Nobel laureate Betty Williams arrested in Mexico City
Pakistan Times Wire Service

MEXICO CITY (US): Betty Williams of Northern Ireland, winner of the 1976 Nobel Peace Prize, was handcuffed and detained Tuesday night on her arrival in Mexico City, a spokesman for the Rigoberta Menchu Foundation, the peace group that invited her to Mexico, said Wednesday.

Williams said Mexican authorities apologized for the incident, but declined further comment, saying, "I don't want to talk about it. I came here only to talk about peace."

Mexican immigration authorities denied she was arrested.

The Menchu foundation said it had invited Williams to Mexico City to help launch an educational program called Peacejam.

Sources in her entourage said Williams, 61, was arrested by police as she emerged from immigration control at Mexico City airport on arrival on a flight from Denver, Colorado, and held because of what the sources said was a case of mistaken identity.

Emilio Godoy, spokesman for the Menchu foundation, said the police had demanded that Williams, who speaks no Spanish, sign a statement written in Spanish, and told she would be prosecuted if she refused.

Williams, along with Mairead Maguire, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1976 for her work against violence in Northern Ireland.

The two women founded the Community of Peace People, an organization for an end to violence and a betterment of life in Northern Ireland.●