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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Mattha Busby and Martin Belam

Nobel peace prize: Ethiopian prime minister Abiy Ahmed wins 2019 award – as it happened

Ok, I think with that, we are just about done here for the live blog. The headline news is that Abiy Ahmed, the prime minister of Ethiopia, has been awarded the 100th Nobel peace prize in recognition of his work to end the decades of conflict between Ethiopia and neighbour Eritrea.

Of the award Abiy said “I am so humbled and thrilled ... Thank you very much. It is a prize given to Africa, given to Ethiopia, and I can imagine how the rest of Africa’s leaders will take it positively to work on peace building process in our continent.”

You can read a full report on today’s award from my colleagues Jason Burke and Jon Henley. Thank you very much for joining us in our live coverage.

The Nobel prize team have just published a video showing an interview by freelance journalist Christian Borch with Berit Reiss-Andersen, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee.

In it she explains how Abiy Ahmed met the criteria set out by Alfred Nobel’s in his will back in 1895. He specified the peace prize should go to “the person who has done the most or best to advance fellowship among nations, the abolition or reduction of standing armies, and the establishment and promotion of peace congresses.”

You can watch the interview here:

Berit Reiss-Andersen interviewed by Christian Borch about the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize.

If, rather than a lengthy timeline, you just wanted a quick set of bullet points summing up why Abiy Ahmed has won the 100th Nobel peace prize, then British author Lemn Sissay, who has Ethiopian heritage, is on hand to help you out.

For those of you who’d like a quick history refresher, AFP have provided this timeline of the tensions and reconciliation between Horn of Africa neighbours Eritrea and Ethiopia:

In 1962 Ethiopia proclaims the annexation of Eritrea, abolishing its autonomous status and effectively making it a province. Eritrea launches a war for independence that lasts nearly 30 years.

Then in 1991 Eritrean rebels seize the Eritrean capital Asmara. They install a government and gain full independence in 1993, a secession blessed by Addis Ababa.

However the 1,000-kilometre (620-mile) border between the neighbours is not properly defined and the move deprives Ethiopia of its only entry point to the Red Sea.

In May 1998, skirmishes erupt after Eritrean forces enter the area around Badme, claiming the town under borders drawn during Italian colonial rule. Fighting spreads and in June the warring sides carry out air strikes. The ensuing conflict is marked by trench warfare and large-scale pitched battles, alternating with long periods of calm.

Fighting flares anew in May 2000. Between 1998 and 2000 the conflict claims nearly 80,000 lives.

In June 2000 the two sides reach an initial peace accord that allows for the deployment of a UN peacekeeping force in a border buffer zone. An official peace pact signed in December 2000 establishes a Boundary Commission, which sits at the International Court of Arbitration in The Hague, to officially demarcate the disputed frontier.

In 2002 the commission attributes to Eritrea chunks of land along the border, including the contested town of Badme. But Ethiopia rejects the ruling and requests an “interpretation, correction”. The commission refuses.

Ethiopian forces continue to occupy Badme. The standoff delays the physical demarcation of the border as ruled by the commission. Tensions rise with gunfire, landmines and troop movements near the border.

In May 2006, amid fears of a new all-out war, talks in London fail to end the standoff. The next month, Ethiopia claims to have killed more than 110 rebels. Eritrea denies involvement. There are regular attacks in border regions.

In June 2018, Abiy - who had become prime minister in April - announces that Ethiopia will abide by the 2002 ruling requiring it to cede territory, including Badme, and withdraw its forces. His concession launches a whirlwind peace process.

Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki hosts Abiy in Asmara on 8 July and cheering crowds line the streets to welcome him. Direct telephone communications are restored for the first time in two decades.

On 9 July the two leaders sign a joint declaration declaring that the “state of war that existed between the two countries has come to an end”.

Afwerki re-opens Eritrea’s embassy in Addis Ababa on 16 July. Two days later an Ethiopian Airlines plane departs for Addis Ababa as commercial flights between the capitals resume. Ethiopia reopens its embassy in the Eritrean capital on 6 September and five days later two land border crossings are opened for the first time in 20 years. By 16 September the two countries have signed a peace agreement at a summit in Saudi Arabia.

