|
|||||
|
|||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
 |
 |
    |
|
|
|||
 |
|
||
|
|||
|
|
|
|
||||||||
|
ElBaradei in Norway to Accept Nobel Prize
International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei arrived in Norway yesterday to accept the Nobel Peace Prize, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, Nov. 7). Prize officials announced in October that ElBaradei and his agency would share this year’s award, which comes at a time of controversy over North Korea and Iran’s nuclear programs. “Our work is crucial to our survival, and I think the Nobel Prize is a shot in the arm for us,” he said as he arrived in Oslo for tomorrow’s prize ceremony. “I think we are at a crossroads. I think we are facing the No. 1 security threat facing humanity: the possibility of nuclear terrorism, the dissemination of nuclear weapons, stagnation in our effort to move toward nuclear disarmament,” ElBaradei said (Doug Mellgren, Associated Press, Dec. 8). Some critics, however, have complained that ElBaradei and the agency have not done enough to reduce the danger posed by nuclear weapons, Agence France-Presse reported. “The IAEA has been ‘proliferating’ the very technology and nuclear materials that are at the heart of nuclear weapons development, including to India, Israel, Pakistan, North Korea and Iran,” said environmental group Greenpeace in a statement. “Greenpeace calls for amending the IAEA statute to strengthen its role in containing the dangers of radioactive materials and end its promotion of nuclear power,” the group said. However, former IAEA chief Hans Blix said the agency and ElBaradei deserve the prize. “It is very positive that the Nobel Committee underlines what the IAEA does in order to develop the peaceful use of nuclear energy in medicine, agriculture but also power,” he said. “ElBaradei has also stood up for ... the independent and objective judgment of the agency in the cases of Iraq and Iran, and I think putting the spotlight on this very useful, well-functioning organization ... is very good so I am very happy about that,” Blix added (Agence France-Presse/IranMania.com, Dec. 8).
| ||||||||||
Back to top
