NOBEL PEACE PRIZE WINNER NOT A FAN OF FOREIGN INTERVENTION

Posted on October 15, 2003 by Dave Pollard
ebadiA remarkable woman — Shirin Ebadi of Iran — has won the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize. When the announcement was made, I was in a waiting room at Heathrow Airport surrounded by a sea of South Asian and MidEastern faces, all watching the announcement on a large-screen TV. The reaction of those watching intently, including women in austere dress and men in Arab robes, was impossible to determine — no smiles, no grumbles, not so much as a wave of the head.

Ms. Ebadi, a lawyer, writer, professor and tireless activist for women’s rights and personal freedoms, has been imprisoned during her struggle with Iran’s hard-line Islamic regime, but is supported by the growing reformist forces represented by embattled President Khatami.

I know quite a few Iranian ex-pats, and they make a strong argument that Iran, which has a highly literate and well-educated populace and stronger traditions of constitutional liberalism than most other countries in the area, is far and away the most promising model for the rest of the Islamic world to follow — provided the reform movement can continue to make gains.

Ms. Ebadi simultaneously called for the release of political prisoners in Iran, and for the US to butt out of Iran’s internal struggles. “The fight for human rights is conducted in Iran by the Iranian people, and we are against any foreign intervention in Iran,” she said.

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1 Response to NOBEL PEACE PRIZE WINNER NOT A FAN OF FOREIGN INTERVENTION

  1. Indigo Ocean says:
    October 15, 2003 at 15:26

    This post is dead on for me. Intervention by the US would only undermine the progress of Iranian nationals pursuing justice and peace for their fellow citizens. Anything associated with US policies or patronage is reasonably suspect in most of the world. The organic process of movement towards natural freedoms for all people must be trusted and allowed to unfold at a natural pace. However, global recognition from non-governmental entities such as the Nobel Peace Prize committee is the kind of support that may actually help.

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