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Receives German Peace Prize, Criticizes U.S. RAHA/13/October/2003 One of Americas foremost writers and intellectuals was bestowed with Germanys highest literary honors at the Frankfurt Book Fair on Sunday. The German Booksellers Association, which hands out the annual Peace Prize, hailed Susan Sontag for her "exceptional sense of morality and immorality." She is no diplomat, the associations director Dieter Schormann said in his address at the Frankfurt Paulskirche, adding that Sontag sees her first duty in speaking the truth. "In a world of false images and distorted truths, she defends the honor of free thought." Sontags outspoken opposition to the U.S.-led war in Iraq and its hegemonic response to the September 11 terrorist attacks has frequently led to sharp criticism in her home country. But the 70 year-old, whose several novels, essays and short stories have been translated into more than 30 languages, is generally recognized in Germany as the American intellectual par excellence, the public conscience of an arrogant superpower. Defending civilization In her acceptance speech, Sontag held true to her reputation. Not one to hold her tongue, she seized the opportunity to criticize President George W. Bushs administration. She drew attention to the "deliberate absence" from the ceremony of the U.S. ambassador to Germany as typical of Washingtons current ideology of distancing itself from "old Europe." She went on to lament a transatlantic divide shaped by "latent antagonism" and Americas view that it alone could save civilization. "They see themselves as defending civilization. The barbarians are outside the gates," she said describing the attitude of many Americans, who believe, that as long as "God is on its side," nothing can go wrong. "Americans have gotten used to seeing the world in terms of enemies. Terrorist is a more flexible word than communist," the author of Polish-Lithuanian Jewish descent told the audience. Transatlantic divide Sontag, who has spent much of her literary life going back and forth between Europe and the United States, questioned why Europe and America had drifted so far apart. Criticizing Bushs "imperial program," she lambasted Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfelds division of Europe into old and new. The author, who was in Germany at the time of 9/11, described the outpouring of sympathy the Europeans felt for the United Sates, but said that unfortunately much of it had been squandered since then. "What has followed is an increasing estrangement on both sides." "How odd, that when Europe and America are so culturally similar, there is such a divide," she added. Role model for intellectuals For an author who has made a career out of wielding her pen for political causes, such critical statements are nothing new. Deeply committed to the promotion of human rights, Sontag has used her intellectual reputation to draw attention to injustices around the world. From the Vietnam war to the death threat against writer Salman Rushdie, the Israeli policy in the Palestinian territories or the bombardment of Sarajevo, Sontags critical voice has always sounded loud and clear. In her refusal to shy away from controversy when it comes to speaking out against war and conflict, Sontag serves as a "role model for intellectuals," according to the writer and theater director Ivan Nagel, who gave the laudation on Sunday. With her fiction and political essays, Sontag questions and defends "the concept and the value of western civilization." The Peace Prize, which comes with 15,000 euros, has been awarded by the German Booksellers Association every year since 1950. It is given in recognition of an individuals lifetime work in the fields of literature, art or science which contributes to the promotion of peace. Other illustrious recipients include Herman Hesse, Vaclav Havel, Jrgen Habermas, and last years winner Chinua Acheba from Nigeria. Source: http://www.dw-world.de/english |
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Susan
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