Overseas, Obama Nobel mostly gets thumbs-up

updated 3:34 p.m. ET Oct. 9, 2009

LONDON - The choice of President Barack Obama for the Nobel Peace Prize was cheered Friday by a global chorus from European leaders to minibus passengers in Kenya — but it also elicited criticism over the decision to break with tradition and recognize hopeful promise over concrete achievement.

Obama is seen as having changed the direction of U.S. foreign policy, reversing many of his predecessor's unilateral policies and emphasizing the need for diplomacy, cooperation and mutual respect.

Last year's prize winner, former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari, said the Nobel committee wants to encourage Obama to push harder for a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

"Of course, this puts pressure on Obama," he said. "The world expects that he will also achieve something."

Many admirers lauded the new president for his willingness to reach out to the Islamic world, his commitment to curtailing the spread of nuclear weapons and his goal of bringing the Israelis and Palestinians into serious, fruitful negotiations.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa, who won the prize in 1984, said Obama's award shows great things are expected from him in the coming years.

"In a way, it's an award coming near the beginning of the first term of office of a relatively young president that anticipates an even greater contribution towards making our world a safer place for all," he said. "It is an award that speaks to the promise of President Obama's message of hope."

He said the prize is a "wonderful recognition" of Obama's effort to reach out to the Arab world after years of hostility.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the Nobel committee's decision to reward Obama's multilateral approach to the world was "great news."

"President Obama embodies the new spirit of dialogue and engagement on the world's biggest problems: climate change, nuclear disarmament and a wide range of peace and security challenges," Ban said.

In the Kenyan city of Kisumu, the home province of Obama's father, local radio shows interrupted broadcasting to have live phone-ins so callers could congratulate Obama on his win. Traders in the market huddled around hand-held radios and touts shouted the news from the windows of local minibuses.

"When I heard it on the radio I said Hallelujah!" said 65-year-old James Andaro. "It's God's blessing. This win is for Africa."

'Hasty and too early'
But there was far less enthusiasm in countries where America's foreign policy is resented.

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki called the awarding of the prize "hasty and too early."

"We have no objection if this prize is an incentive to reverse the warmongering and unilateral policies of the previous U.S. administration and if this encourages a policy based on just peace," the semiofficial Mehr news agency quoted Mottaki as saying in an exclusive interview.

"The appropriate time for awarding such a prize is when foreign military forces leave Iraq and Afghanistan and when one stands by the rights of the oppressed Palestinian people," he was quoted as saying.

In the Gaza Strip, leaders of the radical Hamas movement said they have heard Obama's speeches seeking better relations with the Islamic world but have not been moved.

"We are in need of actions, not sayings," Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said. "If there is no fundamental and true change in American policies toward the acknowledgment of the rights of the Palestinian people, I think this prize won't move us forward or backward."

In Afghanistan, where U.S. forces are engaged in a war against Taliban insurgents, President Hamid Karzai praised the Nobel decision, but others seemed unimpressed.

A spokesman for Karzai said he hopes the peace prize "will ultimately lead to peace and stability in Afghanistan and our region."

Mixed reactions
Kabul resident Abdul Rasoul disagreed.

"The peace award which has been given to Barack Obama is not right because under Obama a lot of civilians have died here in the bombing," he said.

Other Afghans complained there has been no change in U.S. policy since Obama took over.

In Vienna, former Nobel Peace Prize winner Mohamed ElBaradei, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said Obama has already provided outstanding leadership in the effort to prevent nuclear proliferation.

"In less than a year in office, he has transformed the way we look at ourselves and the world we live in and rekindled hope for a world at peace with itself," ElBaradei said. "He has shown an unshakable commitment to diplomacy, mutual respect and dialogue as the best means of resolving conflicts. He has reached out across divides and made clear that he sees the world as one human family, regardless of religion, race or ethnicity."

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