Former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari speaks during a press conference at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki, Friday Oct. 10, 2008. President Ahtisaari had earlier been named as the winner of the the Nobel Peace Prize.(AP Photo/Markku Ulander, Lehtikuva)

OSLO, Norway (AP) — Former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari won the Nobel Peace Prize Friday, but this year the news was as much about who didn’t get the award.

Critics say the secretive, five-member panel missed a golden opportunity to reward Chinese dissidents and highlight human rights abuses in China in the year Beijing basked in the glory of the Olympic Games.

‘‘It is an opportunity missed to change the world for the better by encouraging reform in China,’’ said Edward McMillan-Scott, a British member of the European Parliament and founder of its group to promote democracy and human rights. He nominated two Chinese dissidents who had been considered front-runners for the prize.

This year is also the 60th anniversary of the signing of the U.N. Declaration of Human Rights, which helped fuel speculation the award might honor dissidents, particularly ones from China, Russia or Vietnam.