Some other world figures to pay tribute to Abiy Ahmed’s award include David Sassoli, the new president of the European Parliament, who praised him for giving “many citizens hope for a better life” and “promoting fundamental values of democracy and peace”.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director-General of the World Health Organization, said he was “proud to be Ethiopian” in offering his congratulations to the prime minister.

New Zealand’s former prime minister, Helen Clark, also offered “full congratulations”. One of her successors, Jacinda Ardern, had been tipped as a possible winner for her reaction and community building after the Christchurch mosque shootings.

There’s less upbeat news about the gender balance of the Nobel prizes this year. Olga Tokarczuk won her award for 2018, but it was delayed until this year after a sexual assault scandal involving the Swedish Academy saw the prize cancelled. She’s the only woman to have received a prize this year, meaning that with only one award left to announce - the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences which comes on Monday - every single Nobel laureate announced so far in 2019 is male. There’s already some vocal criticism about this on social media.

Updated

A nice upbeat bit of Nobel prize related news just in from Poland - authorities in Wroclaw, where Nobel literature laureate Olga Tokarczuk lives, are offering free public transport travel this weekend to anybody carrying a copy of her book.

“As soon as we heard the news Thursday that Olga Tokarczuk won the Nobel, we wanted to share our joy with all the residents of our city which recently made the writer an honorary citizen,” city hall spokesman Przemyslaw Galecki told the AFP news agency.

“Through Sunday, every passenger carrying a book or e-book by Olga Tokarczuk can ride public transit free in our city”

Nobel committee release recording of Abiy Ahmed accepting award

The Nobel committee have just release a recording of the call between Abiy Ahmed and Olav Njølstad, Secretary of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, which was made shortly after the public announcement. You can listen to it here:

The call between Abiy Ahmed and Olav Njølstad

In the call, the Ethiopian prime minister says “I am so humbled and thrilled when I just heard the news. Thank you very much. It is a prize given to Africa, given to Ethiopia…I am so thrilled.”

Updated

The European Commission has tweeted congratulations, picturing Abiy Ahmed with Jean-Claude Juncker and saying that “With his courage, he built bridges in the region…We stand with Ethiopia in its journey towards democratic reform and peace.”

Other Europeans to send congratulations include the Swedish PM, the German foreign minister

Updated

Chair of the African Union Commission, Chad’s Moussa Faki, has added his congratulations with “great pride”, saying that “his historic peacebuiding efforts” have “given the world hope at a time it needs servant leadership more than ever.”

Away from the peace process with Eritrea, one of the more eye-catching initiatives to come out of the Ethiopian government in recent years under Abiy Ahmed’s leadership has been the national “green legacy” initiative. It has focussed on planting 4bn trees in the country, by encouraging every citizen to plant at least 40 seedlings. According to the UN, Ethiopia’s forest coverage was just 4% in the 2000s, down from 35% a century earlier. Back in July the country planted 350m trees in a single day.

António Guterres, Secretary-General of the UN, has issued a statement about the award:

“I have said often that winds of hope are blowing ever stronger across Africa. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed is one of the main reasons why.

His vision helped Ethiopia and Eritrea achieve a historic rapprochement, and I was honored to witness the signing of the peace agreement last year.

This milestone has opened up new opportunities for the region to enjoy security and stability, and Prime Minister Ahmed’s leadership has set a wonderful example for others in and beyond Africa looking to overcome resistance from the past and put people first.”

Updated

Here’s more from my colleague Jason Burke about Abiy Ahmed’s track record:

“A former military officer specialising in cyber intelligence, the peace deal with Eritrea surprised and delighted tens of millions of people across East Africa.

The conflict had cost both countries dearly in lives and scarce resources, and was a brake on development across much of the volatile region.

More recently Abiy played a key role in brokering a political deal in neighbouring Sudan which halted a slide into chaotic violence after the fall of veteran dictator Omar al-Bashir while retaining many of the gains of pro-democracy protesters.

