Nobel Peace Prize Winner Abiy Ahmed Embroiled in Media Row
Officials say winner’s refusal to face public questioning is ‘highly problematic’
Jason Burke Africa correspondent
Sun 8 Dec 2019 08.45 EST
Guardian
Abiy Ahmed, the prime minister of Ethiopia, has come under pressure to appear before the media in Oslo this week when he collects the Nobel peace prize on Tuesday.
Senior officials of the Norwegian Nobel Institute have said the 2019 winner’s refusal to attend any event where he could be asked questions publicly is “highly problematic”.
Olav Njølstad, the secretary of the Nobel committee, said it would “very much have wanted Abiy to engage with the press during his stay in Oslo”.
“We strongly believe that freedom of expression and a free and independent press are vital components of peace … Moreover, some former Nobel peace prize laureates have received the prize in recognition of their efforts in favour of these very rights and freedoms,” he said.
Nobel peace prize laureates traditionally hold a news conference a day before the official ceremony, but Abiy has told the Norwegian Nobel committee he does not intend to do so.
Neither will the 43-year-old leader take questions from reporters after his meeting with the Norwegian prime minister, Erna Solberg, nor participate at a traditional annual event with children celebrating peace at the Nobel Peace Center museum.
Njølstad added that the committee’s concerns had been made “very clear to the prime minister and his staff”.
Abiy was awarded the Nobel prize for the peace deal he concluded with neighbouring Eritrea last year, three months after coming to power in 2018. The agreement resolved nearly two decades of military stalemate following a border war that ended in 2000.
The former military intelligence officer has pushed through reforms at home, dramatically changing the atmosphere in what was regarded as a repressive state. Measures have included the lifting of a ban on political parties, the release of imprisoned journalists and the sacking of previously untouchable officials, some of them accused of torture.
In November, Abiy faced perhaps the most serious crisis of his term in office after the death of scores of people in a wave of violent disorder.
Abiy’s press secretary, Billene Seyoum, said it was “quite challenging” for a head of state to find enough time for the extensive Nobel programme, particularly since “domestic issues are pressing and warrant attention”.
Abiy would attend essential events in consultation with the Nobel Institute “to honour and respect the Nobel tradition”, she said.
At the same time, “the humble disposition of the prime minister, rooted in our cultural context, is not in alignment with the very public nature of the Nobel award”, Billene said. “The prime minister is … grateful for the recognition.”
Norwegian media have raised concerns that the Nobel prize committee have “once again made a problematic choice”.
Other winners have failed to engage with the media. The former US president Barack Obama also declined to speak to reporters when he won the peace prize in 2009 – and Abiy has rarely given interviews since taking office last year.
Analysts say Abiy’s reforms have lifted the lid on long-repressed tensions between Ethiopia’s many ethnic groups and unrest is expected to worsen in the run-up to the country’s election in May.
When announced earlier this year, the Nobel chairwoman, Berit Reiss-Andersen, defended the choice of Abiy, saying that though some people might have considered it too early to give the Ethiopian leader the prize “it is now that Abiy Ahmed’s efforts need recognition and deserve encouragement”.
Abiy is expected to give an acceptance speech on Tuesday at Oslo City Hall before officials, including Norwegian royals, after receiving the 9m kronor (£721,000) cash award, a gold medal and a diploma.
Abiy also is to meet with Solberg and open a Nobel prize exhibition during a private ceremony. Billene said Abiy was “one of the most accessible Ethiopian prime ministers to date in public and media engagements”.
Jason Burke Africa correspondent
Sun 8 Dec 2019 08.45 EST
Guardian
Abiy Ahmed, the prime minister of Ethiopia, has come under pressure to appear before the media in Oslo this week when he collects the Nobel peace prize on Tuesday.
Senior officials of the Norwegian Nobel Institute have said the 2019 winner’s refusal to attend any event where he could be asked questions publicly is “highly problematic”.
Olav Njølstad, the secretary of the Nobel committee, said it would “very much have wanted Abiy to engage with the press during his stay in Oslo”.
“We strongly believe that freedom of expression and a free and independent press are vital components of peace … Moreover, some former Nobel peace prize laureates have received the prize in recognition of their efforts in favour of these very rights and freedoms,” he said.
Nobel peace prize laureates traditionally hold a news conference a day before the official ceremony, but Abiy has told the Norwegian Nobel committee he does not intend to do so.
Neither will the 43-year-old leader take questions from reporters after his meeting with the Norwegian prime minister, Erna Solberg, nor participate at a traditional annual event with children celebrating peace at the Nobel Peace Center museum.
Njølstad added that the committee’s concerns had been made “very clear to the prime minister and his staff”.
Abiy was awarded the Nobel prize for the peace deal he concluded with neighbouring Eritrea last year, three months after coming to power in 2018. The agreement resolved nearly two decades of military stalemate following a border war that ended in 2000.
The former military intelligence officer has pushed through reforms at home, dramatically changing the atmosphere in what was regarded as a repressive state. Measures have included the lifting of a ban on political parties, the release of imprisoned journalists and the sacking of previously untouchable officials, some of them accused of torture.
In November, Abiy faced perhaps the most serious crisis of his term in office after the death of scores of people in a wave of violent disorder.
Abiy’s press secretary, Billene Seyoum, said it was “quite challenging” for a head of state to find enough time for the extensive Nobel programme, particularly since “domestic issues are pressing and warrant attention”.
Abiy would attend essential events in consultation with the Nobel Institute “to honour and respect the Nobel tradition”, she said.
At the same time, “the humble disposition of the prime minister, rooted in our cultural context, is not in alignment with the very public nature of the Nobel award”, Billene said. “The prime minister is … grateful for the recognition.”
Norwegian media have raised concerns that the Nobel prize committee have “once again made a problematic choice”.
Other winners have failed to engage with the media. The former US president Barack Obama also declined to speak to reporters when he won the peace prize in 2009 – and Abiy has rarely given interviews since taking office last year.
Analysts say Abiy’s reforms have lifted the lid on long-repressed tensions between Ethiopia’s many ethnic groups and unrest is expected to worsen in the run-up to the country’s election in May.
When announced earlier this year, the Nobel chairwoman, Berit Reiss-Andersen, defended the choice of Abiy, saying that though some people might have considered it too early to give the Ethiopian leader the prize “it is now that Abiy Ahmed’s efforts need recognition and deserve encouragement”.
Abiy is expected to give an acceptance speech on Tuesday at Oslo City Hall before officials, including Norwegian royals, after receiving the 9m kronor (£721,000) cash award, a gold medal and a diploma.
Abiy also is to meet with Solberg and open a Nobel prize exhibition during a private ceremony. Billene said Abiy was “one of the most accessible Ethiopian prime ministers to date in public and media engagements”.
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