By Iffat Hassan Rizvi – Oslo
Filipino journalist Maria Ressa has said that she is facing seven different criminal charges for her journalistic work and for travelling to receive Nobel Peace Prize 2021.
Speaking to TLTP correspondent Iffat Hassan Rizvi in Oslo along with fellow laureate Dmitry Muratov of Russia, Maria Ressa told that she had to get permission from four different courts in Philippines to get the prize. Nobel laureate Ressa further told “It takes a lot to be here, in Philippines you tell stories at your own risk.”
On 8th October this year the Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize 2021 to Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov for their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression. Journalists Maria Ressa, of the Philippines, and Dmitry Muratov, of Russia, have won this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, recognised “for their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression”, which the prize-giving committee described as being under threat worldwide. The two were given the prestigious award “for their courageous fight for freedom of expression in the Philippines and Russia,” Berit Reiss-Andersen, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee had expressed on October this year.
“If they are going to call us foreign agents because of Nobel Peace Prize, we will not get upset”. Nobel Laureate Dmitry Muratov, a journalist from Russia said while responding to a question during press conference about reaction of Russian government on his peace prize victory. Terming his Nobel Peace Prize as prize for whole journalistic community Dmitry Muratov expressed, “Journalists always helped people but now the society have to help the journalists”.
According to a justification note released by the Nobel Committee Maria Ressa uses her freedom of speech to expose abuses of power, violence and authoritarian development in her native Philippines. In 2012, Ressa co-founded Rappler, an Internet-based media house for investigative journalism. Rappler has focused critically on controversial drug killing campaign. Ressa and Rappler have further documented how social media is used to spread fake news, harass dissidents and manipulate public discourse.
Dmitry Andreyevich Muratov has defended freedom of expression for many years in Russia under increasingly demanding conditions. In 1993, he co-founded the independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta. Novaya Gazeta is the most independent and principally critical newspaper in today’s Russia. Despite killings and threats, editor Muratov has refused to give up the newspaper’s independent line.
Since 1901 the Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded 101 times, to 132 laureates: 90 men, 17 women and 25 organizations. With regard to the Peace Prize, the will of Alfred Nobel stipulated that it was to be awarded to the person “who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses”. Over the course of time the Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded in recognition of many different kinds of peace work and concepts of peace.
The Nelson Mandela Peace Bench:
Celebrations of Nobel Peace week commenced from December 09, also included the installation of Peace Bench at Oslo City Hall Square outside the Nobel Peace Center. The peace bench has been named after the Nelson Mandela’s famous quote ‘The best weapon is to sit down and talk’, which is engraved on the installation.
It is pertinent to mention that The Law Today Pakistan (TLTP) is the only news wire service from the country which correspondent is currently covering the event of Nobel Peace Prize 2021 in Oslo. Talking to TLTP, the head of information at Nobel Peace Centre Ms Ingvill Bryn Rambol informed that the installed peace bench outside Peace centre will inspire people for a good dialogue saying it will highlight the importance of conversation.