Abiy, who often relies on bold personal initiatives and charisma to drive change instead of working through government institutions, is the first leader from Ethiopia’s largest ethnic community, the Oromo, who have complained for decades of economic, cultural and political marginalisation, and has appointed women to a series of high-profile jobs, including half ministerial posts.

Domestic reforms have included lifting bans on political parties, releasing imprisoned journalists and firing series of hitherto untouchable officials, some accused of torture.

Other initiatives, such as the planting of millions of trees, have won further international support and sympathy.”

Perhaps more than some other years, there will be a debate about who didn’t win the Nobel peace prize. Greta Thunberg was the bookmakers overwhelming favourite, and only last month, US president Donald Trump was complaining that he deserves one. According to the Nobel peace prize website, 301 candidates had been put forward for this year’s award. However, the committee does not reveal the names of nominees until 50 years have passed.

Jens Stoltenberg, Nato Secretary General, has also passed on his congratulations, saying of Ahmed “You have demonstrated that with patience, courage and conviction, peace is possible.”

Here’s a view from the room, giving you an idea of the media presence that surrounded Berit Reiss-Andersen when she was making the announcement this morning.

Announcement of Nobel Peace Prize Laureate of 2019.
Announcement of Nobel Peace Prize Laureate of 2019. Photograph: Stian Lysberg Solum/EPA

Among world leaders to pay tribute on social media to Ahmed’s award is Crown Prince of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. He has tweeted his congratulations, saying “He is a wise man who has brought peace and hope to his country and region. The prize is a well-deserved honour for an extraordinary leader.”

President of Somalia Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed has also offered his congratulations, describing Ahmed as a “deserving winner”

Here’s our full report on the Nobel peace prize award from my colleague Jon Henley.

It isn’t all gushing congratulations to the Ethiopian prime minister. Amnesty International have just tweeted that Ahmed should use the prize as an opportunity to “tackle the outstanding human rights challenges that threaten to reverse the gains made so far.”

Ahmed becomes the 24th African to win a Nobel, following Denis Mukwege of the Democratic Republic of the Congo last year.

Other 21st century African winners of the peace prize include Liberia’s Leymah Gbowee and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in 2011, Egypt’s Mohamed ElBaradei in 2005, Kenya’s Wangari Maathai in 2004, and Kofi Annan in 2001.

Here’s a piece from my colleague Jason Burke from last year, explaining how Abiy Ahmed has made such a change to Ethiopian politics.

Updated

A journalist asks whether the committee will return to environmental issues in coming years, and what Reiss-Anderson would say to Thunberg’s supporters, she replies:

On the day when we announce the prize, we never comment who didn’t get the prize and who could have had the prize...

So I have no comment to that.

There is a long history of Nobel peace prize going to states people associated with ending conflicts, most recently Colombia’s Juan Manuel Santos who was awarded the prize in 2016 for helping to bring his country’s 50-year civil war to an end.

A member of the audience has noted that Ahmed is yet to introduce democratic reform in Ethiopia, and asked what the Nobel committee expect of him “when it comes to election”.

Reiss-Andersen responds:

We have recognised his intention of carrying through for democratic elections next year and I do not quite agree in the premise in your question, because there is definitely a lot achieved already in reforming Ethiopia to a democracy, but there’s also a long way to go. And Rome was not made in a day, and neither will peace and democratic development be achieved in a short period of time.

She adds that the award is a recognition of the work he has already done and hopes it will be developed and continued.

Asked whether this year’s candidate was easy to choose, the chair replies: “The work of the Nobel committee is never easy”.

Updated

Here is a feature from September 2018 on Ethiopia’s democratic awakening.

Something extraordinary is happening in Ethiopia. Under new prime minister Abiy Ahmed, authoritarianism and state brutality appear to be giving way to something resembling democracy. A country that began the year crippled by anti-government protests is now being lauded as a model for the region. One of Africa’s most autocratic ruling parties, the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), is today led by a man who professes to believe deeply in freedom of expression.

The office of the Ethiopian prime minister has tweeted of its pride “as a nation”.

