Nobel Peace Prize for Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet

[Snerk]

The Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for its role in helping the country's transition to democracy.

Announcing the prize, the chairman of the Nobel committee said the group had made a "decisive contribution to the building of a pluralistic democracy" after the 2011 revolution.

They were among some 273 contenders for the prestigious prize.

German chancellor Angela Merkel and Pope Francis were among those tipped.

The Tunisian quartet was made up of four organisations: the Tunisian General Labour Union, the Tunisian Confederation of Industry, Trade and Handicrafts, the Tunisian Human Rights League, and the Tunisian Order of Lawyers.

It was created in 2013 "when the democratisation process was in danger of collapsing as a result of political and assassinations and widespread social unrest," said committee chairman Kaci Kullmann Five.

"It established an alternative, peaceful political process at a time when the country was on the brink of civil war," she said.

"It was thus instrumental in enabling Tunisia, in the space of a few years, to establish a constitutional system of government guaranteeing fundamental rights for the entire population, irrespective of gender, political conviction or religious belief."

She said the Nobel committee hoped that the prize would "contribute towards safeguarding democracy in Tunisia and be an inspiration to all those who seek to promote peace and democracy in the Middle East, North Africa and the rest of the world".

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34485865

What do you think?

 

[Tigranes]

The Tunisian quartet was made up of four organisations: the Tunisian General Labour Union, the Tunisian Confederation of Industry, Trade and Handicrafts, the Tunisian Human Rights League, and the Tunisian Order of Lawyers.

For the moment I thought about string quartet. I am not sure how much Tunisia is a success story. People democratically chose to join IS in greater numbers than from other oversea countries. And the whole Arab spring starter thing -- well, let's just say it;s complicated. Merkel could be a less controversial pick.

 

[Kyriakos]

The peace nobel should have been (again) given to the EU.

 

[r16]

nobels committee just decided to avoid any single politician for the rest of the millenium ... Good for them , too .

 

[HannibalBarka]

Very proud about this as I am french-tunisian
The quartet has indeed a lot of merit helping Tunisia transition into a plural democratic regime.
Feel free to ask questions about Tunisia and the Quartet, I'd happily try to answer

 

[Funky]

For the moment I thought about string quartet. I am not sure how much Tunisia is a success story. People democratically chose to join IS in greater numbers than from other oversea countries. And the whole Arab spring starter thing -- well, let's just say it;s complicated. Merkel could be a less controversial pick.

While I share your scepticism about the actual achievements of this group, picking Merkel, who has brought up most of Europe against her and has violated both German and European law repeatedly, would have been utter insanity. In fact, it was reported just a few moments ago that our party AfD wants to indict her for her crimes.

Personally I would have chosen Maajid Nawaz and Sam Harris for their unperturbed effort to reform Islam, which has culminated in their new book which was just released.

 

[Verbose]

For the moment I thought about string quartet. I am not sure how much Tunisia is a success story. People democratically chose to join IS in greater numbers than from other oversea countries.

Nevertheless, Tunisia works. It's still relatively the success-story of the "Arab Spring".

You can just as well take the Tunisian hard-core people leaving to take their particular fight somewhere else as confirmation that they have found Tunisia hard-going for them.

 

[REDY]

Tunisia was success story already before arab spring. This is first time time when I hear about these orgs, but from quick check they all seem to be traditional. In some other countries the regime werent such tolerant and tried to control or ban such organisations, so there was nobody who would stand againist extremists. So I am not sure if it should be given as example for others how to transit to democracy. Correct me if I am wrong.

 

[HannibalBarka]

The organization are indeed decades old. Some of them indirectly and lately participated to the revolution in 2010 that brought down the President-Dictator and triggered the so called Arab Spring. They were "infiltrated" by the former regime by the way and a huge power fight happened within those organizations because of that. Nobel Prize is not however given to them for their struggle back than, but for the period 2013-2014 where Tunisia was already well after the Arab Spring, elected a Constituent Assembly (one that was supposed to write a new Constitution and organize a new election). It was a unstable period in which two political assassination were committed against anti-Islamist MP, public opinion was heavily divided between supporter of the coalition in power led by the Islamist Party and the opponent led by nationalist and lefties. That is when the Quartet played a major role bringing all parties together into the negotiation table and imposed a "technocratic" government. The Military coup against Morsy in Egypt helped in that regards immensely to be honest as the Islamist in Tunisia feared they ll have the same fate if they do not show more flexibility.
To be honest, what the Quartet did was crucial as Tunisia could have ended like Libya in a total anarchy or like Egypt back into ruthless dictatorship.

 

[warpus]

The Nobel peace prize is a joke and doesn't really mean anything. The Nobel organization jumped the shark, now it doesn't matter who gets this thing.. I wouldn't complain if you gave it to a tree.

That's just what happens when you completely devalue the meaning of a prize by handing it to individuals who not only do not deserve it - but who also have not even actually done anything in a role that they're being recognized for.

So yeah whatever, give it to a string quarter, to a tree, to Putin, or whoever. Whole thing's a joke. I wouldn't have accepted the prize if I were the representative of these 4 groups, as I would see it as a bit disrespectful.

