by Kerul Dyer for Clear Actions
Last Saturday, organizations and people from Ukraine, Belarus and Russia were awarded the 2022 Nobel Peace Prizes in an emotional ceremony in Oslo, Norway. Acceptance speeches included heart wrenching stories of loss and rights violations, as well as calls to action in solidarity with people in Ukraine who are paying the human price of war.
“Peace, progress and human rights are inextricably linked. A state that kills journalists, imprisons activists or disperses peaceful demonstrations poses a threat not only to its citizens,” said Oleksandra Matviichuk, the director of the Center for Civil Liberties in Ukraine, an award recipient.”Such a state poses a threat to the entire region and peace in the world as a whole.”
Jan Rachinsky, the leader of the Russian human rights group Memorial, accepted the award with a speech filled with eye-opening insights into Russian history and media strategy designed to embolden Russian public support for the war in Ukraine.
“One of the first victims of this madness was the historical memory of Russia itself. Indeed, in order to pass off aggression against a neighboring country as “fighting fascism,” it was necessary to twist the minds of Russian citizens by swapping the concepts of “fascism” and “anti-fascism,”” said Mr. Rachinsky. “Now the Russian mass media refer to the unprovoked armed invasion of a neighboring country, the annexation of territories, terror against civilians in the occupied areas and war crimes as justified by the need to fight fascism.”
Ales Bialiatski received the third Nobel Peace prize even though he is imprisoned in Belarus. His wife Natallia Pinchuk accepted the award in his absence with short, compelling statements.
“In my homeland, the entirety of Belarus is in a prison. Journalists, political scientists, trade union leaders are in jail,” read Natallia Pinchuk, words of her husband Ales. “There are many of my acquaintances and friends among them. The courts work like a conveyor belt, convicts are transported to penal colonies, and new waves of political prisoners take their place.”
As predicted, the 2022 Peace Prize ceremony coincided with more Russian drone air strikes in Ukraine, targeting critical infrastructure, homes, schools.
“Since this Nobel Peace Prize ceremony takes place during the war, I will allow myself to reach out to people around the world and call for solidarity.” said Ukrainian civil liberties defender Oleksandra Matviichu, “You don’t have to be Ukrainian to support Ukraine. It is enough just to be human.”
