UN Secretary-General Kofi Anan and the United Nations itself will be jointly awarded the 100th Nobel Peace Prize today. Efrat Avraham, a sister of Benny Avraham - one of the three Israeli soldiers abducted and killed by Hizbullah over a year ago - was in Oslo until today. Arutz-7\'s Haggai Segal spoke with her today, saying, \"I understand that you were there, with other of the boys\' relatives, to protest against the awarding of the prize to Anan and the UN, which you feel had more than a passive hand in the abduction of your brother.\"
\"At first, this was in fact our purpose,\" she responded. \"But before the ceremony, Kofi Anan told us something very important: that we would be allowed to see the famous videocassette that has been in the UN offices for the past year and that was filmed during and shortly after the abduction. He also said that we would be receiving the bloodstained clothes that were found there if it was shown that the blood belonged to the soldiers. This is a very impressive international achievement - of the families, not of the State of Israel - because we exerted pressure all over the world in every possible way. But we still have a long way to go, and we will not rest until the soldiers are back home, dead or alive.\"
When asked to explain how it was that Anan had suddenly agreed to a request that he had rejected all year, Efrat said, \"You know, this is a lesson in international diplomacy. When a man is about to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, he wants to make sure that it goes smoothly, without any objections or protests, and so he\'ll do everything to quiet down any pockets of resistance… We met with him beforehand and said that we are requesting - as families and not as the State of Israel - that he prove that the UN really stands for what it says it does, and to help us bring our brothers and sons back.\" Efrat said that the family members had decided not to attend the Nobel Prize ceremony tonight, since they had already achieved what they wanted.
\"At first, this was in fact our purpose,\" she responded. \"But before the ceremony, Kofi Anan told us something very important: that we would be allowed to see the famous videocassette that has been in the UN offices for the past year and that was filmed during and shortly after the abduction. He also said that we would be receiving the bloodstained clothes that were found there if it was shown that the blood belonged to the soldiers. This is a very impressive international achievement - of the families, not of the State of Israel - because we exerted pressure all over the world in every possible way. But we still have a long way to go, and we will not rest until the soldiers are back home, dead or alive.\"
When asked to explain how it was that Anan had suddenly agreed to a request that he had rejected all year, Efrat said, \"You know, this is a lesson in international diplomacy. When a man is about to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, he wants to make sure that it goes smoothly, without any objections or protests, and so he\'ll do everything to quiet down any pockets of resistance… We met with him beforehand and said that we are requesting - as families and not as the State of Israel - that he prove that the UN really stands for what it says it does, and to help us bring our brothers and sons back.\" Efrat said that the family members had decided not to attend the Nobel Prize ceremony tonight, since they had already achieved what they wanted.