The Nobel ceremony is on Friday, and as of now 19 countries have announced that they will be boycotting the ceremony: China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Colombia, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Serbia, Iraq , Iran, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Venezuela, the Philippines, Egypt, Sudan, Ukraine, Cuba and Morocco.
Countries that have confirmed their ambassadors' attendance include India, Indonesia, Brazil, South Africa, South Korea, Japan, and "all the Western countries," according to the Nobel Committee chairman, Geir Lundestad.
Thanks for the follow-up. I thought about the Peace-Prize when reading Nye's article on Public Diplomacy when he talks about Norway being a country that uses action more than broadcasting. Norway doesn't need to advertise itself, because its reputation speaks for it. That, and what this prize represents, is one the MANY reasons why "all the Western countries" as long with the rest of the line-up, will be attending.
ReplyDeleteHere is a further follow-up of countries NOT attending: http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/12/08/norway.nobel.prize.attendees/index.html?hpt=P1&iref=NS1
ReplyDeleteSuprisingly, though fortunately, this list is not nearly as long as those attending. This could be because politically less nation affiliate with China, or rather (and hopefully), because nations are putting politics aside when supporting acts for the betterment of humanity,
I love Kazakhstan, so in my eyes they can do no wrong, even if its wrong.
ReplyDeleteBut I want to understand why. The CNN article focused on China's reasoning behind not attending-- it honors an imprisoned dissident. I understand that, but I want to understand why this Chinese boycott has expanded to so many countries. I understand that China has a lot of influence, but not so much on the above mentioned countries. Kazakhstan aligns early and often with Russia, though there can be political similarities between China and Kazakhstan.
There are also many near-eastern countries on the boycott list. I doubt these Muslim countries are doing anything because China says so, but I could be wrong.
As for Venezuela and Cuba--communism/democratic socialism... understandable.
Russia's excuse is that they're too busy. I'd like to be 'too busy' to attend a nobel prize awarding ceremony, but thats another story. I don't buy that story.
The boycott is bigger than China's stance. China does not effect Tunisia, this is Western convention. The eastern hemisphere and the global south are trying to make a statement.
I agree with you that they might be trying to “make a statement”, but that statement for some of these countries has been being made for a while. I will speak to the Colombian case, where I know so many people are looking to increased trade with China as an alternative to trade with the US. El Tiempo, the biggest news paper in Bogota did not describe any reasoning behind the decision on their website, but other news websites in Latin America mentioned how a lot of the nations not attending were pretty well tied economically to China. One noted how just in late November, Colombian government official signed four major export deals with Beijing. Colombians themselves tend to lean both left and right, obviously. Some people are pretty appalled at being associated with Venezuela and Cuba in a “business deal” that undermined human rights. It is very telling, though, that some even long time supposedly strong allies are looking toward China and building stronger relations there.
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