Brussels, 24/09/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 23 September, the European Parliament presented the seven nominees for the 2014 Sakharov Prize for freedom of thought. The three finalists will be selected on 7 October by the Parliament's committees for foreign affairs and development, and by its sub-committee for human rights, and the winner will be chosen on 16 October by the conference of presidents of the Parliament's political groups. The prize will be awarded on 26 November.
Two sets of nominees are linked to the situation of Christians in Iraq. The ECR Group, Anna Zaborska (EPP, Slovakia) and 66 other MEPs nominated the Iraqi Muslim who stood up for Christians, Mahmoud Al 'Asali, and the patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church, Louis Raphael Sako. “Some people call for tolerance and the respect to practise religion (…) These people show us the voice of hope”, said Mark Demesmaeker (ECR, Belgium). Philippe Juvin (EPP, France) and 60 other MEPs nominated the NGOs CHREDO, Open Doors, Oeuvre d'Orient and Aid to the Church in Need. “By awarding them the prize, we would affirm our solidarity with the minorities persecuted by the barbarism of Islamic State. Defending Christians from the East is a duty. We share the same ground of civilisation and values. This is not about religion but about philosophy and ethics”, said Maurice Ponga (EPP, France).
The defence of women's rights was also highlighted. The S&D and ALDE Groups, and Barbara Lochbihler (Greens/EFA, Germany) therefore nominated Denis Mukwege, a Congolese human rights activist and doctor specialised in the treatment of rape victims in the Kivu region. “Awarding him would be to renounce the reality of the inequality of women throughout the world, (…) to look again at Africa, (…) to reward human dignity”, said Elena Valenciano (S&D, Spain), stating that the €50,000 prize would enable Mukwege to finance his hospital. The EFDD Group nominated Somali-born activist, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, who is a human rights activist and known for her opposition to female genital mutilation. Awarding her the Sakharov Prize would be to show the European Parliament's opposition to “mutilation and the culture accompanying it”, said James Carver (the UK).
Jacek Saryusz-Wolski and 52 other MEPs nominated Mustafa Nayem, Ruslana Lyzhychko, Yelyzaveta Schepetylnykova and Tetiana Tchornovol, representing EuroMaidan - “the mass movement that showed courage and sacrifice for the respect of human rights and democracy, for confronting the authoritarian and brutal regime”, said Saryusz-Wolski.
The Greens/EFA Group and ALDE MEPs Alexander Graf Lambsdorff (Germany), Marietje Schaake (the Netherlands) and Ramon Tremosa (Spain) nominated Azerbaijani human rights activist, Leyla Yunus. “This is the ideal candidate for the prize. She needs protection now. She is a sort of isolated hero (…) someone who is fighting very close-by in our neighbourhood”, said Ulrike Lunacek (Greens/EFA, Austria).
Lastly, the GUE/NGL Group nominated the rappers Mouad Belghouate (from Morocco) and Ala Yaacoubi (from Tunisia), both aged 26 and who have denounced corruption and police repression in their respective countries, and the Egyptian political activist Alaa Abdel Fattah, who has demonstrated for public freedoms. “They are the symbol of a young generation that is boiling in North Africa and that believes that freedom of expression is an asset”, said Marie-Christine Vergiat (our translation throughout) (GUE/NGL, France). (CG)