Europe at the end of September.
This came several months after he became chairman of the Nobel Committee.
Friday’s decision to hand Obama the Nobel Peace Prize came as a shock and has divided world opinion, with some calling the move a victory for ideals while others condemned it as deeply politicised.
While Russia’s president congratulated Obama for winning the Nobel Peace Prize, Republicans see the award as so outrageous that they’re using it to raise campaign money.
Obama won the prize “for awesomeness,” says the mocking Republican fundraising letter. Obama’s honor shows “how meaningless a once honorable and respected award has become,” says the letter, signed by Michael S. Steele, chairman of the Republican National Committee.


Russian President Dmitry Medvedev had a different view. He said the award will encourage further US-Russian cooperation.
“I hope this decision would serve as an additional incentive for our common work to form a new climate in world politics and promote initiatives which are fundamentally important for global security,” Medvedev said in a letter to Obama.
Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro also weighed in. He called the Nobel award a “positive step,” although he said it was more a repudiation of former President George W. Bush than a recognition of anything concrete Obama has done.
Steele said Obama hasn’t accomplished enough to deserve the prize. Numerous Democrats and independents have expressed similar views, although generally in less bombastic terms.
Asking for contributions to the RNC of $25 to $1,000, Steele wrote that “the Democrats and their international leftist allies want America made subservient to the agenda of global redistribution and control. And truly patriotic Americans like you and our Republican Party are the only thing standing in their way.”