Enjoy Discounted Exercise Equipment From Leading Sales Outlets
SEARCH IT

CHANNELS
Encyclopedia Astronautica
SERVICES
 
Spacer Homebase
Nobel Peace Prize winner takes swipe at US
OSLO (AFP) Dec 09, 2003
Iranian human rights lawyer Shirin Ebadi, the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize winner, implicitly criticised the United States on Tuesday, the eve of her prize-giving ceremony, warning that attempts to introduce democracy through military means were "futile."

Ebadi said she opposed resorting to military force to enforce democracy, in response to a question on how the international community should pressure Iran to open up to democratic freedom and human rights.

"Democracy should not be used to attack other countries, to launch military attacks against other countries," Ebadi said, suggesting that she did not want to see a repetition in Iran of the US-led war on Iraq.

"Any kind of military assault is futile and it's null and void," she said. "The realization of democracy is a national and patriotic duty of ours," she said.

While the 2003 Peace Prize laureate, who was speaking at a press conference at the Nobel Institute in Oslo, did not specifically mention the United States, Washington is generally viewed as Iran's biggest antagonist.

The US counts Iran as one of the three countries in the so-called axis of evil, along with Iraq and North Korea.

US President George W. Bush has accused Tehran of producing weapons of mass destruction, of supporting international terrorism and interfering in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

Ebadi, 56, who will be the first Muslim woman ever to receive the prestigious prize, was honoured by the Nobel committee for her democracy-building efforts and her work to improve human rights in Iran.

Opposed to all armed conflicts, Ebadi instead called for international public opinion and the United Nations to pressure Iran to reform.

Dressed in a pink pantsuit, and with no hijab, the headscarf that all Iranian women are required by law to wear both inside and outside the country, she reiterated the compatibilty of Islam and human rights.

"If innocent people are killed in the name of Islam, that's wrong," she said when asked what she thought of a regime that supports stonings.

The human rights activist was recently the subject of threats from Iranian hardliners herself, when it became known that she would not wear a headscarf when she accepts her award on Wednesday.

"If the peace sought by me and the peace sought by you is in conflict, then there is no peace at all," she said, calling for nations and people to show respect for each other's differences.

Shouts from dozens of demonstrators standing out in the icy wind across the street from the Nobel Institute were a reminder that not everyone agrees with Ebadi's conciliatory stance to Islam.

Kimia Pazoki, a 37-year-old member of the Iranian Refugee Council and a high school teacher in Sweden, paraded in front of the Institute before Ebadi's press conference, wearing a chador covered in chains.

"For Muslim women, this is reality," she said, pointing to the chains.

Giving Ebadi the Nobel Peace Prize was a mistake, she insisted.

"She is too soft. She gets along with the regime... We believe that you can't be a Muslim woman and be free."

Meanwhile, at a seperate demonstration in front of the Norwegian parliament building, about 200 members of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) demonstrated in support of the human rights activist.

Carrying pictures of Iranian activists who have been killed by, or with the blessing of the regime, the demonstrators encouraged Ebadi to take a more critical tone to Iranian President Mohammad Khatami, as well as to the Islamic clergy in the country.

"We would like to encourage Mrs. Ebadi, because she has immunity, to be more critical of the regime," said Firousz Mahvi, a member of NCRI's foreign affairs council.

The demonstrators are likely to be dissapointed. Ebadi, who has quietly worked to improve the rights of women, children and dissidents in the Islamic republic, said Tuesday that she intends to continue to work on the sidelines, outside of the political sphere.

Ebadi, who is the 11th woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize, will receive the award from chairman of the Nobel Committee Ole Mjoes at a formal ceremony on Wednesday in Oslo's City Hall.

The prize consists of a diploma, a gold medal, and a check for 10 million Swedish kronor (about 1.4 million dollars, 1.1 million euros).

All rights reserved. Copyright 2003 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.

Quick Links
SpaceWar
Search SpaceWar
Subscribe To SpaceWar Express

SpaceWar Search Engine
SUBSCRIBE TO THE SPACEWAR NEWSLETTER
SubscribeUnsubscribe
  

WAR.WIRE
  • Iran rejects Trump call for direct nuclear talks
  • Yemen Huthi media say one dead in air strikes
  • Iran says wants dialogue 'on equal footing' with US
  • India navy delivers aid to quake-hit Myanmar
  • Cambodia hails opening of naval base renovated by China
  • North Korea's Kim fires new sniper rifle while visiting troops
  • US defense chief to visit Panama next week: Pentagon
  • Burkina junta critic arrested in growing crackdown: civil group
  • Russian missile strike kills 14 in Ukraine leader's home city
  • Russian missile strike kills 12 in Ukraine leader's home city
    SPACEDAILY NEWS
     Feb 11, 2005
  • NASA Observations Help Determine Titan Wind Speeds
  • Cassini Spacecraft Witnesses Saturn's Blues
  • US Orientation Engine Fails On ISS
  • NASA Names Two Future Space Shuttle Crews
  • Simulations Show How Growing Black Holes Regulate Galaxy Formation
  • In The Stars: Odd Stars, Odder Planets
  • Natural Climate Change May Be Larger Than Commonly Thought
  • Earth Gets A Warm Feeling All Over
  • Satamatics Flying At Over 50,000 Terminals
  • Digital Angel To Expand OuterLink Subsidiary's Flight Tracking System
  • LockMart Delivers First Modernized GPS Satellite To USAF For May Launch
  • World's Fastest Oscillating Nanomachine Holds Promise For Quantum Computing
  • Carnegie Mellon's Red Team Seeks $2 Million Robot Racing Prize
  • Kionix Ships The World's Smallest High-Performance Tri-Axis Accelerometer
  • Northrop Grumman/Raytheon Team To Compete For GOES-R System
  • Blue Planet: The Fading Songs Of Whales
  • New Cameras Turn Night Into Day
  • North Korea Suspends Talks, Says It Will Build More Nuclear Bombs
  • Analysis: How Super Is The Superpower?
  • Walker's World: Why Rice Should Thank Zarqawi
  • NATO Agrees Expansion Of Afghan Force
  • North Korea Probably Bluffing Over Nuclear Threat: Australia
  • US Options Seen Limited Against Nuclear-Armed North Korea
  • Six Iraqi Policemen Killed, US Helicopters Fire Missiles To End Siege
  • Germany And Malaysia Urge Peace In Tsunami-Ravaged Aceh
  • Task Of Collecting Indonesia's Tsunami Dead Will Take Six Months: Red Cross
  • EU Brings Forward Preferential Trade Scheme For Developing Countries
  • Cambodia's Former Forestry Monitor Blasts World Bank Over Logging
  • Thales Posts Lower Sales In 2004, Missing Own Target
  • Rolls-Royce Profits Rise; Orders At Record Levels

  • The contents herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2002 - SpaceDaily. AFP Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement