Was Turkish PM Erdogan the final recipient of the Qaddafi human rights prize?

Posted By Joshua Keating Friday, February 25, 2011 - 3:33 PM Share

The Turkish opposition is criticizing Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan for his relative silence on events in Libya saying he is “doing well by the award” given to him by Muammar al-Qaddafi last November. If current events continue the way they've been going, it looks like Erdogan may have the dubious honor of being the last recipient of that particular award.

The "Al-Gaddafi International Prize for Human Rights" (check out the flash-tastic early-90s style website) is one of the stranger prizes around. Past recipients have included everyone from Nelson Mandela to Louis Farrakhan to Qaddafi fan-boys Hugo Chavez and Daniel Ortega as well as some more unexpected choices like Coptic Pope Shenouda III, former Maltese Prime Minister Dom Mintoff and "the libraries of Timbuktu." The children of Palestine, children of Bosnia, and children of Iraq are also past winners. 

The prize is worth $250,000, though I'm assuming the children didn't all share that. 

MAHMUD TURKIA/AFP/Getty Images

 

AANCHAL.ANAND

5:13 AM ET

February 26, 2011

Strange or Innovative?

Yes I know we don't like Qaddafi but I think awarding a human rights prize to the children of Palestine, Bosnia and Iraq is something rather innovative and should perhaps be emulated. Why doesn't the Nobel Committee or another Western heavy-weight organization award such a prize to North Korean or Zimbabwean or Venezulean people for enduring the leadership they do? The money can be put in to UN funds (and closely monitored so there is no corruption from the UN side) and dedicated to serving that country?

 

CUNEYTGURCAN

11:49 AM ET

February 26, 2011

never thought

I never thought I would one day support Erdogan, but frankly, he is not to blame here.

You do not kill people of LIbya by accepting an award, you kill them by selling weapons to their leaders that are used on the people.

How much hypocrisy will we see from western journals about this? your "leaders of the free world" sell weapons to those guys, and get away with it, but when Erdogan receives a prize he supports dictators.

greetings from a a citizen of one of the "non free" countries.

 

PULLER58

8:28 PM ET

February 27, 2011

The $250K question

As in Vegas, do you leave money on the table?

 

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