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Indonesia to Attend Controversial Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony
December 10, 2010

Workers preparing the Nobel Peace Prize laureate exhibition "I Have No Enemies" for Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo at the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo. Liu is serving an 11-year sentence for “inciting subversion of state power" for his part as the leading author behind “Charter 08,” a manifesto calling for the recognition of fundamental human rights in China. (Reuters Photo/Toby Melville) Workers preparing the Nobel Peace Prize laureate exhibition "I Have No Enemies" for Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo at the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo. Liu is serving an 11-year sentence for “inciting subversion of state power" for his part as the leading author behind “Charter 08,” a manifesto calling for the recognition of fundamental human rights in China. (Reuters Photo/Toby Melville)
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kales
10:43am Dec 12, 2010

The list of countries absent from the Ceremony speaks volumes. Kudos to Indonesia for attending!.

ChrisH
11:48am Dec 10, 2010

Of course Indonesia will attend. Another nice overseas trip for the delegates.

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Around 20 countries including China have refused Norway's invitation to Friday's ceremony awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to jailed Chinese dissident Liu Xiabao.

Most have close ties to China, do not want to anger Beijing or have a tendency to take a hard line against their own dissidents.

But most of the 65 countries with embassies in Oslo will be represented, including Western powers from the European Union and the United States, as well as Japan, which has a territorial dispute with China.

Emerging economic powers which are potential rivals rather than partners of China will also be there, including Brazil, lndia, Indonesia, South Africa and South Korea.

Those who have said they are staying away are Afghanistan, Algeria, China, Colombia, Cuba, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Kazakhstan, Morocco, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Tunisia, Venezuela and Vietnam.

Ukraine and the Philippines had at first declined their invitations, but Nobel Institute director Geir Lundestad said on Thursday they had changed their minds.

Serbia, which had initially refused the invitation, said on Thursday it would be sending a representative after all.

At the same time, said Lundestad, "we believe that Argentina will not be coming, or at least will not be represented by the ambassador."

Russia, which signed trade agreements with China last month worth $8.5 billion, has officially pleaded prior engagements for its absence.

Other countries like Pakistan and Sri Lanka have economic and defense ties with China, while Iraq, Iran and Saudi Arabia supply it with oil.

Iran also relies on Chinese support in the UN Security Council to fight sanctions against its nuclear program and will not have forgotten the Peace Prize awarded to one of its own dissidents, Shirin Ebadi, in 2003.


Agence France-Presse