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How they see it

Nobel Peace Prize

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Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) wins the Nobel Peace Prize 2013. Photo: EPA

1. Global Times

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The Nobel Prize committee in Norway awarded the peace prize to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons ... The OPCW was considered a dark horse, as it saw off a better- known favourite, the Pakistani girl Malala Yousafzai, shot in the head by the Taliban and seen as a heroine in fighting for girls' right to education. Perhaps bearing in mind that the Nobel Peace Prize has drawn too much controversy in recent years, the committee eventually decided to award it to a non-controversial organisation ... However, the fact that Malala became a favourite candidate ... still throws up some questions ... Should the world encourage a child to stand at the front line of a struggle for human rights? Beijing

 

2. The Guardian

The OPCW is neither a romantic nor a spectacular choice for the Nobel peace prize ... its very initials are unwieldy and few have ever heard of its understated Turkish director general, Ahmet Uzumcu. Moreover, the agency's inspectors are tiresome sticklers for the rules and decidedly low profile. Even the Nobel committee had trouble getting hold of anyone at the Hague headquarters to tell them the news ...This year's prize is not a story of a heroic individual triumphing against the odds, but rather, a rare tale of an international institution doing what it is supposed to do, somewhat quietly and effectively, and making the world a significantly safer place in the process. London

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