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NOBEL PEACE PRIZE

Trump ‘scares’ Norwegian politician who nominated him for Nobel Peace Prize

A Norwegian member of parliament who last year nominated US president Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize has now called his fitness for office into question.

Trump 'scares' Norwegian politician who nominated him for Nobel Peace Prize
Donald Trump supporters outside the US Capitol building on January 6th 2021. Photo: AFP

Christian Tybring-Gjedde, a member of parliament with Norway’s right wing populist Progress Party, has told national broadcaster NRK that he is unsure the US president is fit to see out his final 13 days in office.

Tybring-Gjedde, said Trump’s “condition has got worse and worse” since his defeat in the country’s general election in November last year.

His comments came aftera mob of Donald Trump supporters stormed the Capitol building in Washington DC on Wednesday.

In September 2020, Tybring-Gjedde, nominated Donald Trump for the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize, citing the president’s role in brokering an agreement normalising relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates. He also nominated Trump for the presigious award in 2018.

READ ALSO: Why Trump is unlikely to win Norway's Nobel Peace Prize

But the Norwegian lawmaker said he was now “scared” by Trump’s incitement of his supporters.

“Ever since the election defeat, his condition has got worse and worse. The encouragement he came out with yesterday, to go to the Congress building, scares me,” Tybring-Gjedde told NRK in reference to Trump’s comments during his speech to supporters in Washington DC yesterday.

Trump told the crowd “to fight” during his speech near the White House on Wednesday, according to Reuters’ report.

“We will never give up, we will never concede,” he also said, while falsely saying Democratic victories were the product of what he called “explosions of bullshit.”

“Right now, I’m not sure whether he should stay in place for a week or step down immediately,” Tybring-Gjedde told NRK with regard to the president’s conduct.

US lawmakers certified Joe Biden as the winner of the presidential election, clearing the way for his inauguration on January 20th, despite the interruption of a joint session of the House and Senate by supporters of President Trump, which brought violence and mayhem to the seat of government.

Tybring-Gjedde said individuals responsible for violence and vandalism must face the consequences of their actions.

But he also added that Trump stoked their behaviour through untrue claims that he, and not President-Elect Joe Biden, won the US election.

“He came out with things that were completely unacceptable. And what the demonstrators understood by this was a communication – or sub-communication – that they should react,” he told NRK.

Prime Minister Erna Solberg tweeted about the scenes on Wednesday evening Norwegian time, calling them “unbelievable” and a “totally unacceptable attack on democracy”, and calling on Trump to bring them to a stop.

 

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RACISM

Norwegian MP proposes Black Lives Matter for Nobel Peace Prize

Norwegian MP Petter Eide has nominated Black Lives Matter for the Nobel Peace Prize, reportedly stating that the movement had "forced countries other than the US to face up to racism within their own societies."

Norwegian MP proposes Black Lives Matter for Nobel Peace Prize
A Black Lives Matter demonstration in Oslo, 2016. Photo: Torstein Bøe / NTB/ TT

“I find that one of the key challenges we have seen in America, but also in Europe and Asia, is the kind of increasing conflict based on inequality,” Mr Eide said in his nomination papers, according to The Guardian.  

“Black Lives Matter has become a very important worldwide movement to fight racial injustice. They have had a tremendous achievement in raising global awareness and consciousness about racial injustice,” he added.

Founded in the United States in 2013, the Black Lives Matter movement gained momentum in May 2020 after George Floyd died. A white policeman had knelt on Floyd’s neck for eight minutes ignoring Floyd’s pleas that he couldn’t breathe.

The incident fuelled protests in the United States that sped across the world.

“This movement has become one of the strongest global movements for working with racial injustice,” Petter Eide, told AFP.

“They have also been spread to many many countries, building up… awareness on the importance of fighting racial injustice,” he said.

Tens of thousands of people, including MPs and ministers from all countries, former Nobel laureates and distinguished academics, can propose candidates for the various Nobel prizes. The deadline ends on Sunday.

The Nobel prizes will be announced at the start of October. 

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