Nobel laureate Oscar Arias to present Patten Lectures

By Jayne Spencer

Arias

"Peace with Justice for Latin America and the World"
Monday (Sept. 23) , 7:30 p.m.
Woodburn Hall 100
IU Bloomington

"Moral Leadership for the New Century"
Wednesday (Sept. 25) , 7: 30 p.m.
Ballantine Hall 013
IU Bloomington

"Global Justice and Health in the 21st Century"
Thursday (Sept. 26), 9 a.m.
Lilly Auditorium
University Library Lower Level
IUPUI

Arias, who served as the Costa Rican president from 1986-1990, gave the inaugural address for the formal opening of the Indiana Center on Global Change and World Peace at IU Bloomington in October 1990 and was awarded an honorary IU degree at that time. He has gained international stature as a spokesperson for developing nations and is an advocate for human development, democracy and demilitarization.

While Arias was president of Costa Rica, Central America was embroiled in discord and violence. The fall of the Somoza dictatorship in neighboring Nicaragua in 1979 and the introduction of the Sandinista regime brought contention to the region. The resulting interventions had left the region in crisis, with unrest in Guatemala, internal civil war in El Salvador and Nicaragua, and increasing border tensions between Nicaragua and its neighboring states, Honduras and Costa Rica. Despite mounting pressures for Costa Rica to become involved in the conflict, Arias maintained relative neutrality and acted as a broker of peace, drafting what is widely known as the Arias Peace Plan. It called for ceasefires in all guerrilla wars in the region, a stop to outside military aid and media censorship, a general amnesty for political prisoners, eventual free elections and reductions in civil and human rights abuses. The agreement by all Central American presidents was signed in the summer of 1987, beginning a period of regional political stability. Arias was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize the same year.

He used the monetary award from the Nobel Peace Prize to establish the Arias Foundation for Peace and Human Progress.
http://www.indiana.edu/~deanfac/patten

Arias used the monetary award from the 1987 Nobel Peace Prize to establish the Arias Foundation for Peace and Human Progress.