E.U. as Unworthy of
Nobel Peace Prize as Obama (La Jornada, Mexico)
"During
the first decade of this century, and up to now, the Brussels-based community has
served
as the principalallyof
a warmongeringand colonialist Washington.It isrelevant to notethe participation of severalof its membersin the invasion ofAfghanistan in 2003,
intheWestern
interventionin Libya, whichresulted
inthe overthrowand murderof MuammarQaddafi, andmaneuversto
destabilize Syria."
The decision to award
the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize to the European Union, for its
achievementsin advancingpeaceand reconciliation onthe oldcontinent has resultedinreactionsof disgruntlement and astonishment among a huge portion of the global public, similar tothose generatedat the timeBarackObamawasgranted the awardin 2009.
At the moment, such reactions appear justified. No one can deny that over
the past six decades, amid efforts to achieve multinational integration in
Europe, that region of the world has achieved a climate of relative peace, in
which two of its most powerful members - France and Germany - have exceeded the
historical animosity that led them to feature in two world wars during the twentieth
century. But that reality, however valuable, is in stark contrast to its international
profile, which discredits its contribution to peace, democracy and human rights
as argued by the Nobel committee.
During the first decade of this century, and up to now, the Brussels-based
community has served as the principalallyof a warmongeringand colonialist Washington.It isrelevant to notethe participation of
severalof its membersin the
invasion ofAfghanistan in 2003, intheWestern interventionin Libya, whichresulted inthe overthrowand murderof MuammarQaddafi, andmaneuversto destabilize Syria,
where they have provided support togroups
opposed toBashar al-Assad. Equallyquestionableis the recognitiongiven tothe unilateral independence ofKosovoin 2008, a situation that precipitatedthe biggest crisisbetween Russian and the
Westsince the endof the Cold
War,and theirrecenthostility towardthe Iranian regime - all
of which are positions thathave fueledtensionand uncertaintyin the international arena.
Moreover,political and economic
integrationon the old continent, sopraised bythe Norwegian committee,has coincided with the resurgence of
government actionto persecute, discriminateand segregatenon-Europeanimmigrants - particularly Latin American,
Africanand Asian, and has resulted in an increase in
violations of their individual rightsmembers
of the E.U.grouping. That factcontradictsthe assumptionsmade bythe organization when it comes to contributionsto the defense ofhuman rights made bymember nations.
Butperhapsthe main
focusfor questioning theawardannouncedyesterday is thatitcomes when it was decided,at the very topof
thepolitical and economic powerofthecommunity, that
the best wayto cope withthe
economic crisis afflictingseveral economiesof the old continentis throughausterity policiesthat come at a cost of greater
human sacrifice, and multiply the social and economicdevastationthat generatediscontent, lawlessnessandsocialdestabilization.
Perhaps themost tellingindicatorof the discreditand loss oflegitimacy thatthe E.U.faces among
its inhabitantstodayis that,
while mostEuropean leaders yesterday welcomedtheNobel
Peace Prize,for many citizens of
the problematic countries, the awardrepresents in
the best of cases, an anticlimacticand
irrelevant recognition, and at worst, yet another cause
for indignationandoutrage.
