Human rights defenders from all over the world honoured in Minsk: it’s safe to express opinions in Belarus
Minsk hosted a solemn ceremony of awarding the international prize, For Peace and Human Rights. The evet gathered human rights defenders, journalists and public figures from around the world, including Poland, Hungary, the United Kingdom, Serbia, France, Russia, Austria, the United States, Australia, Kazakhstan, Germany, and other countries. Next year, the organisers plan to expand the geography, inviting representatives of Africa and Asia.
Established by the Emil Czeczko International Charitable Foundation, the award marks those who tirelessly defend human rights. This year, it has received more than 100 applications, and 60 nominees made it to the final. Among them are such famous personalities as Editor-in-Chief of the Russiya Today TV channel Margarita Simonyan, American journalist Tucker Carlson, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and External Economic Relations Peter Szijjarto, Russian journalist Aleksandr Malkevich, and others. Each of them, according to the jury, has contributed to the protection of human rights and become an inspiration to people around the world.
Twenty winners – whose work in the field of human rights deserves special attention – were named, including two Belarusians.
As Dmitry Belyakov, the Director of the System Human Rights Protection Centre, noted, the awarding ceremony became not just an important event, but also a symbol of courage, “The laureates of this award defend moral and ethical values, despite difficulties and risks. For example, only one out of several Polish nominees managed to attend the ceremony, showing courage and determination to express his position on the situation in Belarus, in the Union State and on the Polish politics.”
Polish journalist, laureate Jaroslaw Augustyniak expressed concern about the Polish politics and its impact on relations with Belarus, “In 2021, I spent three days on the Polish-Belarusian border. Funerals took place on a daily basis. The Polish authorities are preventing journalists from accessing this area, and we do not know what is really happening there.”
In addition, according to the journalist, Poles and Belarusians have always been neighbours, sharing a common culture and history. Sadly, the bilateral relations have been in a tragic state for many years. “This is a problem of the Polish authorities, who have been trying to change the government in Belarus for thirty years and to impose the economic model and the order of Poland, which is selling everything to the West,” he said.
Serbian journalist, laureate Dragana Trifkovic said that her work focuses on the study of international conflicts, “I am a native of Serbia. I survived the bombing in 1999, and that was a turning point in my life. Since then, I have been studying conflicts and the mechanisms of their occurrence. Recently, I have been paying special attention to religious human rights, since many human rights defenders ignore this issue. I have organised several conferences on the topic in Serbia, Bulgaria, Austria and other countries, but, unfortunately, contacting various EU institutions has not yet yielded results. As for Belarus, despite the strong propaganda against it, I see that the country is developing and progressing. However, the sanctions imposed against Belarus are an unfair pressure mechanism.”
Kazakh public figure, laureate Oleg Gusev noted that Belarus’ success is rooted in the tough position of its leaders who refused to follow the external influence. “A struggle of civilisations is currently in full swing. Some countries are trying to preserve their identity and independence, while others are promoting colonial ideas. Belarus has managed to maintain its calm and independence. Unlike many other countries, there is an open and accessible platform for communication here. In Belarus, people can freely express their opinions without fear of reprisals. This makes the country attractive to people from all over the world, including the award nominees.”
