Ashton, Cronberg Receive Symbolic ‘Wet Gunpowder’ Award

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and Head of the European Parliament’s Delegation for Relations with Iran Tarja Cronberg received the symbolic award of Wet Gunpowder.
According to the secretariat of the festival, the Wet Gunpowder prize is awarded to ridiculous people whose chaffy character is evident to everyone “and when this nature of theirs is accompanied with self-belief turns into an indefinite foolishness for them”.

The Wet Gunpowder award was granted to Ashton and Cronberg this year. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and several Israeli officials were also among the initial candidates for winning the award.

President Barack Obama’s wife Michelle Obama was awarded Wet Gunpowder prize last year.

Addressing the ceremony, Commander of Iran’s Basij (volunteer) Force Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Naqdi announced that Iran plans to hold an exhibition on the violations of human rights by the European governments in the near future.

“We will provide European politicians with a podium to defend its inhumane attempts,” Brigadier General Naqdi said at the Wet Gunpowder Festival in the Southwestern city of Khorramshahr on Monday.

He pointed to the black track record of the European governments in respecting human rights, and said, “Massacre of the black people and inhumane behavior towards nations are the result of European governments’ actions in this arena.”

“Whenever there is a slaughter, the footprint of the European governments, including Britain, can be readily seen,” Brigadier General Naqdi stressed.

He referred to First World War, and asked, “Who initiated the WWI and caused the death of 70 million people.”