Ahtisaari says chances for Nobel Prize "slightly better than last year"
Ex-president says Kosovo mediation effort is very difficult
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Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari said in Helsinki on Monday that he thinks his chances of getting the the Nobel Peace Prize are now slightly better than last year. Ahtisaari has been a Nobel Peace Prize nominee three times before: last year, as well as in 2000 and 2001.
The reasons included his mediation roles in the Namibia independence process, and in bringing an end to the war over Kosovo.
In 2005 he compared his chances of getting the prize with winning the lottery.
"Last year I did not know that I was a nominee. Now I know that I have been nominated for the prize. Because the lottery ticket is already in, my chances of getting the prize are slightly better", Ahtisaari said.
He was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize this year by the Finnish Parliament. He is one of 191 individuals and organisations to have been officially nominated for this year's prize.
He mentioned also that his latest mediation effort - seeking an agreement on the final status of Kosovo - faces considerable difficulties.
Ahtisaari has led negotiations on Kosovo’s future as special UN representative since February. He is scheduled to put forward a plan for Kosovo by the end of this year.
Ahtisaari said that the two sides are finding it almost impossible to reach agreement on the future status of Kosovo. Serbia wants to keep Kosovo as an autonomous Serbian province, while the predominantly Albanian Kosovo wants full independence.
As Ahtisaari sees it, Serbia has moved forward in the talks less than Kosovo has. He said that he hopes that the two sides would make the concessions that they have said that they would be willing to make.
Ahtisaari's Crisis Management Initiative (CMI) organisation was given a special award of EUR 200,000 on Monday from the Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation.
The award was for CMI's work for the promotion of security around the world. Ahtisaari, Chairman of the Board of CMI, presided over peace talks leading to an end to fighting in Indonesia's Aceh Province.
"If no concessions are made, we will not continue endlessly", he added.
The Wihuri Foundation award money will probably used for hiring new employees for CMI, said executive director Pauliina Arola. She said that with a larger staff, the organisation could respond more quickly to tasks that are offered.
CMI was set up by Ahtisaari in 2000 as an organisation with no ties to national governments, with the aim of preventing and resolving crises around the world. It has a total of 15 paid employees in Brussels and in Finland.
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 10.10.2006 - TODAY |
 Ahtisaari says chances for Nobel Prize "slightly better than last year" |
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