The aboutface at the Nobel Foundation triggered a political earthquake in Sweden. After removing the names of some ambassadors from the guest list last year due to the invasion of Ukraine, now opens its arms to diplomats from Russia, Belarus and Iran. In addition, a Swedish politician who has long been excluded from the ceremony, the leader of the Swedish Democratic Party, Jimmie Åkesson, will also be welcomed at the ceremony in Stockholm.
Political parties reacted quickly after the August 31 announcement and a day later Four of the eight parties with seats in parliament had already agreed to boycott the ceremony. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, interviewed by journalists, did not promise that he would be present at the ceremony, but simply said that if he had been in his position he would have acted differently. “The Nobel Foundation makes its own decisions. But if I were hosting an awards ceremony now, I wouldn’t have invited Russia,” Kristersson said.
In addition to domestic reactions, the The Ukrainian ambassador to Sweden also expressed criticism of the committee’s decision and in Belarus, the main opponent of the Minsk regime called on the Nobel Foundation to reverse the decision. In return, the Norwegian committee applauded her.
The Nobel Prize ceremonies take place each year in Stockholm, Sweden, and in Oslo, Norway, the city where the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded. Unlike the Swedes, the Norwegians did not exclude anyone from the ceremony.
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Now Olav Njølstad, President of the Norwegian Nobel Institute, welcomes the Nobel Foundation’s decision to invite all ambassadors, especially since there is agreement between the two bodies. “We feel that It is particularly important that countries with authoritarian regimes hear our message. For example, I think it is more costly for the Russian ambassador and his government to attend the ceremony and endure criticism than to stay comfortably at home,” Njølstad said, according to his country’s press.
The logic of the foundation is similar. “The world is increasingly divided into spheres in which… the dialogue between people who think differently is reduced,” says Vidar Helgesen, Executive Director of the Nobel Foundation, in the press release, emphasizing that these are guidelines that contrast sharply with the values underlying the Nobel Prize. “To counter this trend, we are extending our invitations to celebrate and understand the Nobel Prize and the importance of free science, free culture and free and peaceful societies.”
Vidar Helgesen, managing director of the Nobel Foundation, is not backing down from his decision
The awards presented are at odds with polarization, populism and nationalism, he adds. Helgesen, who assured after the criticism that he would not reverse his decision. “Achievements recognized with the Nobel Prize require openness, exchange and dialogue between people and nations. The Nobel Foundation wishes to convey this message to all even to those who do not share the values of the Nobel Prize.”
The press release states: The Foundation says it will invite all parties represented in Parliament that is, adding to the guests Jimmie Åkesson, a politician previously banned for representing ideas that contradicted those of the committee and ambassador of all countries with diplomatic representation in Sweden and Norway. “The Nobel Foundation believes that this common approach opens up opportunities to convey the important messages of the Nobel Prize to everyone and that this practice will become common practice across the organization in the future,” said the statement published at the end of August.
Jimmie Åkesson, who had spoken ironically about the situation in the past and said he couldn’t remember asking for an invitation, now wrote on social media simply: “I already have other things to do that day. The rightwing political force she leads, the Sweden Democrats, is considered a nationalist, populist and conservative party, but rejects the label “extreme right”.
“I was looking forward to attending the Nobel Prize ceremony and Nobel celebration. But As long as Russia is at war with Ukraine, I cannot attend a party with their ambassador. I like to celebrate research and progress, but no, under no circumstances will I do that,” he wrote. muharrem demirok, Deputy and leader of the Center Party on Twitter (now X).
Another MP, this one from the Green Party, agreed with Muharrem Demirok. “The Nobel Prize is a great institution of research, education and peace that has long been celebrated. But I come to the same conclusion as Muharrem: there is nothing to celebrate with the Russian ambassador,” he wrote Marta Stenevi who shares the party’s twoman leadership with Per Bolund.
Mehrnoosh “Nooshi” Dadgostar, also a parliamentarian and leader of the Swedish Left Party, assured that he would not attend the ceremony. “Last year the Nobel Foundation decided not to invite the Russian ambassador. It was a smart decision, but unfortunately they changed it. I will not attend the Nobel celebrations with any representative of the Russian regime as long as the bombs fall on Ukraine,” wrote the deputy.
“Extremely inconsiderate towards the Nobel Foundation,” added in turn: Johan Pehrson the Liberal Party. “Of course they decide who gets invited, but I’m not going to sit down and toast the Russian ambassador while Putin’s heinous and bloody war of aggression in Ukraine continues.”
The Ukrainian ambassador to Sweden did not spare either his characters or his criticism. In a long publication Andriy Plachotnyuk regretted the decision made.
“I have several questions for the respected Nobel Foundation What has changed since last year, when your organization took a clear position for peace and humanism? Has Russia stopped its massive missile attacks on peaceful Ukrainian cities? Have your troops been withdrawn from all temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories? Have all abducted Ukrainian children, civilian hostages and prisoners of war been returned to Ukraine? Has Russia repaired all damages or extradited its war criminals for trial in international courts? The answer is clearly no,” the diplomat argued.
In addition, the ambassador believed that the Nobel Foundation’s decision would likely be interpreted by Russia as “a tacit acceptance of its brutal actions.” The only way to get President Vladimir Putin to end the war against Ukraine, argued Andrii Plakhotniuk, “lies in the unwavering solidarity of the democratic world,” and urged the Nobel Foundation to reconsider that decision.
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the leader of the Belarusian opposition, also pointed the finger at the foundation, recalling that Alexander Lukashenko’s regime ordered the arrest of the cowinner of the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize. Belarusian activist Ales Bialiatski was sentenced to ten years in prison in March of this year.
“Alfred Nobel’s values must not be jeopardized. I call on the Nobel Foundation and the Nobel Committee not to invite representatives of Lukashenko’s illegitimate regime to events demand the immediate release of the award winner Ales Bialiatski from prison,” wrote Tikhanovskaya.