 

[Tigranes]

^^ Wow, some really strong language there. Perhaps Obama did not deserve it back then, but Médecins Sans Frontières ? They are better than any tree, except for the tree of life which is in the Paradise

 

[warpus]

It's clear now that the nobel peace prize is a political stunt and/or PR move rather than actual recognition. I'm sure there are those who have received it and actually deserved to be recognized. I do not dispute that.

 

[Snerk]

It's clear now that the nobel peace prize is a political stunt and/or PR move rather than actual recognition.

You make some hefty claims. Can you provide some more descriptive evidence to back it up?

 

[trader/warrior]

The Nobel Peace comittee badly needs to be of a more international composition rather than a bunch of naive Norwegian politicians. They were like a lot of european politicians so enamoured by the Obama election campaign, and had the impression like so many people living in the latter half of the 20th century that the first black president of the USA would be the biggest thing ever.

One thing I do think a lot of people misunderstand about the prize is that it should not only be given to saintly figures as recognition for past acheivements. It should almost always be given to encourage ongoing work, often with the goal of having real world impact of supporting certain causes. It's an inherently political prize, and should be used as such to stay relevant.

 

[warpus]

You make some hefty claims. Can you provide some more descriptive evidence to back it up?

I'll give one example (the obvious one) - They gave American president Obama the award even before he did anything as president.

Why would they do that? They did it because Obama had been in the news as the first black American president and they wanted to jump on that bandwagon.

It's like giving Usain Bolt the gold medal even before the race has started. Takes away any legitimacy of the award.

 

[Snerk]

I'll give one example (the obvious one) - They gave American president Obama the award even before he did anything as president.

Why would they do that? They did it because Obama had been in the news as the first black American president and they wanted to jump on that bandwagon.

It's like giving Usain Bolt the gold medal even before the race has started. Takes away any legitimacy of the award.

One example (even though it's a good example and I completely agree) does little to justify your accusations.

The Nobel Peace comittee badly needs to be of a more international composition rather than a bunch of naive Norwegian politicians. They were like a lot of european politicians so enamoured by the Obama election campaign, and had the impression like so many people living in the latter half of the 20th century that the first black president of the USA would be the biggest thing ever.

One thing I do think a lot of people misunderstand about the prize is that it should not only be given to saintly figures as recognition for past acheivements. It should almost always be given to encourage ongoing work, often with the goal of having real world impact of supporting certain causes. It's an inherently political prize, and should be used as such to stay relevant.

Agreed on both accounts. Although the Obama prize was deeply controversial among Norwegian politicians too. And I'm sure among the ex-politicians of the committee too.

 

[Lohrenswald]

Technically those guys doing peace talk in Colombia deserves the prize more, going of Nobel's testament, but honestly this quartet seems like a pretty good reciever.

That being said, we should be the nobel peace prize commitee, Snerk and trader/warrior

 

[Tahuti]

One day, Vladimir Putin, Bashar Al-Assad and Benjamin Netanyahu are going to be nobel laureates for their 'contributions against radical Islam and promoting peace in the Middle East'. Maybe Hassan Rowhani can join the party as well.

 

[warpus]

One example (even though it's a good example and I completely agree) does little to justify your accusations.

One mockery of the prize and what it's supposed to stand for is enough for me.

Imagine if they gave out the oscars to me and you this year, for best actor and best supporting actor. We didn't even act in anything! Well, maybe you did, but I sure didn't.
And I don't really take the oscars seriously right now, but I can see that they are more or less given to one of the best actors in Hollywood each year. If me and you got the oscars this year though, that facade would be all but gone, and I'd consider the oscars to be a joke. Wouldn't you?

 

[Formaldehyde]

The Nobel peace prize is a joke and doesn't really mean anything. The Nobel organization jumped the shark, now it doesn't matter who gets this thing.. I wouldn't complain if you gave it to a tree.

That's just what happens when you completely devalue the meaning of a prize by handing it to individuals who not only do not deserve it - but who also have not even actually done anything in a role that they're being recognized for.

So yeah whatever, give it to a string quarter, to a tree, to Putin, or whoever. Whole thing's a joke. I wouldn't have accepted the prize if I were the representative of these 4 groups, as I would see it as a bit disrespectful.

It's clear now that the nobel peace prize is a political stunt and/or PR move rather than actual recognition. I'm sure there are those who have received it and actually deserved to be recognized. I do not dispute that.

I couldn't agree more. At least this recipient won't likely do something utterly opposite from engaging in world peace to further embarrass this nonsensical award.

The Nobel Peace Prize 2012 - European Union (EU) "for over six decades contributed to the advancement of peace and reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe"

The Nobel Peace Prize 2009 - Barack H. Obama "for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples"

The Nobel Peace Prize 1994 - Yasser Arafat, Shimon Peres and Yitzhak Rabin "for their efforts to create peace in the Middle East".

The Nobel Peace Prize 1993 - Nelson Mandela and Frederik Willem de Klerk "for their work for the peaceful termination of the apartheid regime, and for laying the foundations for a new democratic South Africa"

The Nobel Peace Prize 1978 - Mohamed Anwar al-Sadat and Menachem Begin

The Nobel Peace Prize 1973 - Henry A. Kissinger and Le Duc Tho

Who is next? Netanyahu for not invading Gaza this year? George Bush for not invading Iran or North Korea?