10/10/2015

Nobel Peace Prize 2015

All Nobel Prizes 2015

Between 1901 and 2014, the Nobel Prizes and the Prize in Economic Sciences were awarded 567 times to 889 people and organizations. With some receiving the Nobel Prize more than once, this makes a total of 860 individuals and 22 organizations. Below, you can view the full list of Nobel Prizes and Nobel Laureates.

The Nobel Prize in Physics 2015
Takaaki Kajita and Arthur B. McDonald
"for the discovery of neutrino oscillations, which shows that neutrinos have mass"

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2015
Tomas Lindahl, Paul Modrich and Aziz Sancar
"for mechanistic studies of DNA repair"

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2015
William C. Campbell and Satoshi Ōmura
"for their discoveries concerning a novel therapy against infections caused by roundworm parasites"

Youyou Tu
"for her discoveries concerning a novel therapy against Malaria"

The Nobel Prize in Literature 2015
Svetlana Alexievich
"for her polyphonic writings, a monument to suffering and courage in our time"

The Nobel Peace Prize 2015
National Dialogue Quartet

"for its decisive contribution to the building of a pluralistic democracy in Tunisia in the wake of the Jasmine Revolution of 2011"

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Nomination and Selection

A nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize may be submitted by any person who meets the nomination criteria. A letter of invitation to submit is not required. The names of the nominees and other information about the nominations cannot be revealed until 50 years later.

Nominations for the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize Laureates - There are 273 candidates for the Nobel Peace Prize for 2015. 68 of these are organizations, and 205 are persons. 273 is the second highest number of candidates ever. The record, 278 candidates, was set in 2014.

The 2015 Nobel Peace Prize has not been awarded yet. It will be announced on Friday 9 October, 11:00 a.m. CET.

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Singapore’s longest-held political prisoner is a nominee for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize

A group of political activists and opposition politicians have nominated Singapore’s longest-held political prisoner Chia Thye Poh for the Nobel Peace Prize, to highlight his fight for political freedom.

Former Singapore Democratic Party member and Bangkok University professor James Gomez said he nominated Chia in January and was confirmation it had been received and registered.

Political activists said to media that they hoped the nomination will “open the door for a reassessment of Singapore’s history and the role dissidents played.”

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Dr Chia Thye Poh nominated for Nobel Peace Prize

Dr James Gomez has filed a nomination with the Norwegian Nobel Committee to nominate Dr Chia Thye Poh for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Dr Gomez is presently Professor of Communications and Associate Dean (International Affairs), School of Communication Arts, Bangkok University, Thailand. (See here.)

Dr Chia is a former detainee under the Internal Security Act (ISA) in Singapore and had spent a total of 32 years in prison and restricted detention after he was arrested in 1966.

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Why this 74-year-old Singaporean has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize

Over the weekend, it was announced that he has been nominated for the prestigious international Nobel Peace Prize by Singaporeans First chief Tan Jee Say and Bangkok University professor James Gomez — four days before the winner will be announced on October 9.

He’s up against some 272 other candidates and organisations, though — these include German chancellor Angela Merkel and Japan’s Article 9 society. Gomez and filmmaker Martyn See had sent in their nomination letter in January, while the Nobel committee shortlisted the nominees in May.

A former member of parliament for the now-defunct Barisan Sosialis, Chia was arrested under the Internal Security Act in 1966, and was only released 23 years later in 1989 — making him the second-longest serving prisoner of conscience after the late Nelson Mandela. He then went on to spend 9 more years under severe restrictions, which makes his total length of incarcerations and restrictions longer than what Mandela endured.

So what’s the deal with this guy, and why are people nominating a longtime political prisoner for the Nobel Peace Prize? We share six interesting facts about him:
  • Chia was elected MP of Jurong in the 1963 election, at the age of 25, winning a four-cornered fight
  • He and several others boycotted parliament in 1965
  • As an MP, he was tangled in many law suits and court cases
  • Chia was detained for so long because he refused to sign a forced confession, which would have implied that that he was a violent communist
  • Here’s what Chia’s post-release ‘freedom’ was like
  • Chia resented comparisons with Nelson Mandela — he was never as ambitious.
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Singaporean pioneer become Nobel Peace Prize nominee
Photo of Chia Thye Poh from Yahoo Australia

A Singaporean pioneer has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize award and it is not Lee Kuan Yew.

