Edward Snowden may be causing jitters and sleepless nights among the United States of America government who have to solve many issues appertaining to his whistle blowing. This is especially to President Barrack Obama but unexpected developments may connect him with the man who has whistle blown on the NSA surveillance program.
Mr. Snowden may soon be joining an elite list of world personalities that President Barrack Obama is a member of. This is winning the Nobel Peace Prize that Mr. Obama won in the 2009 edition. Mr. Snowden has been nominated for the prize by two Norwegian MPs.
Both Mps i.e. Baard Vegard Solhjell, who was a former minister for environment and Mr. Snorre Valen have based their nomination of Snowden on the premise that public debate as well as policy changes that have arisen following Snowden’s leaks have led to a better as well as a more peaceful world.
Since June last year Mr. Snowden, who was a contractor hired by the National Security Agency has attracted global headlines after revealing large amounts of evidence on the government spying activities on other different countries. This resulted in a lot of diplomatic complains especially that of the US government having tapped personal mobile phones such as that of the German Chancellor.
He had initially fled from the US headed for Hong Kong but has been granted temporary asylum in Russia though speculation is rife that he may return to the US where he has been labeled a criminal. A plea bargain may be considered to enable such a move.
In late 2013, he was expected to be the Time magazine Person of the Year, one among many accolades he has received, but he lost out to the new leader of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Francis.
The two Mps who issued a joint statement have acknowledged that Snowden’s leaks may have destroyed the various security interests of different nations though for a short time. They are however convinced that a better and more stable world order has emerged following the raging debate that accompanied the leaks.
According to them, his actions have led to global security policies reintroducing trust as well as transparency among their principles.
Nomination of the candidates for the Nobel Peace Prize is open to thousands of diverse people all over the world which includes members of any national assembly. The last year’s nominations attracted 259 nominees
The Norwegian Nobel Committee has until 1 February to collect the nominations for the 2014 prize and finalize a shortlist by 4 March. This is when the Nobel committee will hold the first meeting of 2014 and the members of the committee will also get to submit their own nominations. The 2014 Nobel Peace Prize winner will then be officially announced on 10 October.
The Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded since 1901 annually at a ceremony in Oslo, Norway. The previous winners of the Nobel Peace Prize include Barrack Obama, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King and Henry Kissinger.
