Word: aarvik
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Dates: during 1983-1983
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Before an audience of 450 in the University of Oslo's bright, marble-pillared Aula, or Great Hall, Nobel Committee Chairman Egil Aarvik lavished praise on the recipient of the 64th Nobel Peace Prize. Lech Walesa, said Aarvik, had raised "a burning torch, a shining name" to humanity's enduring dreams of freedom. Walesa, leader of Solidarity, the outlawed Polish independent trade union, did not hear those words. He had stayed behind in Gdansk for fear that the government would not allow him back into Poland...
Walesa's wife Danuta made the trip, however, and after Aarvik spoke, she rose to deliver a 15-minute speech written by her husband. "On this solemn day, my place is among those with whom I have grown and to whom I belong, the workers of Gdansk," she read. "We crave for justice, and that is why we are so persistent in the struggle for our rights." After listening to a radio broadcast of the ceremony, Walesa declared, "We should use peaceful means to solve our problems...
...activities had "been characterized by a determination to solve his country's problems through negotiation and cooperation without resorting to violence." It added: "Lech Walesa's contribution is both an inspiration and an example." The committee knew its decision would create a stir. Said Chairman Egil Aarvik: "I don't expect any thanks or gratitude from the Polish authorities. But I can imagine that the attitude of the Polish people will be very different...