The rest of the announcement:

Peace does not arise from the actions of one party alone. When Prime Minister Abiy reached out his hand, President Afwerki grasped it, and helped to formalise the peace process between the two countries. The Norwegian Nobel committee hopes the peace agreement will help to bring about positive change for the entire populations of Ethiopia and Eritrea.

In Ethiopia, even if much work remains, Abiy Ahmed has initiated important reforms that give many citizens hope for a better life and a brighter future. He spent his first 100 days as Prime Minister lifting the country’s state of emergency, granting amnesty to thousands of political prisoners, discontinuing media censorship, legalising outlawed opposition groups, dismissing military and civilian leaders who were suspected of corruption, and significantly increasing the influence of women in Ethiopian political and community life. He has also pledged to strengthen democracy by holding free and fair elections.

In the wake of the peace process with Eritrea, Prime Minister Abiy has engaged in other peace and reconciliation processes in East and Northeast Africa. In September 2018 he and his government contributed actively to the normalisation of diplomatic relations between Eritrea and Djibouti after many years of political hostility. Additionally, Abiy Ahmed has sought to mediate between Kenya and Somalia in their protracted conflict over rights to a disputed marine area. There is now hope for a resolution to this conflict. In Sudan, the military regime and the opposition have returned to the negotiating table. On the 17th of August, they released a joint draft of a new constitution intended to secure a peaceful transition to civil rule in the country. Prime Minister Abiy played a key role in the process that led to the agreement.

Ethiopia is a country of many different languages and peoples. Lately, old ethnic rivalries have flared up. According to international observers, up to three million Ethiopians may be internally displaced. That is in addition to the million or so refugees and asylum seekers from neighbouring countries. As Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed has sought to promote reconciliation, solidarity and social justice. However, many challenges remain unresolved. Ethnic strife continues to escalate, and we have seen troubling examples of this in recent weeks and months. No doubt some people will think this year’s prize is being awarded too early. The Norwegian Nobel committee believes it is now that Abiy Ahmed’s efforts deserve recognition and need encouragement.

The Norwegian Nobel committee hopes that the Nobel Peace Prize will strengthen Prime Minister Abiy in his important work for peace and reconciliation. Ethiopia is Africa’s second most populous country and has East Africa’s largest economy. A peaceful, stable and successful Ethiopia will have many positive side-effects, and will help to strengthen fraternity among nations and peoples in the region. With the provisions of Alfred Nobel’s will firmly in mind, the Norwegian Nobel committee sees Abiy Ahmed as the person who in the preceding year has done the most to deserve the Nobel Peace Prize for 2019.

Further lines from the statement:

When Abiy Ahmed became prime minster in April 2018, he made it clear he wishes to resume pace talks with Eritrea .. in close cooperation with the president of Eritrea, Abiy Ahmed quickly worked out the principles for a peace agreement to end the long no peace stalemate between the two countries.

An important premise for the breakthrough was Ahmed’s willingness to accept the arbitration ruling of an international boundary commission in 2002.

Ethiopian prime minister Abiy Ahmed wins the 2019 Nobel peace prize

Berit Reiss-Andersen, the chairwoman of the five-member Norwegian Nobel Institute, has announced:

The Norwegian Nobel committee has decided to award the Nobel peace prize for 2019 to Ethiopian prime minister Abiy Ahmed’s efforts to achieve peace and international cooperation and for his decisive initiative to resolve the border conflict with neighbouring Eritrea.

Since taking power, Ahmed has also championed the role of women in politics. He appointed women to half of his country’s 20 ministerial posts in government, including the country’s first female defence minister.

Updated

It looks like we’re about to get underway.

There’s about two minutes now until the scheduled announcement, and a small group of media and others have gathered around a lectern.

Would you like to be on next year’s committee?

At a press conference at the end of last month, New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern confirmed she was not aware if she had been nominated or not.

I don’t think anyone gets informed as to whether or not they have been nominated.

When asked about being nominated for the prize, the New Zealand Herard reported that Ardern said that was “highly, highly speculative”

Ardern moved swiftly to introduce greater gun controls after the devastating Christchurch shooting and her compassionate response touched people across the world.

In July, she called on world leaders to widen their definition of prosperity.

