Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live Today

Nobel Peace Prize Surprise

Aired October 10, 2003 - 11:01   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Up first on CNN, a Nobel Peace Prize surprise, a choice meant perhaps to be a catalyst for Democratic reform in the Muslim world. The Nobel Committee announced the recipient of the prestigious honor for 2003 in Oslo, Norway this morning. She is Iranian human rights activist Shirin Ebadi. The lawyer and former judge has worked tirelessly to improve the status of women and the rights of religious minorities.
CNN's Christiane Amanpour has interviewed Ebadi, the first Iranian to win a Nobel, and she joins us now from London to talk about her.

Christiane, this was a surprise choice.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, indeed it was. She's the first Iranian to win a Nobel Prize, she's the first Muslim woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize, and she was really a longshot, a dark horse candidate.

She beat out, for instance, candidates such as the pope, such as Barclav Havel, the former Czech president. Both of those have worked tirelessly for human rights.

But Shirin Ebadi herself was stunned. She received the news when she was on a visit to Paris. She then addressed a packed press conference. And she did say that she was particularly gratified, particularly proud, particularly since her line of specialty is lobbying and working tirelessly on behalf of women in Iran and on behalf of children. They -- there she said that's an especially difficult job, because the laws and regulations of the country often deny and oppress those rights.

This is some of what she said at the press conference in Paris today:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHIRIN EBADI, NOBEL PEACE LAUREATE (through translator): The beauty of life is that a person fights against the difficulties. If I was working in a country that there was freedom and democracy, and I did not face any difficulties, and in that environment I fought for the rights of women, I would not be so proud as I am today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AMANPOUR: And, Carol, as you mentioned, I have interviewed Ebadi a couple of times, and she has always said Islam and human rights can go together, that Islam and democracy can go together, and she has always worked for that to come about in a peaceful way. And now today she says this prize hopefully will promote those goals. She has herself endured several spells in prison for her outspoken work, and she immediately called on the Iranian government to release all of those who are in jail now for speaking out, trying to exercise free speech and voicing their opinions, whether they be political or otherwise. There are many of those people in jail right now, and she called for their immediate release.

As for the Iranian government's reaction, it is certainly going to be a point now of renewed friction between the reformists and the hardline conservatives. She has supported the reformists and members of the government representing President Khatami's government immediately, warmly congratulated her, but then started to retract those statements while the official statement was to be formulated from the hardline leadership.

And indeed, a statement was read over Iranian state television, and it simply noted the fact that an Iranian jurist -- they called her by her name -- had won the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of rights of women and children, and it said it was in recognition of outstanding work.

But certainly, it is going to be pitting now those two factions, in a sense, again putting them in the spotlight, and here's what she had to say about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EBADI (through translator): My request from the Iranian government for today and future days and every day is that all of us should be united and together fight and work for human rights in Iran.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AMANPOUR: And, of course, this does come at a particularly tense time in Iran's relations with the rest of the world. Not only the standoff or virtual standoff over potential nuclear irregularities, but also in terms of the U.S. having called Iran "the axis of evil." Some are saying that her nomination, her award for this Nobel Peace Prize, reminds them of when Desmond Tutu was awarded in 1994. Back then the very singular human rights campaigner in South Africa at the height of apartheid, and people are wondering whether this prize will focus a renewed effort for reform and democracy in Iran upon the person of Shirin Ebadi. She said we'll have to wait for the future to see how Iran reacts to her continued work -- Carol.

LIN: That will be interesting. Thank you very much, Christian Amanpour, reporting live from London.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired October 10, 2003 - 11:01   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Up first on CNN, a Nobel Peace Prize surprise, a choice meant perhaps to be a catalyst for Democratic reform in the Muslim world. The Nobel Committee announced the recipient of the prestigious honor for 2003 in Oslo, Norway this morning. She is Iranian human rights activist Shirin Ebadi. The lawyer and former judge has worked tirelessly to improve the status of women and the rights of religious minorities.
CNN's Christiane Amanpour has interviewed Ebadi, the first Iranian to win a Nobel, and she joins us now from London to talk about her.

Christiane, this was a surprise choice.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, indeed it was. She's the first Iranian to win a Nobel Prize, she's the first Muslim woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize, and she was really a longshot, a dark horse candidate.

She beat out, for instance, candidates such as the pope, such as Barclav Havel, the former Czech president. Both of those have worked tirelessly for human rights.

But Shirin Ebadi herself was stunned. She received the news when she was on a visit to Paris. She then addressed a packed press conference. And she did say that she was particularly gratified, particularly proud, particularly since her line of specialty is lobbying and working tirelessly on behalf of women in Iran and on behalf of children. They -- there she said that's an especially difficult job, because the laws and regulations of the country often deny and oppress those rights.

This is some of what she said at the press conference in Paris today:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHIRIN EBADI, NOBEL PEACE LAUREATE (through translator): The beauty of life is that a person fights against the difficulties. If I was working in a country that there was freedom and democracy, and I did not face any difficulties, and in that environment I fought for the rights of women, I would not be so proud as I am today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AMANPOUR: And, Carol, as you mentioned, I have interviewed Ebadi a couple of times, and she has always said Islam and human rights can go together, that Islam and democracy can go together, and she has always worked for that to come about in a peaceful way. And now today she says this prize hopefully will promote those goals. She has herself endured several spells in prison for her outspoken work, and she immediately called on the Iranian government to release all of those who are in jail now for speaking out, trying to exercise free speech and voicing their opinions, whether they be political or otherwise. There are many of those people in jail right now, and she called for their immediate release.

As for the Iranian government's reaction, it is certainly going to be a point now of renewed friction between the reformists and the hardline conservatives. She has supported the reformists and members of the government representing President Khatami's government immediately, warmly congratulated her, but then started to retract those statements while the official statement was to be formulated from the hardline leadership.

And indeed, a statement was read over Iranian state television, and it simply noted the fact that an Iranian jurist -- they called her by her name -- had won the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of rights of women and children, and it said it was in recognition of outstanding work.

But certainly, it is going to be pitting now those two factions, in a sense, again putting them in the spotlight, and here's what she had to say about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EBADI (through translator): My request from the Iranian government for today and future days and every day is that all of us should be united and together fight and work for human rights in Iran.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AMANPOUR: And, of course, this does come at a particularly tense time in Iran's relations with the rest of the world. Not only the standoff or virtual standoff over potential nuclear irregularities, but also in terms of the U.S. having called Iran "the axis of evil." Some are saying that her nomination, her award for this Nobel Peace Prize, reminds them of when Desmond Tutu was awarded in 1994. Back then the very singular human rights campaigner in South Africa at the height of apartheid, and people are wondering whether this prize will focus a renewed effort for reform and democracy in Iran upon the person of Shirin Ebadi. She said we'll have to wait for the future to see how Iran reacts to her continued work -- Carol.

LIN: That will be interesting. Thank you very much, Christian Amanpour, reporting live from London.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com