Brussels, 21/09/2004 (Agence Europe) - The list of candidates for the Sakharov Prize has grown longer with the nomination of seven new candidates, bringing the total number of candidates to fourteen. The Independence/Democracy Group has decided to support the candidature of Alexander Yessenin-Volpin, a human rights activist. Czech deputy Jana Bobosikova proposed on behalf of part of the Non-Attached group, former Czech President Vaclav Havel. Lithuanian UEN MEP Rolandas Pavilionis personally put forward Zubr, a Belarussian youth movement which is seeking to resist action against human rights orchestrated by the current president of the Republic of Belarus, Alexandre Lukashenka.
While other political groups have taken a joint decision (see EUROPE of 18 September) the members of the EPP-ED Group support candidatures proposed by individual members. Italy MEP Mario Mauro therefore proposed two representatives of the civil society active in the Middle East. They are Angelica Edna Calo Livné, an Israeli who founded the "Rainbow Theatre" in Galilee in 2002, and Palestinian Samar Sahhar, who takes care of orphans and women in distress. CDU Deputy Michael Gahler decided for his part to support the Belarusian Association of Journalists, an NGO which aims to ensure freedom of speech in a country where the press is tightly controlled by the authorities. British Conservative Nirj Deva, supports Ibrahim Hussain Zaki, a representative of the parliament in the Republic of Maldives, currently imprisoned by the authorities of his country. We recall that Vytautas Landsbergis last week proposed the Soviet dissident and former Russian deputy, Sergeï Kovalev.