Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2009-12-16-Speech-3-144"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20091216.12.3-144"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:translated text |
"It is a great honour for me to be presenting this prize today to the Memorial organisation. Yet, at the same time, I feel angry that it is still necessary to be presenting such awards in Europe – on this occasion to our Russian friends for their work in defence of human rights. This year we commemorated the 20th anniversary of the death of Andrei Sakharov, one of the founders of Memorial. If he were here today, would he feel pride, or more a sense of sadness, that today’s Russia still needs such organisations?
Andrei Sakharov lived to see the start of the changes in Central and Eastern Europe, he saw the Berlin Wall coming down and the beginnings of the freedoms for which he had fought. It is our belief that today’s human rights activists in Russia will see genuine and lasting freedom; the type of freedom that we enjoy in the European Union. That is what we wish today for all of Russia’s citizens.
Every year we, the Members of this House, award the Sakharov Prize as a reminder that throughout the world, people’s fundamental rights must be guaranteed. People must have the right to freedom of belief and freedom of thought. For, as Andrei Sakharov himself said, and I quote: ‘freedom of thought is the only guarantee against an infection of people by mass myths, which, in the hands of treacherous hypocrites and demagogues, can be transformed into bloody dictatorship.’ That is why the European Parliament upholds the right to freedom of thought, and will continue to do so, both within and outside Europe.
In awarding the Sakharov Prize today, the Members of this House, directly elected by the citizens of the EU’s 27 Member States, wish to show their support to everyone throughout the world who is fighting for basic values. The European Union has a noble mission: it is our task to act in defence of freedom of expression and thought in every corner of the world. We hope that, in this area, Russia will be a partner on whom we can rely."@en1
|
| lpv:unclassifiedMetadata | |
| lpv:videoURI |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples