Mahathir 'nominated for Nobel Peace Prize'

From correspondents in Kuala Lumpur February 04, 2007 04:25pm Article from: Agence France-Presse

BOSNIAN groups have nominated Malaysia's former premier Mahathir Mohamad for the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for helping the country after its bloody civil war, the Star newspaper has reported.

It said that he was nominated by four civil groups in Bosnia spearheaded by former president Ejup Ganic.

Mr Mahathir was described in their nomination paper as the developing world's .most courageous advocate,. the Star said.

Under Mr Mahathir, Malaysia provided economic, political and humanitarian aid for Bosnia while it reeled from the trauma of conflict and ethnic cleansing in the 1992-95 civil war.

Nominations to the Nobel Institute in Oslo closed on February 1. The winner will be announced in October and it will be awarded on December 10.

Thousands of people are eligible to make nominations. They include members of parliament and government, university professors and previous laureates as well as several international institutes.

Last year, Muhammad Yunus and his Grameen Bank were selected from a list of 191 nominees.

Mr Ganic said Mr Mahathir had influenced the world with his lessons on managing diversity, solving conflicts and harnessing a multiethnic population to build a vibrant economy.

Mr Mahathir, 81, who stepped down in 2003, has seized on the issue of conflict in the Middle East during his retirement.

He launched an unofficial war crimes tribunal last week to focus on victims of abuse in Iraq, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories.