JENNIFER LUDDEN, host:
The 2010 Nobel Peace Prize will be awarded tomorrow. This year, there were 237 nominees for the prestigious award, the most ever according to the Norwegian Nobel Institute. Still, there are several candidates thought to be in the lead. Here to walk us through the contenders and the process is Howard LaFranchi, diplomatic correspondent for the Christian Science Monitor, where he wrote the article "And the Favorites for 2010 Nobel Peace Prize Are..."
Who do you think deserves the prize this year? Who is your favorite winner of the past and why? Call us at 800-989-8255 or email us: talk@npr.org. And you can join the conversation at our website where you can also find a link to Howard's article. Go to npr.org and click on TALK OF THE NATION.
Howard LaFranchi joins us from a studio at the Christian Science Monitor bureau here in Washington, D.C. Welcome.
Mr. HOWARD LAFRANCHI (Correspondent, Christian Science Monitor): Hi, Jennifer. Thanks for having me on.
LUDDEN: Now, one of the people that you argue - that you spoke with thought that the winner this year could be from Afghanistan. Why is this?
Mr. LaFRANCHI: Well, for a few reasons. One, obviously, Afghanistan, there is a - not only is there a war going on there, but we are moving in to a phase where there could be negotiations between the government and the Taliban that could help in bringing that war to an end. That would be, first of all, the kind of thing that the - if we look at past, that the Nobel committee would want to take note of. But also the particular individual who is being mentioned is Sima Samar. She is a human rights activist in Afghanistan. She is particularly focused on women's issues.
And so there are a number of reasons. One is that she is a woman.
LUDDEN: A woman hasn't won since...
Mr. LaFRANCHI: No woman has won the prize since 2003. And - but also she has a record of accomplishments in this area of human rights. And that right there sort of takes us back to last year's prize.
LUDDEN: Okay. Because?
Mr. LaFRANCHI: Well, of course, President Obama won the prize last year. And that was seen as a prize really awarded for what the committee saw the potential of this new American president, the promise.
LUDDEN: You described it in your article as an aspirational award versus tangible accomplishments.
Mr. LaFRANCHI: Yes. And, in fact, as it turns out, going back to the beginning of the prize which has been - the Peace Prize, which has been given out for over a century, but there were - in the beginning, there were a number of aspirational prizes and there have been scattered throughout. But they tend - more recently, they have tend to favor either organizations or individuals who, through their work, you know, have accomplished something for peace in the world. And most observers expect that after giving what turned out to be something - a somewhat controversial aspirational prize last year that they will go back to their more traditional roots perhaps and go back to awarding the prize this year based on accomplishments.
LUDDEN: So perhaps every award is a bit of a reaction to that that has gone before. Is it possible? I mean, politics of a sort comes - is it -comes into play or what factors do - does this committee of five people consider when they hand out this award?
Mr. LaFRANCHI: Well, one thing I would say for sure, that obviously it's a very prestigious prize and the committee is, you know, carefully watching for the reputation of that prize and for their organization. And it has its capital like any, like any organization, and they don't want to squander that or see that disparaged.
And I think also, given that President Obama went on to give a speech in presenting the award that was widely seen, basically, as a justification for the wars in Afghanistan, in - and Iraq, that was something of a shock, I would say, not only to the committee, probably, but to European sensibilities. And I think that's what this prize in many ways reflects. And so I think they're watching out for their reputation, and that too would point to a less controversial prize winner this year.
For example, some say that that could mean that the Chinese poet and dissident Liu Xiaobo might not win this year because - although he is understood to be a candidate, but not only...
LUDDEN: This is an imprisoned Chinese dissident you're talking about.
Mr. LaFRANCHI: Right, and a poet and imprisoned dissident. Not only would the Chinese government look unfavorably on that, but actually there are other Chinese dissidents who have come out publicly recently saying they wouldn't favor him winning the prize, that he has not always been strongly against the communist regime of China. And so that would just seem to be another prize that just might open up the committee to further - and the prize to further criticism or controversy, which it seems they would probably want to avoid this year.
LUDDEN: Hmm. Who do you think deserves the Nobel Peace Prize? Who's your favorite winner of the past and why? Call us at 800-989-8255 or email us: talk@npr.org. Howard LaFranchi, give us a sense of who are some of the others thought to be on the shortlist this year for the Peace Prize.
Mr. LaFRANCHI: Well, it's always a mix of organizations and individuals. There are some Russian dissidents, actually, on the list, or in particular one woman, Svetlana - and I'm sorry about the name here but -Gannushkina, who has been really a champion of Chechen human rights in face of the Russian military campaign in Chechnya.
But then there are also organizations - and several organizations seem to figure prominently this year. One is the Special Court of - for Sierra Leone that is trying war crimes and crimes against humanity that were committed in the civil war there. Another interesting one is the Democratic Voice of Burma, which is really a media organization. It's an exile media organization that - actually based in Oslo, Norway. I don't know if that would have any...
(Soundbite of laughter)
Mr. LaFRANCHI: ...effect on the committee.
LUDDEN: Speaking of politics.
Mr. LaFRANCHI: But they - what they do is they send clandestine Burmese journalists, they bring them out clandestinely, train them to use video cameras and other reporting equipment, send them back in, and then they send out with either via cell phones or other devices, send out the reports on what is really going on inside a closed country like Burma or Myanmar. And one reason some observers or - of the Nobel Prize think they could be a good candidate is just the kind of hybrid organization it is or the way it kind of uses new technology to address an old problem...
LUDDEN: Hmm.
Mr. LaFRANCHI: ...that that could be something that would be attractive to the committee.
LUDDEN: Hmm. Let's take a phone call. We have Thomas on the line from Columbia, South Carolina. Hi there.
THOMAS (Caller): Hey. My favorite Nobel Peace Prize winner is definitely Nelson Mandela.
LUDDEN: And why?
THOMAS: I'm a South African and I grew up in Johannesburg. And I saw a lot of oppression just in the police force. And seeing him win the prize meant so much to me because I understood what it meant for the people of South Africa to have a black president and to see that oppression of apartheid really come to an end.
LUDDEN: All right. Well, thanks for calling. It's Howard LaFranchi. Nelson Mandela, pretty uncontroversial choice, right? When he got it.
Mr. LaFRANCHI: Clearly there have been choices like that in the past that no one can find any fault in. There are some interesting things that - it's sort of like the Oscars in a way - and by the way, the Democratic Voice of Burma, a documentary about them last year, was nominated for an Oscar. But in the same way that every year at Oscar time we hear how there are certain actors and actresses who are - or directors - that are among our favorites that have never won an award, never won an Oscar - Gandhi never won the Nobel Peace Prize.
LUDDEN: Hmm.
Mr. LaFRANCHI: And so...
LUDDEN: It's kind of hard to believe.
(Soundbite of laughter)
Mr. LaFRANCHI: Yeah. You would - if you stood back and maybe looked at the last century and say who deserved a Peace Prize, certainly he would be at the top of many lists. But he never won.
LUDDEN: And posthumously, is that a possibility or no?
Mr. LaFRANCHI: I understand that that is not, that that is not a possibility because the - and that came up because the Russian journalist, the woman - and I'm sorry...
LUDDEN: Who was gunned down a year or so ago...
Mr. LaFRANCHI: Yes. Mm-hmm.
LUDDEN: ...for reporting on corruption in Moscow, I believe.
Mr. LaFRANCHI: Exactly. And her name came up, but apparently posthumous awards are not - well, in - of course the Nobel Peace Prize - all the Nobel Prizes, they were established by Alfred Nobel. And in his will he talks about works that - in the will where he sets up the prize, he says that he wants these prizes to go for works done in the previous year.
LUDDEN: Hmm.
