The Somali Peninsula

Norwegian Nobel Committee. PHOTO: Nobel Media/Ken Opprann By Hassan Keynan The complex and immensely talented Swede, Alfred Nobel, was methodical in the manner he went about doing his business both when he was alive and after his death on 10 December 1896. He left little to chance or speculation. However, the meticulous inventor and investor was unusually quiet about one specific issue: why he hand-picked a Norwegian Committee and bestowed upon it the privilege of awarding only the Nobel Peace Prize. Even the Norwegian Nobel Committee (NNC) itself expresses astonishment regarding the reason Nobel ‘ left no explanation as to why the prize for peace was to be awarded by a Norwegian committee while the other four prizes were to be handled by Swedish committees.”  Whatever reasons that led Nobel to pick a Norwegian Committee to be the arbiter of global peace, he would probably never have even contemplated the likes of Aung San Suu Kyi joining the exclusive Nobel Peace Laureates Lea...

1991 Nobel Peace Laureate By Hassan Keynan Does the name Aung San Suu Kyi ring any bells?  The cool and charismatic dissident in Myanmar was awarded the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize “for her non-violent struggle for democracy and human rights.” The clean and saintly image is no more. Aung San Suu Kyi currently cuts the lonely and miserable figure of a global pariah, as she stands accused of being complicit in and even excusing the most egregious crime in human history. It was her duplicitous and shameful stance vis-à-vis the brutal repression and, according to the UN, “genocide” of the Rohingya Muslim minority in Rakhine State in her own country that led to her precipitous and spectacular fall from grace. More importantly, Aung San Suu Kyi has contaminated the enduring symbol of peace and hope across the globe, disappointed the global peace movement, and still haunts the Nobel Committee itself. In fact, Myanmar’s leader is at this very moment at the UN International Court of Justice ...

UN Secretary General  António Guterres Dear Mr. Secretary-General, The events unfolding in Ethiopia are deeply troubling. Following the assassination of Haacaalu Hundeessaa, a popular artist and activist, by unknown assailants in the capital, Addis Ababa, late on Monday night, mass demonstrations erupted across the country. Tension is very high and tens of thousands of protesters are on the streets to express their outrage about the senseless killing of their beloved icon. Prominent opposition leaders from Oromia have been arrested. Internet is shut down as are some private media outlets. Evidence is sketchy and intermittent, but there are credible reports indicating widespread upheavals, including violent confrontations. The Government’s attempt to restore calm seems to have had little impact. In fact, it appears that the reaction of the security forces has deepened the frustration and anger of the grief-stricken masses. According to Human Rights Watch, the authorities’ heavy-...