BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

13/12/2006

EU awards Belarus opposition leader with humanitarian prize

CBC News

The European Union awarded its top human rights award Wednesday to the main political rival of Belarus's president, honouring opposition leader Alexander Milinkevich for his fight for democracy in the former Soviet republic.

To a standing ovation, Milinkevich received the European Parliament's Sakharov Prize in the French city of Strasbourg.

He told the chamber that dictators do not last for long and said "we have to fight for freedom and independence again : for our children, just as French, Lithuanian, Polish and British children are entitled to live in freedom."

Jailed twice in recent weeks on suspicion of minor offences, he dedicated the prize to freedom fighters.

Milinkevich became a symbol of Belarus's persecuted opposition when he ran against Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko in March and lost. The EU and Washington condemned what they saw to be widespread abuses in Belarus and called the polls fraudulent.

Lukashenko claimed an 83 per cent victory and Milinkevich came second in the election with only six per cent of the vote. The results triggered mass protests that were broken up by police after four days.

The Sakharov Prize comes with a ?50,000 ($75,768 Cdn) cheque. Milinkevich said he would donate the funds to help Belarusians who have suffered for political ideals.

The award ceremony came as Alexander Kozulin, the other rival candidate to Lukashenko in March, ended a 53-day hunger strike in a Minsk jail, where he landed after the rallies protesting the election results.

Washington and a number of European lawmakers have branded Belarus Europe's "last dictatorship."

With files from the Associated Press

Source:

http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2006/12/13/belarus-prize-061213.html

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