MEDIA REACTION: NOBEL PEACE PRIZE

UNCLAS KATHMANDU 000024



SIPDIS



STATE FOR SCA/INS, PM/CBM, PM/PRO



STATE FOR SCA/PPD, PA/RRU



E.O. 12958: N/A

TAGS: KMDR, KPAO, PGOV, OPRC, NP

SUBJ: MEDIA REACTION: NOBEL PEACE PRIZE



1. SUMMARY: Independent English-language weekly

Newsfront (with circulation of 5,000),edited by a

well known journalist in Nepal, published an OP-ED

piece titled "Nobel peace prize for Koirala: Obama

got it, why shouldn't he?" in its January 4-10, 2010

issue. The piece, written by a Nepali scholar

studying at Oxford University in the UK, ridiculed

the Nepal government's nomination of former Nepali

Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala for the Nobel

Peace Prize. Comparing the nomination with

President Obama's winning of the Prize, the piece

implied that if it can go to one "wrong" person then

it can go to another "wrong" person as well.



EXCERPTS:



2. "Analysts forget the reality that the peace

process [of Nepal] is slowly metamorphosing into a

'war process.' At least you should pray that the

aged leader will be able to die in peace, and with

peace. Stockholm should not deprive him of a piece

of peace."



3. "I don't know about the others, but I'm really

hopeful, not least because the Nobel Prize appears

to be decided by a highly capable and thoughtful

panel. They did a wonderful job of offering

President Obama the Peace Prize without waiting to

see if he would deliver on his promise to make the

world a more peaceful place to live in. Who knew he

would be accepting his prize in Stockholm for his

"slight achievements" days after taking a decision

to escalate the Afghanistan conflict, borne out of

US invasion, by committing extra 30,000 troops?

Perhaps he might not have taken this step if he had

not received the award? After all the price is set

up under the name of the person who discovered

dynamite. Who says the peace prize should not go

for someone promoting violence and warfare?"



4. "One of the difficulties the Nobel Committee is

likely to face while considering Koirala is that

they may hardly know anything about Nepal and

Nepal's peace process. The first thing they are

likely to do is check the BBC Timeline, which alone

may not be enough to reach a unanimous decision,

even by their standards. Nepal hardly matters to

the world powers and therefore the western media

does not care a tad bit about what goes on there.

So it might be quite challenging for them to defend

their support for Koirala before the largely-

ignorant world audience."



5. "To overcome this problem, why don't they visit

Nepal? I am pretty certain all politicians will

support the nomination. The Maoists will also

support it as the Prize will give them the

international exposure which they have been craving

for long. However, the Committee delegates should

not make the mistake of talking to two sections -

India and members of the public. The former is

furious that Gandhi was not awarded, and will insist

that Koirala is nowhere near Gandhi. They will also

claim that it was not Koirala but India that

brokered the peace deal in the first place. On the

other hand, people on the streets are furious that

they cannot live in peace despite the much-hyped

shanti prakriya [peace process] which is

increasingly looking shanty. They are likely to

shout - "how can Koirala have a peace prize when

nobody in the country enjoys peace?"



ORDWAY