Colombia’s Santos receives Nobel Peace Prize, but Dylan stays away
Award recognises deal with Farc rebels to end war
OSLO // Colombia’s peace deal between the government and the Marxist Farc rebels is a model for war-torn countries such as Syria, Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos said yesterday as he accepted the Nobel Peace Prize.
The peace accord, signed on November 24 ended five decades of conflict.
“It proves that what, at first, seems impossible, through perseverance may become possible even in Syria or Yemen or South Sudan,” said Mr Santos said during a ceremony at Oslo’s City Hall.
More than 260,000 died in the 52-years of conflict between the Colombian government and the insurgents. Another 45,000 went missing and nearly seven million were forced to flee their homes. The first peace deal struck with Farc was rejected in a popular vote on October 2, but the rebels and the government negotiated a new accord.
While he described the peace agreement as “a ray of hope in a world troubled by so many conflicts and so much intolerance”, the hardest part of the peace process was yet to come. “It is a more difficult phase than the [negotiation] process itself, and will require a lot of effort, perseverance and humility,” said Mr Santos. “A lot of coordination efforts will also be needed.”
The Nobel Prize consists of a gold medal, a diploma and a cheque for eight million Swedish kronor (Dh3.2m), a sum Mr Santos promised to donate to the victims of the war.
Also yesterday, another ceremony in Stockholm honoured the Nobel laureates in the sciences, economics and literature – with one notable absentee. Bob Dylan, this year’s recipient of the prize for literature and the first songwriter to be awarded the prize, did not attend the ceremony due to “pre-existing commitments”.
The no-show created a stir in Sweden, where it has been perceived as a slight. Announced as the winner on October 14, Dylan waited almost two weeks to acknowledge the accolade.
Dylan said he was honoured to win, but told the academy that he would not be in Stockholm to accept his prize.
“A slap in the face,” said Lena Mellin, editorial writer at ftonbladet, one of Sweden’s biggest daily newspapers. On social media, opinions were mixed. “If it were me, I would probably ... collect a Nobel Prize and $900,000. But it’s Bob, and that’s part of what makes him Bob,” wrote fan Evan Sarzin on the singer’s Facebook page.
“He is 75, give him a break,” countered Karen Lunebach.