Sustainable Development
Peace Prize winner welcomed to Oslo
Wangari Maathai of Kenya arrived in Oslo this week to accept the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday. She's a controversial winner, but she was warmly welcomed by the Nobel Committee and a host of dignitaries.
Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai was welcomed to Oslo by the director of the Norwegian Nobel Institute, Geir Lundestad, on Wednesday.
Maathai, who won the prize for "her contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace," has a busy schedule while in Oslo. On Thursday she met reporters and criticized the US' war against terror.
She noted that Kenya has experienced several terrorist attacks, "so we know what terror means." She claimed, however, that today's war against terrorism was unfortunate because innocent victims were dying. She said she sought better ways of solving conflicts.
Maathai, a government minister in Kenya, also said she regretted making earlier remarks that offended some of Kenya's native peoples. She's been criticized for an alleged lack of sensitivity to Kenya's aborigines.
Maathai faced a series of meetings and appearances before she was to be formally awarded the Nobel Peace Prize during a traditional 1pm ceremony at City Hall.
The ceremony will be followed by an interview on CNN and then she'll be hailed by another traditional event, a torchlight parade through downtown Oslo that ends in front of the Grand Hotel, where the Peace Prize winner traditionally stays.
The Nobel banquet will also be held at the Grand Hotel Friday night. On Saturday afternoon, Maathai will be the guest of honor at a Peace Prize Performance conducted by Oslo schools, and then she'll also be the guest of honor at the annual Nobel Peace Prize Concert.
The concert, at the Oslo Spektrum arena, is being hosted this year by American talk show host Oprah Winfrey and actor Tom Cruise. Performers will include Tony Bennet, Diana Krall, Andrea Bocelli, Patti LaBelle, Sondre Lerch and Cyndi Lauper.
