They Defend Our Freedoms. 30 Years of the Sakharov Prize
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they defend our freedoms 30 years of the Sakharov Prize they defend our freedoms © European Union, European Parliament, 2017 Photographers Enri Canaj / Magnum Photos Bieke Depoorter / Magnum Photos Jerome Sessini / Magnum Photos Newsha Tavakolian / Magnum Photos, assisted by Amine Landoulsi Texts Éric Fottorino, assisted by Manon Paulic Graphic design Hello Dune Lunel Thanks to The Sakharov Fellows Asma Kaouech, Ameha Mekonnen, Jadranka Miličević and Samrith Vaing Magnum Photos: Clarisse Bourgeois, Antoine Kimmerlin, Nikandre Koukoulioti, Giulietta Palumbo, Claire Saillard, Pauline Sain Any opinions expressed in this book are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the European Parliament. they defend our freedoms 30 years of the Sakharov Prize Following double page: Guy le Querrec Germany, Berlin, 1989. Young people celebrating the New Year on top of the Berlin Wall. Contents Foreword 9 Samrith Vaing 14 Asma Kaouech 48 Ameha Mekonnen 82 Jadranka Miličević 114 They defend our freedoms 151 The Sakharov Prize 167 The Sakharov Prize laureates 168 The role of the European Parliament 170 Foreword Antonio Tajani President of the European Parliament As the Sakharov Prize celebrates its thirtieth eties while motivating others to do the same. year, I believe that it is as relevant now as it was I can only express my admiration and support when Nelson Mandela and Anatoli Martch- for the four courageous Sakharov Fellows – enko first received the award in 1988. The fight four amongst many – whose emblematic lives for human rights remains high on the Euro- and work are the subject of this book. I would pean Parliament’s agenda. The Sakharov Prize also take the opportunity to thank to the emi- for Freedom of Thought is a flagship initiative nent journalist and writer, Eric Fottorino, who in our broader engagement on human rights, both tells their stories and offers us a thought which are at the core of our shared values. provoking essay on human rights in the world, as well as the four renowned photographers The Sakharov Prize has been awarded to many – Jérôme Sessini, Bieke Depoorter, Enri Canaj, outstanding personalities. Over time, the prize Newsha Tavakolian – whose pictures do so has become much more than a yearly cere- much bring these stories to life. mony, it has grown into an important tool for laureates. The European Parliament connects In recent years, platforms for civil society them to the Sakharov Prize Network and sup- have progressively shrunk in many places ports laureates as ambassadors promoting around the world. Organisations promoting the spirit of the initiative. Together with the their fellow citizens’ fundamental rights are laureates, we have launched the Sakharov sometimes accused of being foreign agents, Fellowship for human rights defenders to sup- while intimidation, imprisonment and torture port activists worldwide. are used to silence their voices. Fundamental rights are also challenged in Western soci- This book is about all those who — just as the ety and within the borders of the European laureates — fight for their rights and fairer soci- Union. Global terrorism threatens our citizens’ 9 Foreword most basic freedoms and we should fight it Women continue to be among the most vul- with resolve. However, we must ensure that nerable when it comes to human rights viola- this does not encroach upon our fundamen- tions. The 2013 and 2005 laureates — Malala tal freedoms. Yousafzai and Hauwa Ibrahim — vigorously defend and promote women’s rights, includ- So far, the Sakharov Prize has honoured ing guaranteeing access to education. In fighters for democracy from Cuba three 2016, the Sakharov Prize paid tribute to two times: Guillermo Fariñas in 2010, Damas de courageous Yazidi women from Iraq, Lamya Blanco in 2005, and Oswaldo José Payá Sar- Haji Bashar and Nadia Murad, and in 2014 to diñas in 2002. By recognising Wei Jingsheg in the Congolese doctor Denis Mukwege, for 1996 and Hu Jia in 2008, the prize has twice standing up against the abominable violence emphasised the long and difficult struggle that women and children suffer in conflict. for human rights in China. We have also hon- oured the Russian NGO, Memorial in 2009 and The Sakharov Prize also honours freedom of Iranian activists: Nasrin Sotoudeh and Jafar thought itself, the most intimate of all human Panahi in 2012. rights. Sakharov Prize laureates like Saudi blogger, Raif Badawi, were sent to prison just Freedom of the press has come under threat for expressing their ideas. in many countries where governments try to silence and oppress journalists. When award- Over three decades, the Sakharov laureates have ing the Sakharov Prize to Reporters Without established an inspiring legacy. My hope is that Borders in 2005, to the Belarussian Associa- over the next thirty years, this heritage encour- tion of Journalists in 2004 and to Oslobođenje ages others to care, to commit, and to fight for in 1993, the European Parliament paid tribute a fairer world, making the Sakharov Prize grow to emblematic actors that uphold independ- even stronger. ent journalism as the backbone of democracy. Left-hand page: Ian Berry Following double page: Stuart Franklin South Africa, Lamontville, 1994. China, Beijing, 1989. Supporters of Nelson Mandela await his arrival Rally in Tiananmen Square, which was to be severely during the presidential elections. repressed a few days later. 