Updated

The prize has previously been won by Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa and Barack Obama, and the winner will also receive a gold medal and just under US$1 million.

According to the Nobel Peace Prize website, there are 301 candidates for the award this year, including 223 individuals and 78 organisations.

However, the committee does not announce the names of nominees whatsoever until 50 years have passed.

You can watch live here:

Greta Thunberg, who visited Standing Rock this week, is the bookmakers favourite but it would still be surprising if she won.

Abiy Ahmed, the Ethiopian prime minister, is the second favourite but the Nobel committee might well be wary of giving the award to a politician elected only last year. The peace was declared by both parties in July 2018.

This is from Reuters:

One of Abiy’s biggest victories was the peace deal, signed in July last year, which ended a nearly 20-year military stalemate with Eritrea following their 1998-2000 border war.

Asle Sveen, a historian who has written several books about the Nobel Peace Prize, told Reuters the deal made Abiy exactly the kind of candidate Alfred Nobel had envisaged for the prize.

“The peace deal has ended a long conflict with Eritrea, and he is very popular for having done this, and he is doing democratic reforms internally,” Sveen said.

But some benefits of the peace were short-lived. Land borders opened in July but closed in December with no official explanation.

“Last year’s rapprochement appears to have been partly due to the Eritrean president’s belief that Abiy’s rise marked the eclipse of Tigray’s ruling party, which had been his prime antagonist for more than two decades,” said Will Davison, an Ethiopia analyst at Crisis Group.

“But although it has lost power at the federal level, Tigray’s ruling party remains firmly in control of its own region, which includes a long border with Eritrea, partially explaining why relations between the two nations haven’t warmed further.”

Nebiat, the foreign ministry spokesman, said Eritrea and Ethiopia had restored diplomatic relations, air links and phone connections. “Other engagements are well underway to further institutionalize relations,” he said.

Abiy has pushed through reforms at home and abroad. His public renunciation of past abuses drew a line between his administration and that of his predecessor.

He appointed former dissidents to senior roles. Daniel Bekele, a former political prisoner and Africa director at New York-based Human Rights Watch, now heads the government’s human rights commission. Birtukan Mideksa, who founded an opposition party and was jailed after a disputed 2005 election, now heads the electoral commission.

But ethnically tinged violence flares frequently, and systemic attempts to address past injustices have been slow. A reconciliation commission set up in December has an unclear mandate, lacks expertise and has only met twice, said Laetitia Bader, an Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch.

“The jury is still out on whether the move will be more than mere window dressing,” Bader said.

Updated

Good morning everyone,

We’re going to find out the recipient of the 2019 Nobel peace prize in less than an hour, so stay tuned.

The Nobel committee does not reveal the names of candidates or nominations but speculation has focused on the 16-year-old environmental campaigner Greta Thunberg, whose combative speeches have increased awareness about the climate emergency around the world.

However, it is worth mentioning that the favourite for the award rarely wins.

Ethiopian prime minister Abiy Ahmed, who helped bring an end to his country’s two-decade long conflict with Eritrea over a disputed border which has seen several million displaced and tens of thousands killed, is another strong contender.

Jacinda Arden, whose response to the Christchurch shooting was widely hailed, is also in the running, as is the joint leadership of two prime ministers Greece’s Alexis Tsipras and North Macedonia’s Zoran Zaev, who brought an end to 30 years of acrimony between their nations.

Activists in Hong Kong have also been touted, with other outsiders including Davi Kopenawa, a spokesman for the rights of a Brazilian indigenous tribe.

Last year, the Norwegian Nobel committee awarded the prize to Congolese gynecologist Denis Mukwege and Iraqi Yazidi human rights activist Nadia Murad for their efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and armed conflict.

Here’s why the Nobel prizes matter:

So far this week, 11 Nobel laureates have been named, of whom 10 are men.

Two literature prizes were awarded Thursday, with one for 2018 that went to Polish novelist Olga Tokarczuk after a sexual assault scandal led it to be cancelled last year by the Swedish Academy which said it needed to “commit time to recovering public confidence”

Meanwhile, the award for 2019 was given to Austrian author Peter Handke.

Updated

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