Nobel prize not by accident

Nobel prize not by accident

As a history professor from the United States, I am somewhat
reluctant to provoke my Indonesian friends regarding recent
events. Many were dismayed about this year's Nobel Peace Prize
winners. I would have thought they would be pleased when the
Norwegian committee finally awarded a prize or two to
Indonesians.

On Oct. 18, 1996, your paper printed a letter from
Werdiningtyas theorizing about why the committee chose this
year's winners. I laughed out loud when she suggested it was some
kind of mistake. Indonesians may not like it, and my heart goes
out to them, but the award is never handed out by accident. Their
choice illustrates that much - if not most -- of the rest of the
world does not share Indonesia's view of the situation in East
Timor.

Finally, Werdiningtyas said she had begun to lose faith in the
Nobel Committee when it awarded a Nobel prize to U.S. President
Jimmy Carter. Her faith may now be restored, because Carter did
not get a Nobel Peace Prize. In 1978, Menachim Begin (not Yitzak
Rabin) of Israel and Anwar Sadat of Egypt won the prize for
taking bold steps toward making peace in the Middle East. Sadat's
decision to make peace cost him his life when he was murdered by
religious fanatics three years later. I found Werdiningtyas'
omission of Sadat quite remarkable.

DAVID M. ESPOSITO

Semarang, Central Java