BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS
DATE:
12/12/2006
Freedom Of Thought Prize Awarded To Belarus Opposition Leader
The 2006 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought has been awarded to Aliaksandr Milinkevich, the Belarusian opposition leader, in a ceremony today in Strasbourg.
The Sakharov Prize, awarded by the European Parliament, recognises exceptional people or organisations fighting against oppression, intolerance and injustice.
Accepting the prize, Mr. Milinkevich said:
"Today we are fighting for freedom and defending our independence. We are doing this for our children, who like French, Lithuanian, Polish and British children have the right to live in a free country."
Milinkevich was jailed for his part in protests following the presidential elections in Belarus in March this year, which European election observers declared to be seriously flawed.
Nelson Mandela and Kofi Annan are both former recipients of the Sakharov Prize, which was founded in 1988. The award is named after Andrei Sakharov (1921 - 1989), a Russian dissident and Nobel Prize winner.
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