Former Finnish president wins Nobel peace prize
ELITSA VUCHEVA
10.10.2008 @ 17:47 CET
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS – Former Finnish President and UN negotiator Martti Ahtisaari was awarded this year's Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts in peace building around the globe, the Oslo-based Nobel committee announced on Friday (10 October).
"The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2008 to Martti Ahtisaari for his important efforts, on several continents and over more than three decades, to resolve international conflicts. These efforts have contributed to a more peaceful world and to 'fraternity between nations' in Alfred Nobel's spirit," the committee said.
Martti Ahtisaari (l) was also the UN's negotiator on the future status of Kosovo before Pristina declared independence from Serbia. (Photo: UNMIK)
Mr Ahtisaari, 71, was president of Finland from 1994 to 2000 and a UN diplomat and mediator both before and after his sojourn as head of the Finnish state.
The committee praised him for playing "a significant part in the establishment of Namibia's independence" and contributing to solve "the complicated Aceh question in Indonesia."
"In 2008 … Ahtisaari has tried to help find a peaceful conclusion to the problems in Iraq. He has also made constructive contributions to the resolution of conflicts in Northern Ireland, in Central Asia, and on the Horn of Africa," the statement goes on.
The Finnish diplomat was also appointed the UN's special envoy to Kosovo in 2005, trying to find a mutual agreement between Belgrade and Pristina to the issue of Kosovo's independence.
He favoured independence for the then breakaway Serbian province, but could not get the two sides to agree on his proposal, with Belgrade categorically opposing an independent Kosovo to this day.
Speaking to NRK Norwegian TV after the announcement of his prize, Mr Ahtisaari said he "was very pleased and grateful."
He highlighted his work in Namibia as figuring among his most important deeds, "because it took such a long time" - almost 20 years, but also singled out his work in Kosovo and Aceh, the Associated Press reports.
Mixed reception
The EU congratulated Mr Ahtisaari for receiving the prestigious award - worth $1.4 million - with European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso calling him "a truly outstanding laureate."
"During his long diplomatic career, President Ahtisaari has relentlessly promoted peace, stability and democracy throughout the world," Mr Barroso stated.
He also praised his "untiring efforts to maintain peace and stability on our continent," referring notably to the Finnish diplomat's work in Kosovo.
For his part, EU enlargement commissioner Olli Rehn, also from Finland, said that Mr Ahtisaari getting the prize "underlines the importance of continuous and stubborn work towards peace in the Balkans," Reuters reports.
However, the announcement received mixed reactions in the Balkan region.
Kosovo Prime Minister Agim Ceku welcomed it, saying: "The prize has gone to the man that deserves it."
On the other hand, several Serbian politicians criticised the move, Bloomberg reports.
Dragan Sormaz, a deputy of the nationalist Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) called it "pitiful" and "incomprehensible," while Dusan Bajatovic, a deputy of the Socialist Party of Serbia said the Nobel committee's decision had made the prize "meaningless," because Mr Ahtisaari had done nothing but "damage" in the Balkans.
Vladimir Putin also nominated
Other nominees for this year's award included former Russian President and current Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, nominated by the International Center for Research on Biofuels and Patents in Zurich for his alternative fuel initiatives in Russia, and Ingrid Betancourt, a Franco-Colombian politician held hostage by the Columbian guerilla group, FARC, for six years and liberated in July.
Several Chinese dissidents were also nominated, as well as Greenpeace and the international language Esperanto.
In winning the prize, Martti Ahtisaari succeeds climate campaigner Al Gore and the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, who won the Nobel prize for peace in 2007.
Alfred Nobel, a Swedish chemist and the inventor of dynamite, created the prizes in his will in 1895.