After serving 32 years of detention, Chia Thye Poh, the world’s longest political prisoner has just been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. The former teacher, MP, interpreter and physics lecturer who completed his PhD thesis in development economics in 2006 was a brilliant talent. Too brilliant for Lee Kuan Yew’s taste apparently.

The former Barisan Sosialis MP for Jurong in 1963 boycotted Parliament for the ruling party PAP’s decision to split from Malaysia (contrary to Singapore media, the ruling party PAP wanted the split and was not expelled from the Malaysia Federation). On 8 October 1966, Chia Thye Poh protested with 30 people and demanded the ruling party PAP to release all political prisoners, remove un-democratic laws and hold a general election. He was subsequently arrested on 29 October 1966 and never see light again for the next 23 years until 17 May 1989, of which he was confined in a guardhouse in Sentosa for the next 9 years until his formal release.

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Freed Dissident Tries to Understand the Past While Figuring Out Future

Chia said he does not know what he'll do next. "When people ask, 'What's your plan?' I can only answer, 'Politics is still in my blood,' but I really don't know. I have my health to worry about, and although I was a young man when I went to prison, I am now old," he said.

And what did he achieve by refusing for 32 years to cave in to the authorities?

"Well," he said, "politically, Singapore is more or less the same. The Internal Security Act is still there. The opposition is still operating under difficult conditions. So in the end, perhaps not a great deal."

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Singapore's gentle revolutionary

CHIA Thye Poh, a willowy, softly spoken, 57-year-old bachelor, leads a quiet, simple life these days in a spartan third-storey flat on one of Singapore's sprawling suburban public housing estates, dutifully looking after his elderly parents, both in their 80s. He rarely goes out or sees anyone. He is poor-sighted, suffers from prostate and lung problems, a weak bladder and earns a meagre living of just a few hundred Singapore dollars a week working as a freelance translator from home.

Yet, for the past three decades, this very same man has been branded by the government a violent communist revolutionary and a threat to national security. On Friday, after 32 years of stubbornly protesting his innocence, Mr Chia was finally restored his full rights as a Singapore citizen.

Mr Chia spent 22 years, six months, two weeks and four days in jail, mostly in solitary confinement, until 1989 - becoming the world's second longest serving prisoner-of-conscience after South Africa's Nelson Mandela. The 9 1/2 years after his release were spent under severe restrictions.

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Dearest Mother of Dr Chia Thye Poh
How would a mother feel if her eldest son who is so bright and full of promise is imprisoned for no reason and without a trial? How would she feel when that imprisonment turned out to be so endless and so cruel, lasting 32 long years?

Madam Yap Swee, aged 94 who passed away  on Monday, 26 December 2011 after prolonged illness was that mother. In the last few weeks of her life, she enjoyed the comfort of being with her eldest son, Chia Thye Poh, who took care of her day and night.

When Chia Thye Poh was arrested at the young age of 25, he was a legislative assemblyman. Three months after his arrest, his mother was taken seriously ill. Thereafter, her health continued to decline as she suffered many strokes which left her bedridden. Till today, no one can  forget the hardship she and her family went through. The family suffered in silence for 32 years and more.

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Nobel Prize 2015

Every year, the prestigious Nobel Prize is given to honour those who have made outstanding contribution in the fields of science, literature and social service.

Here is the list of the winners of this year's Nobel Prize in the field of literature, physics, chemistry and medicine:

The Nobel Peace Prize 2015
  • Tunisian national dialogue quartet
The Nobel Prize in Literature 2015
  • Svetlana Alexievich
The Nobel Prize in Physics 2015
  • Takaaki Kajita and Arthur B. McDonald
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2015
  • Tomas Lindahl, Paul Modrich and Aziz Sancar
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2015
  • William C. Campbell and Satoshi Omura
  • Tu Youyou
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