From: wolda002@umn.edu
Date: Mon Oct 19 2009 - 23:44:58 EDT
http://www1.sundaymail.co.zw/inside.aspx?sectid=3716&cat=8
Mbeki, not Obama, deserved Nobel
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What exactly has President Barack Obama achieved to deserve the Nobel Peace
Prize?
This question is crying out for answers in the wake of last Friday’s
shock announcement that the United States leader has clinched the 2009
accolade.
As one cynical commentator aptly put it, now that President Obama has been
awarded the prize, he must go out there and start earning it.
Other analysts have come to Mr Obama’s defence, saying he deserves the
award — if anything For Not Being George W. Bush. What an interesting way
of looking at it. In other words, Mr Obama won the prize because of what he
represents rather than what he has accomplished in his nine months in
office.
We are the first to admit that Mr Obama is a sleek and tantalising
politician who has shattered many barriers on his amazing journey to the
top. His message to the American people is generally refreshing. His
message to the world is quite uplifting. No serious watcher of global
politics can begrudge him that.
The problem with the Obama presidency so far is that although he has been
big on rhetoric, he has been abysmal when it comes to real action. He
certainly knows all the right sound bites and how to package them for a
media-savvy audience, but he has been found wanting on the practical side
of things.
Let’s make one point clear here. We do not expect President Obama to wave
a magic wand and single-handedly solve all the problems under the sun. Far
from it. That would be impossible.
What we expect is that as commander-in-chief of a war-mongering superpower
that has a lot to atone for, he should back up his rhetoric with real
substance. Uncle Sam’s hands are dripping with the blood of the innocent
all over the world and he had done precious little to redeem the US.
In his nine months in office, President Obama has squandered many
opportunities to rehabilitate Uncle Sam and transform him into a
respectable law-abiding member of the international community.
Here in Zimbabwe, the Obama administration has been disappointing.
Zimbabweans reacted with stunned disbelief when President Obama renewed the
US government’s illegal sanctions on this nation.
By making this unfortunate decision to prolong the suffering of innocent
Zimbabweans, Mr Obama squandered a glorious opportunity to show the world
that he is not cut from the same cloth as George W. Bush. The illegal US
sanctions on Zimbabwe are not the only blot on Mr Obama’s record. There
is the heart-rending issue of Cuba. Last month, the US leader extended by
another year the evil 47-year-old economic embargo against the gallant
people of Cuba.
To add insult to injury, the US government is also refusing to release the
Cuban Five—brave patriots who are languishing in US jails for the simple
crime of defending their motherland.
While the sanctions law against Zimbabwe was given the sickeningly
deceptive title of “Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act”, the
US war against Cuba has been waged under the bluntly named “Trading With
The Enemy Act”. Perhaps the Nobel Committee has no problem with these
evil embargoes?
In Afghanistan and Iraq, innocent civilians are losing their lives at the
hands of a US-led invading force. Although President Obama has promised a
phased withdrawal of American soldiers from these countries, he is yet to
take concrete action on the ground to justify this newly bestowed title of
“peacemaker”.
Palestinians are still suffering in the Middle East, thanks to a US-armed
Israel that rides roughshod over human rights while recycling the excuse of
an imaginary threat posed by Iran.
Surely, the Nobel Committee ought to know that the Western nations, in the
volatile post-9/11 era, will never taste real peace until the Palestinian
people find justice. After all, one man’s terrorist is another man’s
freedom fighter.
One obvious question that arises in this debate is: which world figure
would have been a worthier recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize than
President Obama this year?
Well, forget all the useless names that have been bandied about by
political opportunists in recent weeks. One towering giant who would have
clearly deserved this award is former South African President Thabo Mbeki.
President Mbeki may not be popular with certain figures in the West, but
there is no doubt that he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize.
He used South Africa’s moral authority and economic leverage to champion
peace and reconciliation across the entire African continent. Burundi,
Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Liberia are some
of the countries that benefited from Cde Mbeki’s peacekeeping
initiatives.
On the Zimbabwe question, President Mbeki was unjustly criticised for his
so-called quiet diplomacy. But he silenced his critics when he successfully
brokered last year’s September 15 Global Political Agreement that gave
birth to a coalition Government bringing together Zanu-PF, MDC-T and MDC.
His tireless mediation carried the day. If his efforts do not deserve a
Nobel Peace Prize, then let’s forget about this Norwegian charade.
President Mbeki not only spoke of an “African Renaissance” but also
lived it. His remarkable qualities came to the fore when the ruling African
National Congress ordered him to step down as president of the republic
before the end of his term. President Mbeki could have easily resisted,
dragging South Africa into a bloody conflict. He did not cause a fuss,
stepping down gracefully, once again outflanking his critics.
For these commendable efforts and more — and even though the Nobel
Committee’s nomination process is scandalously subjective — Cde Mbeki
should have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
But again, what do you expect from the Nobel Committee? Remember, Adolf
Hitler has been nominated in the past for this award and the laughable
Desmond Tutu is one of the proud laureates!