M.I.A. on Obama Peace Prize: He Should Give It Back

M.I.A. has never been afraid to be controversial. A member of the Tamil ethnic group, her positions against the Sri Lankan government have often resulted in being branded as a terrorist supporter.

Her next target is President Obama, whom she believes should return his recently awarded Nobel Peace Prize, according to her Twitter account.

Comments

[KoolBreez]

I like MIA music from Slumdog but she was amazingly inarticulate in describing the Sri Lankan struggle on Bill Maher even after he repeatedly pressed her for an overview for the audience.

[Kryptonite1]

Didn't she want to talk about the concentration camps while he wanted a geography lesson? I kinda felt he should have summarized that himself, instead of whatever it was he was doing.
I'm just really glad she didn't make her appearance a simple regurgitation of her admittedly more brilliant Tavis Smiley interview. The reaction of the Sinhalese establishment to that was priceless.

If you're still interested in an overview, check that out, or read a reputable journal/source on the current situation.

[mltaylor13pt1]

Who is she and what's her claim to fame?

Shut up and sing.

[Kryptonite1]

Didn't Lenon returned his MBE out of protest at his country's involvement/support in wars? What she's saying makes sense.

[Bouddicca]

Whatever man...she ripped off the Clash and that was her only hit..

[Kryptonite1]

What have the Clash got to do with her songs? I loved O Saya and Galang! Worthy hits.

[JohnWilliam]

Plus she had all those songs in So You Want to be a Millionaire (which was amazing).

[thebirdstheword]

slumdog millionaire?

[Groovysoul]

Didn't John Lennon give his MBE back to criticize the people who gave it to him? Is she criticizing Obama or the Nobel Committee?

[Cogent]

and the major award she has won? BET?

[Birchmount]

Indian collusion in ethnic cleansing and Obama's Quagmire:
Sources from the diplomatic community say that Indian High Commissioner Alok Prasad during his term in office in Sri Lanka entered into several lucrative business deals, especially with his company Lal Mahal receiving special state patronage courtesy Basil Rajapaksa.

Lal Mahal had been assigned to import rice, sugar, flour and other essential items and had also received permission to import fuel after the government cancelled an order from Malaysia.

Parliamentarian Nirupama Rajapaksa’s husband had also coordinated the transaction between Alok Prasad’s Lal Mahal and several state contracts related to telecommunications and the Northern railway line.
Meanwhile, Basil Rajapaksa’s daughter who is currently in India following her marriage to an Indian national are also involved in Lal Mahal’s dealings with the Sri Lankan government.

[Shanthy]

MIA, like everyone else, has a serious concern about the Nobel price when 300,000 civilians are punished in the camps over five months. This is the first human disaster under Prez Obama administration and in a tragic proportion. It has every human abuses in the history of human civilisation.
Should Sri Lanka, with a tarnished history since its independence in 1948, be allowed to continue with its 'sovereignty' to hoodwink the modern world.

[Brad Rapstars]

Wait, how is what happened in Sri Lanka related in any way bar chronologically to Obama's presidency? He's not some magic love fairy drizzling peace and fairy dust over the globe.

[Kryptonite1]

"Wait, how is what happened in Sri Lanka related in any way bar chronologically to Obama's presidency? He's not some magic love fairy drizzling peace and fairy dust over the globe."

Interesting question. Apart from inheriting the legacy of diplomatic and military aid to the Sri Lankan government from Bush's America that culminated in the 2009 bloodbath, you might think that alone wouldn't exempt him from trying to solve the crisis there, but of course his country is a permanent veto-wielding power in the UN, so with that comes the responsiblity of holding war criminal states like Sri Lanka (that are also members) accountable . He was willing to intervene with the US South Pacific Command earlier this year to help free innocent Tamils caught up in the war, and set up a rehabilitation camp for former combatants. They were stopped by India.
An amazing suggestion from him, but did the US go public about it? NO. Did they execute it? NO. Did his UN ambassadors succeed in even getting the Tamil crisis to become a permanent security council issue. NO.
And that's just one conflict. So what is he now doing, or more to the point, secretly doing to ensure peace?

[joshxhox]

As much respect as I have for MIA as a musician and an artist (which is a lot, I have to say), she actually is relatively ill-informed and I do think her somewhat of an "angst-ivist" as someone previously stated. Yes, her lyrics are interesting and ... well, clever. But she is not very articulate in person on issues that aren't involved with Sri-Lanka.

I immediately realize I should cut this comment short so that I don't appear illinformed either.

[sarah2010]

Some of you all have become as hawkish in your support of the president as others have become in criticizing him.
He's not Jesus Christ. Everybody is entitled to their opinion about the president and people shouldn't be personally attacked just because they dare to utter even the slightest criticism of Obama.

People shouldn't act like he's the devil but we also shouldn't act like he's God. He's just a man.

[thebirdstheword]

none of Obama's supporters think he's god. that's just republican mumbo jumbo.

[garystartswithg]

I think this is why twitter isn't going to save the universe. Its just an off the cuff comment with not a lot of thought behind it. unless you are writing haiku its next to impossible to be very profound on twitter.

I was trying to find nobel foundation opposition to the tamils or something but i don't think there is one -- her logic fails. if anything i would assume the nobel foundation would be opposed to the sri lankan government.

I seriously doubt MIA is in cahoots with neo-cons so you can put the outrage away.

lets not hate -- its not exactly pretty.

[Balzac]

I'm not hating on her. I think she's brilliant but wrong about Obama's Nobel Peace Prize. I think she got a teeny bit jealous of Lady Gaga.

