Driving the news:
The Norwegian Peace Council — a coalition representing 17 pacifist organizations and around 15,000 peace activists — declared it would not attend the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo. The group said that the selection of Venezuelan opposition figure María Corina Machado “does not align with the fundamental values of the peace movement.”
The Council also canceled its traditional Nobel Day torchlight procession, a symbolic event held annually in honor of the prize, signaling a sharp rift within Norway’s peace community.
What they are saying:
The professor criticized the Nobel Committee’s role, telling Al Mayadeen, "The Nobel Committee is not the one to promote democracy. Its main goal was about global peace and demilitarization. We live in a world where the superpower United States can bomb whoever they want in the waters of Venezuela, or support the genocide in Gaza, or do whatever they want, because they can."
The big picture:
Venezuelan politician María Corina Machado won the Nobel Peace Prize. However, her record of openly calling for U.S. intervention in Venezuela and alignment with Washington’s sanctions policy has made her deeply controversial across Latin America and within peace movements worldwide.
Between the lines:
Observers say the selection of Machado reflects a broader shift in the Nobel Committee’s orientation — from recognizing peacemakers who bridge divides to rewarding political actors aligned with Western narratives of “democracy promotion.
Go deeper:
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Zohre Khazaee - A.Akbari
