On Thursday 26 October, President of the European Parliament Antonio Tajani announced during the plenary that the conference of presidents of the political groups of the European Parliament (EP) had awarded the 2017 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought to the democratic opposition in Venezuela, namely, the National Assembly, represented by its president, Julio Borges and “all the political prisoners whose names are in the latest report by Foro Penal Venezolano (Venezuelan Penal Forum). They include prominent opposition leaders Leopoldo López, Antonio Ledezma, Daniel Ceballos, Yon Goicoechea, Lorent Saleh, Alfredo Ramos and Andrea González”.
The prize is accompanied by a cheque of €50,000 and will be officially awarded on 13 December during an EP plenary session ceremony in Strasbourg.
In his speech, Tajani stated: “by awarding the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought to Democratic Opposition in Venezuela, we are reaffirming our unwavering support to the democratically-elected national assembly of Venezuela. We are also calling for the peaceful transition to democracy that the Venezuelan people are desperately calling for.”
The EPP and the ALDE who proposed the candidacy of the Venezuelan opposition, obviously welcomed this decision. The leader of the ALDE Group at the EP, Guy Verhofstadt from Belgium, stated on his Facebook page that “this award supports the fight of democratic forces in favour of a democratic Venezuela and against the Maduro regime. The ALDE Group (…) encourages the international community to join us in this fight for the freedom of the people of Venezuela”.
GUE/NGL call for prize-giving ceremony to be boycotted
There was nowhere near any unanimous support for the award of this prize, however. The Greens/EFA and particularly the GUE/NGL regretted this choice over that of the other candidates, such as the Guatemalan environmental rights activist Aura Lolita Chavez Ixcaquic, and the Swedish Eritrean journalist Dawit Isaak (see EUROPE 11880).
During the announcement, several MEPs gave their heated responses, particularly when Tajani explained that the prize was unconnected to a political party. The GUE/NGL therefore announced that it would boycott the prize-giving ceremony “in protest”. In a press release, the group explained that “such a highly politicised nomination has deprived other noteworthy nominees from highlighting their courageous struggles”. The GUE/NGL added that the decision to award them this honour, “not only undermines any chances for dialogue but also for peace to prevail in any democracy. Human rights are too serious an issue and should not be instrumentalised by Parliament". It also pointed out that amongst this disparate group of opposition representatives “are members of the Venezuelan far-right who have no interest in restoring democracy”.
The same sentiments were echoed by the French delegation of the Greens. It argued that this award “risked polarising and aggravating the political crisis instead of resolving it”. In a press release, the delegation concluded that “the past of some of the opponents nominated disqualifies them from receiving the prize because they have been involved in financial scandals or human rights violations. By taking the risk of compromising the legitimacy and credibility of the Sakharov Prize, the right is responsible for the dawning of a dark day at the European Parliament”. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)