PEACE PEOPLE founder and Nobel laureate Mairéad Corrigan-Maguire has said Barack Obama should not have received this year’s peace prize.
Mrs Maguire, who was honoured by the Nobel committee along with Betty Williams, said she was “very sad” to hear that Mr Obama was this year’s recipient. She cited his record to date and suggested the award was premature.
“President Obama has yet to prove that he will move seriously on the Middle East; that he will end the war in Afghanistan and many other issues,” she said. “The Nobel committee is not meeting the conditions of Alfred Nobel’s will, because he stipulated that the award is to be given to people who end militarism and war and are for disarmament.”
SDLP leader Mark Durkan, a former aide to peace prize winner John Hume, praised the decision to honour Mr Obama.
“I wish to congratulate Barack Obama on winning the Nobel Peace Prize,” he said. “The Nobel Committee rightly highlights the president’s extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and co-operation between peoples, as well as his work for a world without nuclear weapons.
He added: “Since his election as US president, President Obama has touched and inspired people all around the world. He has been a sign of positive progress, not just in the United States but in terms of international leadership.”