World leaders hail Obama's surprise Prize
Sat Oct 10 05:03:49 EST 2009
Fri Oct 9 18:03:49 UTC 2009
PARIS, Oct 9 AFP - World leaders urged Barack Obama to seize on the award of the Nobel Peace Prize to intensify his diplomatic efforts to forge peace in the globe's trouble spots.
The prize marks "America's return to the hearts of the world's peoples," French President Nicolas Sarkozy said.
Sarkozy said the Nobel Committee had recognised his "determined commitment to human rights, justice and the promotion of peace in the world, in accordance with the will of founder Albert Nobel."
But the surprise announcement by the Norwegian Nobel Peace Prize Committee in Oslo was interpreted more as a bid to encourage the US president's bold diplomatic overtures to Washington's enemies, rather than a recognition of the achievement of peace by a leader in office for only nine months.
"We do not yet have peace in the Middle East... this time it was very clear that they wanted to encourage Obama to move on these issues..." said the 2008 winner, former Finnish president Martti Ahtisaari.
"This is a clear encouragement to do something on this issue, I wish him good luck."
The 1983 Laureate, Poland's Lech Walesa, was more blunt.
"Who, Obama? So fast? Too fast - he hasn't had the time to do anything yet," Walesa told reporters in Warsaw.
"For the time being Obama's just making proposals. But sometimes the Nobel committee awards the prize to encourage responsible action," said Walesa.
Neither did key US newspaper The Wall Street Journal mince its words, describing the choice of Obama as "completely bizarre."
"It is unclear why. For making peace, of a kind, with Hillary Clinton? For giving up the missile shield and cheering up the Iranians? For preparing a surge of troops and weaponry in Afghanistan?" said the paper in an editorial.
"Of course, traditionally it has been standard procedure that winners of the prize do their peacemaking first... But this innovation sweeps aside such old-fashioned notions of reward following effort."
Arch foe Iran said it would provide Obama with an "incentive to walk in the path of bringing justice to the world order."
"We are not upset and we hope that by receiving this prize he will start taking practical steps to remove injustice in the world," a spokesman for President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said.
He added that if Obama removed the US veto power in the United Nations Security Council, "then it shows the prize was given correctly to him."
In Afghanistan, where Obama has taken over the reins of a war against Taliban extremists entering its ninth year, President Hamid Karzai said Obama was being recognised for "his hard work and new vision on global relations, his will and efforts for creating friendly and good relations at global level."
The UN's nuclear watchdog chief Mohamed ElBaradei, another former winner, said Obama had "transformed the way we look at ourselves and the world we live in and rekindled hope for a world at peace with itself."
"He has reached out across divides and made clear that he sees the world as one human family, regardless of religion, race or ethnicity."
He said Obama had "provided outstanding leadership on moving towards a world free of nuclear weapons," he said.
The first black American president was honoured "for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples," the chairman of the Nobel committee Thorbjoern Jagland said.
Jagland later told CNN the committee's decision was unanimous.
"We had no problem... It was a unanimous decision."
"There is a need now for constructive diplomacy for resolving conflicts and that is what President Obama is trying to do," he added.
In Rome, Italian President Silvio Berlusconi said his cabinet had "applauded vigorously" when the announcement was made. He added that Obama would in future have to have an "eucumenical attitude" towards the whole world.
Philippines President Gloria Arroyo congratulated Obama "for an award well-deserved."
The decision was predictably condemned by the Taliban, saying he had "not taken a single step towards peace in Afghanistan.
"We have seen no change in his strategy for peace... He has not taken a single step for peace in Afghanistan or to make this country stable," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told AFP.
Obama's Kenyan family said they delighted by the award. "It is an honour to the family... we are very happy that one of us has been honoured. We congratulate Barack," Said Obama, the president's step-brother, told AFP.
Said told AFP that the award "touches many people" because the US president represents "people from different walks of life."
Obama, whose father was Kenyan, is considered the east African state's favourite son and his father's home village is a protected site.
