COLOMBIA/CUBA/ SERBIA/ UKRAINE/ VENEZUELA: 11Dec. UPDATE: Colombia Attends Nobel Ceremony; Serbia Caves After EU Chides It For Boycott.

NYTIMES/
    16 countries including 3 nations covered in this news blog - Cuba, Ukraine, and Venezuela - boycotted the ceremony awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to imprisoned Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo (pictured).
     China was mightily angered that the Nobel committee chose Liu, who is serving an 11-year sentence for his essay so it reportedly pressured nations it does business with to stay away from Oslo.
      China reportedly warned diplomats in Oslo not to attend and said there would be "consequences" if they did so.
     Cuba and Venezuela kowtowed to econovore China's wish. As did Ukraine following Mother Russia and Putin's lead.
    At first, Colombia was among the countries listed NOT to attend, blaming a scheduling conflict with the Nobel ceremony for literature. But, after criticism, Colombia found a way to be attend.
     Meanwhile, Serbia, looking for EU for entry also said it would not show-up.
    The EU warned Serbia that shunning the Nobel awards sent the wrong message for EU entry.
     Belgrade said that it had some big business deals at stake with China, ranging from loans for major coal-powered plants to a bridge construction project over the Danube. But it, too, reluctantly caved-in to EU pressure at the last possible hour.
FOR  EU SERBIA WARNING DETAILS, SEE:
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6B747120101208%20
 
SERBIA UPDATE 09 DEC:  Serbia  defended its Chinese-led boycott of the Nobel Peace ceremony.  Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic said China was a "proven friend" and that the decision was "not easy at all, and far from ideal".
FOR SERBIA RESPONSE DETAILS, SEE:
 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11957094

VENEZUELA/CUBA: Chavez And Cuban Media Back China Over Nobel Peace Prize Protest.

AP/
            President Hugo Chavez expressed solidarity with China following its angry reaction to the announcement of the Nobel peace prize for Liu Xiaobo
( pictured) whom it called a "criminal." "Our greetings and solidarity go to the government of the People's Republic of China," Chavez said, adding: "Viva China! And its sovereignty, its independence and its greatness."

Chavez's position was echoed by Cuban state-controlled media.

The website Cubadebate, where Fidel Castro posts, wrote:"Let's hope to God this is just one of those ideological strikes that this once-prestigious honor has delivered over its long history, and not a new rule."
It stated that it was also disappointed with the Nobel prizes awarded to Peruvian novelist Mario Vargas Llosa, a critic of dictatorships across Latin America.

http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/10/11/1867880/cuban-state-media-criticizes-nobel.html#ixzz124P4Ipz0