President Obama signs the book of Nobel Peace Prize recipients in Oslo
President Obama signs the Norwegian Nobel Institute guest book. (Via BBC NEWS)
US President Barack Obama will collect his Nobel Peace Prize at a ceremony in Norway’s capital, Oslo, shortly.
The prize was awarded to Mr Obama in October for his “extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and co-operation between peoples”.
The ceremony comes days after Mr Obama announced he was sending 30,000 extra US soldiers to the war in Afghanistan.
He signed the Nobel Prize book of previous recipients at the start of the day’s events.
President Obama arrived in Oslo with his wife, Michelle, on Thursday morning, but will stay only one day. Events are usually held over three days.
Amid high security throughout the city, he will deliver a speech, meet Norway’s royal family, watch a procession and dine at a banquet.
However, he will not have lunch with the king and queen, which has drawn some criticism.
At a news conference with Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg, Mr Obama said he and his wife wished they could stay in the country longer.
There was a mixed reaction when Mr Obama was named as the winner of the prize for 2009.
 |
 President Obama’s Peace Prize award was, if you like, a political endorsement from Europe  |
Many said it was inappropriate that it could go to the commander-in-chief of a country involved in wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
US officials said he was aware of the “juxtaposition” of troop plans and the peace prize, and would refer to the wars in his acceptance speech.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Mr Obama “understands and again will also recognise that he doesn’t belong in the same discussion as [Nelson] Mandela and Mother Teresa”, previous Nobel Peace Prize winners.
A senior official told Reuters news agency Mr Obama “sees the peace prize as having a long history of recognising the accomplishments of people who have worked to extend peace in various ways”.
“He believes that part of the reason he won this award was not simply about him, it’s the fact that there’s a hunger around the world for constructive American leadership and this is an affirmation of that,” said the unnamed official.
‘Reaching dreams’
Security is high in Oslo for the event and anti-war protesters have gathered outside city hall, where the ceremony will take place.
Meanwhile, a statue of Barack Obama as a boy was unveiled in Indonesia
|
“We are protesting against him because he is going to have this prize and we don’t think he is a man of peace,” one protester, Anna Carraro, told AFP news agency.
The Nobel Prizes for chemistry, literature, medicine, physics and economics will also be presented, with each laureate receiving a diploma, a medal and 10m Krona ($1.4m; £865,000), which is shared by joint winners.
Coinciding with the Nobel ceremony, a statue of Mr Obama as a young boy was unveiled in a park in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta.
The park is close to where the president lived between 1967 and 1971 and the statue depicts him as a 10-year-old wearing shorts and with a butterfly on his finger.
Central Jakarta Mayor Sylviana Murni said the statue was intended to inspire Indonesian children.
“There is a message through the young Obama statue that any child and anyone from any background can reach their dreams if they fight for it persistently,” the Associated Press news agency quoted her as saying.
Albert Schweitzer Institute
Architects of Peace
Global Security Institute
Gorbachev Foundation
Greencross
