OSLO: Israel s nuclear whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu has requested that his name be removed from the list of candidates to the Nobel Peace Prize, the head of the Norwegian Nobel Institute said Wednesday.
We have received two letters from Vanunu, both this year and last, in which he writes that he does not want to be considered a candidate to the Nobel Peace Prize, Geir Lundestad told AFP.
The reason, according to Lundestad, was that he is not interested in receiving a prize that Shimon Peres has received, since he considers Shimon Peres the father of the Israeli atomic bomb.
Vanunu, who has long figured on the known list of candidates to the prestigious prize, was jailed in 1986 for disclosing the inner workings of Israel s Dimona nuclear plant to Britain s The Sunday Times newspaper.
Since his release in 2004, he has been detained several times for violating the terms of his parole which ban him from travel or contact with foreigners.
Lundestad insisted that while the Nobel Committee, which awards the prize, would take note of Vanunu s reluctance to receive it, his name would not be stricken from the list of candidates.
He can write all the letters he wants. He has been proposed by people who are eligible to nominate candidates, so his name will remain on the list, he said, pointing out however that there was little chance he would actually win.
He has been a candidate many times before without winning.
Being nominated says little about whether a person or organization is actually likely to win, since nominations reflect only the views of those who propose the candidates.
Thousands of people are eligible to submit nominations, including members of parliament and government worldwide, university professors, previous laureates and members of several international institutes.
The Nobel Committee is also eligible to nominate candidates. -AFP