11 Samrith Vaing Cambodia by Jérôme Sessini 14 Samrith Vaing is 35 years old and immediately introduces himself as an indigenous person. He belongs to Bunong, a minority ethnic group and one of the country’s 24 communities. It is also among its most populous and oldest, having been settled in Mondul Kiri in eastern Cambodia near the border with Vietnam, for almost 2 000 years. Jérôme Sessini, the photographer who spent gobbling up their land with the complicity of several days with him, was struck by the abso- the government. Jérôme Sessini stopped him lute calm of the landscapes and people. The from taking such a risk; the dangers were too villagers exude a simplicity and authenticity great. they want to preserve at all costs. ‘There’s noth- ing abstract or ideological in their make-up,’ The stage is set and the stakes are clear. Here, explained the reporter, who is used to the the defence of individual freedoms cannot be highest-pressure situations in war zones. It dissociated from that of the environment, the would appear to be a very calming environ- forest and its inhabitants, people and animals, ment. ‘It’s difficult to depict political violence,’ such as the monkeys who share the peoples’ he stressed. He did, however, encounter it dur- lives or the dogs that appear in photographs ing their trip to Stung Treng. Samrith wanted as a part of the family. When the photogra- to visit villages in the forest, but the police pher arrived in Cambodia, Samrith Vaing was and military barred access to them. Any con- happy to be able to speak English for an entire tact with the local communities was therefore week. This was an opportunity to improve his impossible. But the human rights activist was command of the language and thus fine- intent on passing the blockade no matter the tune his message, which he addresses to the cost, so great was his desire to convey to his international authorities and people whose visitor the difficulties faced by these commu- awareness he wishes to raise about his cause. nities at the mercy of the Chinese companies The link between people and their land, the Cambodia, Prame, July 2017. Samrith Vaing, human rights activist and Sakharov Prize Fellow. 15 Cambodia, Stung Treng province. Deforestation caused by intensive logging, the expansion of arable land and the construction of dams. Following double page: Cambodia, Mondol Kiri province. The Bunong are the most populous ethnic group in Cambodia’s highlands. They have lived in Mondol Kiri province for 2 000 years. 16 Samrith Vaing conservation of natural environments and the is no doubt as to whether some of the sever- fight against climate change are at the heart ity of their expressions has rubbed off on his of the concerns of this grassroots activist. ‘I go pictures, such as the photo of the open-air to the ground,’ he often repeated, which was market in Stung Treng, where a determined his way of showing how closely involved he young woman sells her home-grown vegeta- was with the people and their problems and bles in the rain. Here the indigenous people worries. have been living under the constant threat of expulsion since a Chinese company began ‘I’m particularly interested in the forest,’ he building a dam. To force them from their said. ‘I expected the government would act homes, the local authorities ban the Bunong and stand by our side in our efforts. But it from using the covered markets, which are, hasn’t done anything. Quite the opposite, in nevertheless, still standing. By leaving them fact: the forest has disappeared. Some activ- exposed to the elements, the authorities ists have even been killed or are currently in are trying to weaken their resolve. They also prison. Others finally succumbed to the pres- know that by imposing these precarious con- sure exerted upon them and gave up.’ Sam- ditions, they are reducing their income. This rith Vaing, however, refuses to let himself be is how they hope to convince the Bunong intimidated. He wants to fight for his people to accept the central government’s offer: to against all injustice, without leaving anyone leave their homes and resettle far away, a long behind. Saving nature to save humanity. way from their ancestral lands and in anon- ymous dwellings in places without history. It was the spectacle of this country and the These relocation programmes are terrifying forest people that persuaded Jérôme Sessini for the Bunong forest people, who ask for no to eschew colour.