14 Oct 2022 Nobel Peace Prize & Nobel in Literature
Sources: The Hindu; The Indian Express
News: Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on October 7, 2022 to advocate Ales Bialiatski from Belarus for Human rights, Memorial (Russian Human rights organisation) and Center for Civil Liberties from Ukraine.
- The Norwegian Nobel Committee academy honored champions of human rights, democracy and peaceful co-existence in the neighboring countries Belarus, Russia and Ukraine.
- Last year (2021) Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Dmitry Muratov and Maria Ressa journalists from Russia and Philippines for “their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression.
Image Credit: Indian Express
Key Contributions of Ales Bialiatski:
- In the mid-1980s, Belarus witnessed the emergence of the democracy movement. Ales Bialiatski was one of the initiators of this movement.
- Ales Bialiatski devoted his whole life for democracy promotion and peaceful development of Belarus.
- His organisation Viasna(Spring) that he founded in 1986 evolved into a broad- based organisation.
- Viasna(Spring)documented and protested against the authorities’ use of torture against political prisoners.
- Since 2020, Ales Bialiatski has been detained without trial. But, despite tremendous personal hardship, Mr Bialiatski did not give up his fight for human rights and democracy in Belarus.
Key Contributions of Human rights organisation Memorial:
- Memorial was established in 1987 by human rights activists in the former Soviet Union on the notion that confronting past crimes is essential in preventing new ones.
- Memorial tries to ensure that the World should not forget the victims of the communist regime’s oppression.
- Another aim of the organisation is to combat militarism and promote human rights and government based on rule of law.
- Memorial gathered verified evidence of abuses and war crimes committed against the Chechen population by Russian and pro-Russian forces during Chechen wars.
- The Academy while giving the award noted the contribution of Natalia Estemirova(Head of Memorial’s branch in Chechnya) who was killed in 2009 because of her work.
Key Contributions of the Center for Civil Liberties,Ukraine:
- Aim of the Center for Civil Liberties was strengthening democracy and human rights in Ukraine.
- It supported strengthening Ukrainian civil society and put pressure on the government to turn Ukraine into a full-fledged democracy.
- It played a pioneer role in holding guilty parties accountable for their crimes.
- Center documented Russian war crimes against the Ukrainian population during the Russian invasion in February 2022.
- After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in, the center has engaged in efforts to identify and document Russian war crimes.
Controversies surrounding Nobel Peace Prize:
- Politically contentious choice of some laureates as it often reflects the geopolitical choices of the west.
- Disagreement over word peace including the question of peace for whom.
- Universal apostle of peace i.e. Mahatma Gandhi was overlooked by the Committee.
Nobel Prize in Literature(2022):
Image Credit: The Hindu
- French author Annie Ernaux is awarded the Nobel Prize in literature.
- According to the Academy Nobel Prize in Literature(2022) is awarded to the French author Annie Ernaux “for the courage and clinical acuity with which she uncovers the roots, estrangements and collective restraints of personal memory.”
- Further academy said that Ms. Ernaux believes in the liberating force of writing. Her work is uncompromising and written in plain language, scraped clean.
- Tanzanian-born UK-based writer Abdulrazak Gurnah received last year(2021)’s Nobel Prize in literature.His novels explore the impact of migration on individuals and societies.
Articles:
1.Peace, Prize, politics: On 2022 Peace Nobel
2.Nobel Peace Prize for 2022: A statement as Russia-Ukraine war rages
3.Belarus activist Ales Bialiatski, Russian and Ukrainian organisations get Nobel Peace Prize
Article Links:
1.https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/peace-prize-politics-on-the-nobel-peace-prize/article65989111.ece
2.https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/nobel-peace-prize-ales-bialiatski-memorial-center-for-civil-liberties-russia-war-8196817/
3.https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/ales-bialiatski-russian-and-ukrainian-organisations-get-nobel-peace-prize/article65979756.ece
4.https://www.thehindu.com/books/nobel-prize-in-literature-goes-to-french-author-annie-ernaux/article65975200.ece
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