Liberaleren har bedt grunnleggeren og lederen for Oslo Freedom Forum, Thor Halvorssen, om en kommentar til at årets tildeling av Nobels fredspris har gått til en av deltagerne på årets OFF-konferanse.
Jeg sendte denne eposten til Thor Halvorssen:
Congratulations on having one of the peaceprize-winners as speaker on this year’s OFF.
I don’t know if you have given any comments to Norwegian media yet, but I wood be very happy if you could give some comments to Liberaleren.
– My colleagues and I are thrilled with the selection. Both regionally and thematically this is a wonderful and bold choice. Journalism in Yemen is something the Oslo Freedom Forum has been keen to expose. For instance, IN 2011 we invited ABDULKARIM AL-KHAIWANI to Oslo to tell us about the war currently being waged on journalists in Yemen by the government. IN 2011 we had a member of the Liberian cabinet. And this past May (2011) we were honored to host one of this year’s peace laureates: LEYMAH GBOWEE. Her courage, her indomitable will, and her example were key ingredients in waging peace on her country. She is an inspiration to us all.
In recent years it has been some controversy about the prizewinners; if the committee was going beyond Nobel’s will or not. Do you think that the winners of 2011 is more according to the will?
– I believe the 2011 laureates are absolutely according to Nobel’s will and his most profound intentions.
Will OFF try to invite the winner from Yemen to the 2012-conference?
– We will, of course, be inviting the Yemeni activist in 2012.
Is Oslo Freedom Forum the place to meet the most important peace-activists in the world?
– OFF appears to be slowly becoming a place for peace activists to meet and find a friendly platform. We hope to make some contribution to this. It is what we work toward.
Thor Halvorssen befinner seg i Los Angeles, der det er grytidlig om morgenen. Liberaleren takker for at han tok seg tid til å svare på vår henvendelse. Det er liten tvil om at årets fredspristildeling til blant annet Leymah Gbowee – og fokuset Jemen har i årets tildeling – er en stor inspirasjon for Halvorssen og teamet som hvert år de siste tre årene har arrangert en stor menneskerettighetskonferanse i Oslo. Det er på tide at norsk presse, og ikke minst venstresidens politikere og organisasjoner anerkjenner OFFs arbeide som viktig for å fremme fred, frihet og demokrati.
Du kan også lese Liberalerens intervju med Thor Halvorssen fra årets OFF-konferanse, her.
Liberalerens artikkel om årets fredsprisvinnere
Kristian Tonning Riise, en fast deltager på Oslo Freedom Forum, har blogget om fredsprisen.
