An Appropriate Successor to Jimmy Carter, After All

One must now wonder if campaigning for human rights isn't the only reason Shirin Ebadi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize (emphasis added):

.... In her press conference in Paris, just hours after the surprise announcement by the Norwegian Nobel Committee, Ms. Shirin Ebadi called for the immediate release of political prisoners in Iran. “Today many people who fight for liberty and democracy (in Iran) are in prison. I hope for their release as soon as possible,” she said, appearing without the headscarf women are required to wear under Iran's Islamic law. In her press conference, which was carried live by Radio Farda, she also spoke out against rights abuses around the world, taking aim at the US occupation of Iraq and describing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as an unequal war of “stones against weapons.” Ebadi said in their fight for human rights and freedoms, the Iranians do not need foreign intervention. “The fight for human rights is conducted in Iran by the Iranian people and we are against any foreign intervention in Iran,” she said. Ms. Ebadi maintained that in her view, Islam and human rights can co-exist, and blamed the authorities, not the religion, for human rights abuses in Muslim countries. “For 20 years I have been putting out the message that it is possible to be Muslim and have laws that respect human rights” she said. "What is worse is that people who have power in Muslim countries violate (human rights) in the name of Islam,” she said. (Siavash Ardalan) ....

(Thanks, Charles.)

Lane Core Jr. CIW P — Tue. 10/14/03 10:56:02 AM
Categorized as International.