Corrigan Maguire says Vanunu should be Nobel Peace Laureate, not ElBaradei

international | anti-war / imperialism | press release

Friday December 09, 2005 01:54

by Mairead Corrigan Maguire - Peace People

This year's Nobel Peace Prize goes to the wrong person

Summary:El Baradei reneged on inspecting Israel's nuclear arsenal. Vanunu revealed that arsenal and is still a prisoner in Israel. Vanunu should have received the Nobel Peace prize that will now be given to ElBaradei. Shame on the International Community for its silence on Mordechai Vanunu's silencing and imprisonment within Israel.

The Nobel Committee in Oslo, on 10th December 2005, will award this year's Nobel Peace Prize to Mohamed ElBaradei the Chairman of the International Atomic Energy Agency. . ElBaradei acted in accordance with the Agency's decision to tighten the supervision of Iran in order to ensure that it did not develop nuclear weapons, but failed to initiate international pressure on Israel to enter into a regime of disarmament and inspection, although knowing full well that Israel is a nuclear power with an arsenal of hundreds of atomic and hydrogen bombs. Alongside this omission, he follows the policy of the Atomic Energy Agency, making no struggle for the dismantling of the nuclear arsenals of the USA, Russia, Britain, France, China and other nuclear powers. I was disappointed in this choice for the Peace Prize.

The Nobel Committee had another candidate for the prize, whom, I believe, they should have recognized. MORDECHAI VANUNU, twenty years ago (1986) told the truth to the world that Israel had a nuclear weapons programme and to this day he is a prisoner in Israel unable to leave the country and forbidden by the Israeli Government to speak or meet with foreigners. For telling the truth about the Israeli nuclear programme, Vanunu was imprisoned in an Israeli prison for eighteen years, twelve of which were in solitary confinement.. Upon release, after completing his entire eighteen years, the Israeli Government cruelly and illegally imposed restrictions on him and have continued to do so for these past two years. These restrictions are due for revue on 21st April, 2006, and could well be rubber stamped for the third year running. (On 15th January, 2006, he will appear again before an Israeli court charged with twenty-one offences of speaking and meeting with foreigners, which Israel has said he is not allowed to do.) . He could be put into prison again for speaking to foreigners. What other allegedly democratic country in the world could get away with denying the rights of its citizens to freedom of speech or movement?
And yet, the international community and main stream media remain silent!

Twenty years ago, Mordechai was kidnapped by Mossad agents and rendered from Italy. Yet, the Italian Government remains to this day silent. The United Nations, the Norwegian and British Governments (both of whom supplied heavy water which enabled Israel to make their first nuclear weapons) remain silent about the suffering and persecution of Mordechai Vanunu as do Ireland and other Governments.

The Question to be asked is: Is there any world body or Government who has the courage to demand that Israel free Mordechai Vanunu, the world's leading anti-nuclear voice to whom we should all be grateful - and who should be receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in Norway today.

MAIREAD CORRIGAN MAGUIRE (NOBEL PEACE PRIZE 1976)

www.peacepeople.com 9.12.2005