Political figures and war journalists condemn Peter Handke's Nobel prize

Protests and boycotts piled up Tuesday as author Peter Handke officially accepted his Nobel Prize in literature, reports the Guardian.

Turkey and Albania announced that they would join Kosovo in skipping the ceremony, while journalists shared firsthand accounts of the Bosnian conflict with the hashtag #BosniaWarJournalists.

Handke’s past comments about the war, including his denial that the Srebrenica massacre took place and his support for convicted war criminal Slobodan Milošević, have drawn sharp criticism in the wake of his win. 

Among the tweets was one from Emma Daly, who now works for Human Rights Watch: “I will never forget walking around the mass graves holding hundreds of men & boys who were blindfolded, shot & buried on farmland near Srebrenica. We know Milosevic was responsible.”

Critics of Handke’s win are also lashing out against the Nobel Prize administrators for choosing him and the Swedish royal family for participating in the ceremony.

One member of the Nobel committee has actually resigned, citing Handke’s win, and another member publicly announced he would boycott the ceremony. 

Related posts

• Nobel literature laureates deliver their inaugural lectures

• Controversial Nobel Prize winner Peter Handke criticizes the media