Invitations to Russia, Belarus and Iran have been cancelled

The Nobel Foundation Invitations withdrawn In the RussiaIn the Belarus And inIran After the controversy surrounding their participation. Indeed, all of these countries have been invited back to attend, after being excluded last year. the war crimes and the Violation of human rights The crimes committed in the countries concerned actually led to the exclusion of the diplomats involved.

But this year, the private foundation that manages the Nobel Prize announced that the invitation would be for all, under the slogan “free science” and “unaware of polarization, nationalism and populism”. But the announcement of the inclusion of Russia, Belarus and Iran sparked protests Swedish governmentwhich leads to the abrupt change in the baseline trajectory.

It must be remembered, in fact, that the awarding of the Nobel Prize takes place in StockholmWhile the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded in Oslo. In fact, all three countries will be present at the awards ceremony in the Norwegian capital.

Russia, Belarus and Iran: Invitations to the Nobel Prize have been cancelled

And the Nobel Foundation has announced that it will be Invitations have been cancelled To the ambassadors of Russia, Belarus and Iran, repeating the exception that occurred last year. This choice was made due to the Swedish government’s reaction to the news of the invitations, although the foundation’s initial intentions were of a completely different opinion.

At first, the Nobel Foundation reiterated its invitation independence – It is a private institution created by the chemist and inventor of the same name in 1900 – and above all the Foundation for Culture. Therefore the intent was to defend universality Sciences Culture has nothing to do with political issues. The Foundation aims to protect everyone’s ability to transmit and exchange messages related to the Nobel Prize, and to celebrate “the importance of free science, free culture, and free, peaceful societies.”

On the other hand, the Swedish government had a different opinion and learned of the Foundation’s decision with great displeasure. Even the Prime Minister intervened at this point Ulf ChristersonSaying that he is against this choice, declaring that if the decision was in his hands, he would have acted differently. In the same context, a number of members of the Swedish government intervened, who threatened to do so boycott The event not to attend the ceremony.

Spokesman for the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Oleg NikolenkoHe said he feared the “sense of impunity” this call would convey to Russia. And so the Nobel Foundation announced a change of course and canceled invitations to Russia, Belarus and Iran because of the “strong feedback” it had received. However, countries are still invited to do so Peace prize.

In fact, the latter is celebrated in Oslo, as well as always separate from the other awards. The Nobel Prizes in Literature, Chemistry, Medicine, Physics and Economics are awarded to Stockholm, the capital of Sweden. In order to preserve the event, the Foundation preferred to cancel invitations, and to hear objections due to human rights violations and war crimes committed by the countries concerned.

In fact, these are the same reasons that led to the exclusion last year, due to The war in Ukraine and the bloody suppression of protests over the death of Mahsa Amini, by Russia, Belarus and Iran, respectively.

Culture and “free science” and censorship

The events surrounding this year’s Nobel Prize open up an interesting debate, which fits perfectly into the range of controversial situations that have been repeated in recent times. One remembers, for example, the admonishment of Nobel laureate John Clauser, who was accused by the National Monetary Fund of being a hardliner. climate denier.

Among the recent events there is instead a book General FanacciThe Minister of Defense took notice of the statements he contained that were considered racist, homophobic and sexist. So much so, that many libraries chose to remove the work from sale, precisely sparking the most heated debates about censorship.

Censorship directly prohibited by constitutionParticularly with regard to the press. However, there is no mention of free scientific and cultural expression, even if it constitutes an implicit present right. The main cornerstone that allows science to be such lies precisely in the possibility of refuting previous theories and creating new theories on proven foundations.

Just as culture, in general, is not so unless it is widely available and diffused. A balance not always easy to defend, at least through institutions, when there is a risk of making liberty a message taken incorrectly, especially in relation to war and war. human rights.