Mr. LaFRANCHI: Now, that doesn't necessarily rule out a posthumous award, but at least until now it's been interpreted that the - that it is to be awarded to...
LUDDEN: Right.
Mr. LaFRANCHI: ...to living individuals or obviously existing organizations.
LUDDEN: All right. Let's take another phone call. Kathleen(ph) is in Martinez, California. You're on the air.
KATHLEEN (Caller): Hi. I would suggest Greg Mortenson, gentleman who had written "The Three Cups of Tea" and for his influence with - in Afghanistan, I believe, with all he's done there as well as...
LUDDEN: He's the man who built all those schools in, I think, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
KATHLEEN: Yes. And he's had great influence too. The military uses his book and so do other countries to help them understand how to work with different cultures and to make it a peaceful place.
LUDDEN: Howard LaFranchi, is Greg Mortenson on the list of 237?
(Soundbite of laughter)
Mr. LaFRANCHI: Well, I can't say - as you noted, as I think you noted, anyway, actually we know of 18 names out of the 237. But that's only because there is no list ever published. But if nominees themselves want to make the fact that they were nominated public, they're - they have every right to do so. And so actual nominations or names on the list do leak out, but there's no list ever published. So I don't know about Greg Mortenson.
I would say that - as somebody pointed out to me, that actually one-fourth of the prize winners have been Americans. And so not only the fact that President Obama won the award last year, coupled with the fact that it turned out to be a controversial award, that seems to rule out that another American would win this year.
LUDDEN: All right. We're talking with Howard LaFranchi about his article in the Christian Science Monitor about who might win the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize. You can find a link at npr.org. Click on TALK OF THE NATION. You're listening to TALK OF THE NATION from NPR News.
And one of our producers has just done a quick little fact check here that apparently the Nobel Foundation stipulates that prizes cannot be awarded posthumously unless the death has occurred after the announcement of the prize, which happened in 1996 - no. Let's see. This happened in 1996, when William Vickrey died only a few days after. Now, it says he died after the announcement of the prize in economics. That's sad.
(Soundbite of laughter)
LUDDEN: Let's take a phone call from Bob(ph) in Oakland, California. Go right ahead, Bob.
BOB (Caller): This is Michigan, actually.
LUDDEN: I'm so sorry.
(Soundbite of laughter)
LUDDEN: Welcome to the program.
BOB: Pleasure. I would nominate Baroness Caroline Cox, the former deputy speaker of the House of Lords of the U.K., for her outstanding humanitarian work worldwide. You name the country where there is a need, and she has been there - Armenia, 70 plus times, et cetera, et cetera. The list is long.
LUDDEN: All right. And why would - what stands out about her for you? What do you think?
BOB: (Technical difficulties) is her dedication and her passion for what she does. She does not only visit the area, she goes and makes sure that everything that she has brought with her is distributed. So therefore it's a very much hands-on approach that she has.
LUDDEN: All right. Well, thank you for your call. Howard?
Mr. LaFRANCHI: I believe that - you know, the committee takes nominations quite openly wherever they may come from. So if your favorite doesn't win this year, you can make the nomination next year.
LUDDEN: That's right. There you are, Bob. Make your nomination. Howard LaFranchi, we have just a few seconds left. It is possible, I just wanted to point out, that the winner could be someone we've never heard of. It's happened before.
Mr. LaFRANCHI: That's absolutely right. I think - and actually, many of the names won't be - that are on any year's list, you know, wouldn't be the Nelson Mandela or the Jimmy Carter, but nevertheless maybe, maybe be one of the values of this prize when it is given to...
LUDDEN: Mm-hmm.
Mr. LaFRANCHI: ...someone less well known is just that, you know, it's a nice reminder that there are all kinds of people out there...
LUDDEN: We have to stop it right there. We're running out of time.
Mr. LaFRANCHI: ...this year.
LUDDEN: Howard LaFranchi, diplomatic correspondent for the Christian Science Monitor. I'm Jennifer Ludden. This is TALK OF THE NATION from NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