The Obamas are probably looking at what young female musicians artists they want their girls to learn from so they don't get influenced by troublesome types. Lady Gaga and M.I.A. are both a good match because they're not too much of a pop-culture commodity.

Miley Cyrus didn't make it as a young female role model for the president's girls because there's not considered to be enough thoughtfulness, with her dancing on what appears to be a stripper pole. Miley Cyrus is cool and talented herself in my opinion. But I would not play any of them if I were a DJ.

[Kryptonite1]

"She's a fraud?"
LMAO. Grow up and stop being childish. Sure, alot of people agree with her, and that might grate, but getting all ad hominem and republican on her ass doesn't negate her point. Like the article says, it's tacky Sri Lankan government schtick, and attacking her for her positions (albeit even if you are a small minority like the Sri Lankans) sorta shows you haven't got anything meaningful to debate against her view. Or maybe that's just the way it is around the Huffington Post. I dunno.

I find myself agreeing with alot of things she has said. Not that Barack Obama isn't a man of peace, but right now he's not pursuing 'Nobel style peaceful' approaches in resolving major global issues his country are mired in. He currently hasn't achieved the "peace" people associate with the Prize. But he has major potential. I firmly believe he has good intentions, but the prize is too premature, and way too much pressure on him. His country's wars he still has to fight, and they are still very bloody and deadly.

[Dustee]

It's the 3 L's Kryp: Look, Listen and Learn.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMJuEOaF84o

[Kryptonite1]

Indeed, none of the winners of the award have been serving commanders in chief of the world's biggest military force, involved in two nasty wars with no end in sight. Of course Iraq etc. are not Obama's fault, but I guess that's a precedent some people are uncomfortable with, and I understand that. Lenon returned his MBE out of protest at his country's involvement/support in wars.
Maybe part of the problem is the prize citation itself.
"for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples"
There's nothing specific. Maybe it's not an issue of when, but more where.
Take his country's efforts with regards to the Middle East, Sudan, Sri Lanka etc.. They are beginning to be robust in public, a good sign, but unlike a Tutu or Aung Kyi, there's little demarcated in terms of how he seeks to facilitate peace/justice in places like these that is extraordinary; what are his approaches? Any accords? Tribunals? Is bombing Iran still on the table? what are the end goals in issues like this?

As Maddows says, the prize is SOMETIMES pre-emptively given. She talks about nuclear disarmament in the future, which counts if that was what they meant by international diplomacy. No-one expected him to solve a crisis so soon in his presidency, but which one, if any, is he going to help solve to warrant such a prize?

[stedew]

First, I do not think the acceptance is until December, so nothing to return; more appropriate would be to suggest he refuse to accept it. But, if she wants him to return it like John Lennon did his MBE - he would have to accept it, then wait four years and return it, like Lennon did to protest Britain's support of the Viet Nam War etc.....

Why do so many people want to substitute their judgment for that of the Nobel committee? It does not matter if anyone else thinks he deserves it or not because its theirs to award, no one else has a say. I may think that this story does not deserve to be published on HP, but its HP's decision not mine.

[Balzac]

Yeah, and people want to substitute their judgment for Barack Obama's judgment too. Gee, he became a senator and then he became President. You'd think that people might realize that wasn't easy for him to achieve, not being the son of another president.

But Americans - they think they're experts on everything, and they fight for attention all the time. Not just Americans, M.I.A. too, but she acts quite a bit like an American. Now the whole damned world is starting to get the obnoxious habits of Americans. No respect for tradition, elders, seniority, or anything that existed before they were born. Fiercely subjective, always hungry for attention, lazy, and impatient.

That's why I don't want to see American pop culture spread beyond our borders. Everyone should stop learning English and stop trying to be like us. Ahhhh - that was a nice rant.

[MarionWatts]

M I A is in this country on a Green Card. She's here, primarily, because of her career - in short, for the money. She's one of the most inarticulate, ill-informed performers I've ever seen in her life. This has nothing to do with her and everything to do with a panel of intelligent, well-informed and educated people in Norway. M I A can keep her mouth SHUT on this one. She has a British passport, I believe. Maybe it's time she b*ggered off back to the UK and spoke about some of the human rights' issues there. Oh, sorry ... forgot ... they're taxing her 50% of her earnings, and that would never do, would it?

[Balzac]

Barack Obama should be like John Lennon? I'm sure John Lennon wouldn't think so. They had very different roles in society. One is the President, Commander in Chief of the world's only superpower vs and the other was an artist and political dissident.

M.I.A. is being an "angstivist". President Obama must end the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, restoring their sovereignty. M.I.A. isn't able to comprehend the scale of that task.

Also, I think she should try singing instead of political hip-hop. The world has plenty of political hip-hop. If she got an award for hip-hop, she should give it back and sing something pleasant and traditional instead.

[Balzac]

She's a talented musician and performer, but she acts too jaded and cynical for her age. I guess it's in style to maintain that kind of attitude among many of today's young people.

[MarionWatts]

She's a fraud.

[stedew]

She can't give her Grammy back because she got beat out by Allison Krauss and Robert Plant who sang something pleasant and traditional. Maybe she's still bitter?

[Balzac]

Hell yeah! Robert Plant and Allison Krauss won that Grammy fair and square. I'll have to check that album out. I'm a huge Zep fan, and I'll listen to any thing by Robert Plant.

[sarah2010]

I seriously doubt MIA gives a damn about a Grammy.

[ltfcrazy]

Can you say "BLOWHARD"?