Specialists tip Tsikhanouskaya, Thunberg or reporters for Nobel Peace Prize By Reuters

By Gwladys Fouche

OSLO (Reuters) – This yr’s Nobel Peace Prize might go to exiled Belarusian dissident Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, local weather activist Greta Thunberg, or a media watchdog similar to Reporters with out Borders (RSF), Norwegian consultants on the prize mentioned on Wednesday.

The winner of the $1 million prize, arguably the world’s prime accolade, is chosen by a five-member panel appointed by the Norwegian parliament, and shall be introduced in Oslo on Oct. 8.

Teams combating for freedom of the press such because the Paris-based Reporters with out Borders (RSF) or the Committee to Defend Journalists (CPJ) had been among the many major contenders, mentioned Henrik Urdal, director of the Peace Analysis Institute Oslo.

“It resonates with the massive debate concerning the significance of unbiased reporting and the combating of faux information for democratic governance,” he mentioned.

The combat in opposition to international warming may be recognised, together with Swedish teen activist Thunberg, maybe the world’s finest recognized local weather campaigner.

“The U.N. Safety Council has expressed its concern that the opposed results of local weather change could represent a threat to worldwide peace and safety,” mentioned Asle Sveen, a historian of the Nobel Peace Prize.

Each Sveen and Urdal have appropriately predicted winners up to now, together with some that had a relatively low worldwide profile earlier than they had been chosen.

They each additionally cited Tsikhanouskaya of Belarus as one other prime contender. She has led the opposition to president Alexander Lukashenko since final yr, when she fled her residence nation after a presidential election her supporters say was rigged.

“(Belarus has) some of the oppressive regimes on the earth and a largely non-violent opposition. That will be a prize that resonates worldwide and would even be seen as a basic response to what we now see as a little bit of an autocratic backsliding in lots of nations,” mentioned Urdal.

This yr’s winner shall be selected from amongst 329 whole nominees, although the committee will not launch the complete listing for 50 years.

Whereas hundreds of individuals – from members of different parliaments worldwide to previous laureates – are eligible to appoint candidates, the eventual winner has tended just lately to come back from amongst these proposed by lawmakers from Norway itself.

Norwegian parliamentarians surveyed by Reuters have disclosed nominations for each Thunberg and Tsikhanouskaya, in addition to jailed Russian opposition determine Alexei Navalny, U.S. politician Stacey Abrams https://www.reuters.com/article/us-nobel-prize-peace-usa-idUSKBN2A12HY and the World Well being Group.

Betting company Paddy Energy has the WHO as its favorite at odds of 5/4, adopted by Navalny (21/10) and the Black Lives Matter motion (5/1).