Classy people congratulate Obama…

…and urge him to earn that Nobel.

First up, from Colombia, we have this lovely lady (who, in my very humble opinion, was more than deserving):

Colombian senator Piedad Córdoba confirmed on Friday that in less than a month, Pablo Emilio Moncayo and Josué Daniel Calvo and the body of Major Julián Ernesto Guevara will be released unilaterally by the FARC, even though the government is issuing no guarantees.

[…]

Regarding her nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize, Córdoba thanked her nominators and said she feels honored for the recognition.

“This is an important message to the international community, to tell the world and Colombia that the only way out of the conflict is to negotiate,” said the senator.

The choice of US president Barack Obama signifies “the Obama of hope, the Obama of peace, and not military bases.”

She assured that she will ask the president that Colombia be included in a peace agenda to put an end to the war.

“Obama is under threat, and could be assassinated. He has to rise above the pressures of war, and go on working for peace,” the senator said.

Translation mine.

I included that first paragraph in my excerpt to remind all who may have forgotten why Piedad Cordoba would have been such a worthy recipient. This lady has worked tirelessly to free the hostages taken by the FARC in order to force negotiations with the Colombian government, which has remained intransigent (and violent) in its refusal to grant the left a real political voice. (Remember, this is a country where the FARC’s political arm–the Sinn Fein to the local IRA, if you will–was slaughtered in La Violencia.) She’s even gotten together with Chavecito to talk to the FARC and persuade them to let people go regardless of whether there are formal talks or not. That’s a tremendous achievement, especially when you consider that she’s received death threats (from persons close to the Uribe government!) for doing so.

(Come to think of it, Chavecito would also have been a worthy nominee, since he was willing to work with the rescue effort, hands-on and cross-border, and even pledged Venezuelan military helicopters, bearing the Red Cross logo, to come and pick up the released persons. But can you imagine the hue and cry if his name were even breathed to the Nobel committee?)

Next up, from Bolivia, we have this true gentleman:

…whose modest boss was too busy getting good things done to say very much, so Alvaro stepped in to do it for him:

The vice-president of Bolivia, Alvaro García Linera, congratulated US president Barack Obama for his Nobel prize on Friday, and considers it well deserved because the first black president in the White House “has done much” for the people of the United States in the months he has been in power.

“We salute and celebrate this winner of the peace Nobel, without doubt for a president who has done much for the rights of the people of the United States who have difficulties,” said García during a press conference in the Palacio Quemado.

[…]

The merit of the designation is rooted, says García Linera, in the fact that Obama is navigating the rough seas of a politic dominated by powerful interests in the United States, contrary to his own ideology and politics.

“We see him as the prisoner of an imperial network which is automatically trying to override him, but beyond being president Barack Obama, prisoner of the imperial machinery, we extend our respectful salute, our congratulations, to president Obama for his win,” said the vice-president.

Translation mine.

And now, from Honduras:

The National Resistance Front congratulates the president of the United States on his winning the Nobel Peace Prize and asked him to contribute to a solution in Honduras.

“We are sending Mr. Obama our congratulations today for winning such a high distinction,” said Rafael Alegría, one of the co-ordinators of the popular movement to restore Honduran president Manuel Zelaya to his office.

He added that “now, Obama needs to intensify his efforts so that there will be peace in the world.

“We congratulate him, but at the same time, we call on him to contribute to a peaceful solution to the conflict in Honduras, because here, the situation is very delicate since the coup d’état.”

Again, translation mine.

The Honduran National Resistance Front would have been another worthy recipient (and lord knows they can use the cash, that country’s in dire economic shape.) The protests against the Gorilletti dictatorship (which, notably, has NOT issued a word of congratulation!) have been peaceful, even when the crackdown got violent. Why were they not even nominated?

Oh well. At least they did the classy thing. Now, let’s hope His Barackness does the right thing.