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The Nobel Peace Prize 2016: Juan Manuel Santos

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51–60 of 123 posts

Re: The Nobel Peace Prize 2016: Juan Manuel Santos

#51
post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, they had to avoid Snowden at all costs.

Whatever you think of Snowden, you can hardly claim that what he's done has directly affected any conflicts for the better

To be fair, since the referendum didn't pass, Santos' legacy is also pretty up in the air

Re: The Nobel Peace Prize 2016: Juan Manuel Santos

#52
post #13
post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, they had to avoid Snowden at all costs.

So did the Nobel chemistry prize committee ;) Is there a notable prize for civil disobedience or similar?

> Is there a notable prize for civil disobedience or similar?

Jail time, usually.

Re: The Nobel Peace Prize 2016: Juan Manuel Santos

#53
post #16

I was in Colombia two weeks ago. I am Spanish so I could talk with the people. Not everybody supports the "peace process" like any Western media displays. In Colombia lots of terrible things have happened. There is people that had made a fortune simply murdering and stealing entire families, and of course drugs. Peace process means legalization of all this crimes, and laundering all the money and power gotten mainly…

You are not well informed. In Colombia the majority of the victims of the conflict support the peace process. You can easily see it in the map of how the people voted and you’ll notice that those territories where the war was actually fought got the big majority of the votes supporting the peace treaty. The process didn't legalize the crimes nor allow the guerrilla to keep their drug dealing money. That's just FUD. T…

Is it possible the map looks like that is because a lot of the people affected by the attacks left the afflicted areas, and the voters that remain are ones benefiting from the guerrillas?

Re: The Nobel Peace Prize 2016: Juan Manuel Santos

#54
post #43
post #27

The Nobel Peace Prize lost all credibility when it was given to Obama in 2009.

He was awarded the price for his use of diplomacy instead of provoking more new wars. There was a lot of controversy regarding the decision, but to say that it lost all credibility is simply not true.

He had had zero time to do any of that, being elected just a year before.

Re: The Nobel Peace Prize 2016: Juan Manuel Santos

#55
post #17
post #16

I was in Colombia two weeks ago. I am Spanish so I could talk with the people. Not everybody supports the "peace process" like any Western media displays. In Colombia lots of terrible things have happened. There is people that had made a fortune simply murdering and stealing entire families, and of course drugs. Peace process means legalization of all this crimes, and laundering all the money and power gotten mainly…

I live in Colombia. No, they weren't in "his knees", that's a lie perpetuated by Uribe himself. Being elected doesn't give them any power over any territories, they will be just part of the Congress, so they will have power to vote there, but not over "specific" territories. By the way today an scandal is up in Colombia where one of Uribes friends declared all the tactics to emotionally manipulate the people to vote…

[deleted]

Re: The Nobel Peace Prize 2016: Juan Manuel Santos

#56
post #16

I was in Colombia two weeks ago. I am Spanish so I could talk with the people. Not everybody supports the "peace process" like any Western media displays. In Colombia lots of terrible things have happened. There is people that had made a fortune simply murdering and stealing entire families, and of course drugs. Peace process means legalization of all this crimes, and laundering all the money and power gotten mainly…

Also relevant is the fact that Uribe and his family have longstanding ties to the criminal groups that control the drug trade (as well as extortion, illegal gold mining, and human trafficking.) From Escobar to the AUC to the BACRIM who have filled in the vacuum most recently.

Some enlightening/depressing background for context: http://www.insightcrime.org/investigations/bacrim-and-their-...

Lost in most of the US/European coverage is the huge threat the peace process represents to the Colombian political elite: when guns are put down, eventually their long history of collaboration with criminals will come to light. (E.g. in August Uribe's niece and her mother were extradited...)

Sadly, the corruption runs very, very deep and it goes straight to the top.

I fully supported the Yes vote (I'm not Colombian) but I also recognize that the government vs. FARC battle is only one front in a much larger war under which the Colombian people continue to suffer.

Re: The Nobel Peace Prize 2016: Juan Manuel Santos

#57
post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can't end a war without leaving the past behind. And that means you have to make concessions. You make the comparison with Germany at the end of WWII. Not every Nazi or was punished, on the contrary, the majority escaped what uou call justice. Yes, it's unfair and hard to accept, but that's what makes every peace process so damn hard.

Nazi not punished ? Most of them died in the war. Oh and none of the allies war criminals were punished. You forgot to mention that.

Plenty of Nazi scientists and war criminals were given amnesty in the US after the war in exchange for their knowledge.

Re: The Nobel Peace Prize 2016: Juan Manuel Santos

#58
post #46
post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nazi not punished ? Most of them died in the war. Oh and none of the allies war criminals were punished. You forgot to mention that.

We evan had a nazi soldier become a Pope. But you're right, none of the allies war criminals was punished.

He was conscripted into the Hitler Youth, which I think was required by law at the time.

Re: The Nobel Peace Prize 2016: Juan Manuel Santos

#59
post #46
post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nazi not punished ? Most of them died in the war. Oh and none of the allies war criminals were punished. You forgot to mention that.

We evan had a nazi soldier become a Pope. But you're right, none of the allies war criminals was punished.

Do you say that Joseph Ratzinger was actually a Nazi, or just that he was a German soldier in Second World War? There's quite some difference.

The German army was just German army, not specifically a "Nazi army" even though the country was lead by Nazis and even though modern click-baiting headlines equate the two.

As far as I know, Ratzinger had nothing to do with National Socialism beyond what was compulsory and unavoidable under pain of death in Nazi Germany (i.e. being drafted).

Re: The Nobel Peace Prize 2016: Juan Manuel Santos

#60
post #43
post #27

The Nobel Peace Prize lost all credibility when it was given to Obama in 2009.

He was awarded the price for his use of diplomacy instead of provoking more new wars. There was a lot of controversy regarding the decision, but to say that it lost all credibility is simply not true.

Cough. According to Wikipedia[1] - "Nominations for the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize closed just 11 days after Obama took office." That must have been a busy 11 days doing diplomacy...

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Nobel_Peace_Prize

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