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For printed copies contact:
World Movement for Democracy |
Democracy Courage Tributes
Presented at the John B. Hurford Memorial Dinner
At its biennial assemblies, the World Movement for Democracy pays tribute to democratic groups and movements that have demonstrated exceptional courage in their work and who have struggled for the most part outside the spotlight of world attention. By highlighting their accomplishments, the World Movement seeks not only to offer some richly deserved recognition, but also to build a strong sense of solidarity with fellow democrats around the world.
This year's recipients were as follows:
The Democracy Activists in Vietnam
We recognize two particularly heroic figures: Hoang Minh Chinh, a former high-ranking member of the Communist Party, and Buddhist dissident Thich Quang Do, Deputy Leader of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam, who has spent over 25 years in detention for his non-violent advocacy of religious freedom, human rights, and democracy. Even from prison, these men and many others like them from both the secular and religious communities have dared to disseminate messages defending human rights, increased pluralism, and the rule of law in Vietnam.
The Human Rights and Democracy Movement in Uzbekistan
During the past year, more than a dozen Uzbek activists, including human rights defenders, journalists, and opposition politicians, have been jailed on spurious charges. We pay tribute to the following groups that have continued their extraordinary advocacy in the face of this campaign of repression: Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan-Ezgulik, Mothers Against the Death Penalty and Torture, Legal Aid Society of Uzbekistan, Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan, Ozod Ovoz, Arena news service, Burning Hearts, Appellation, and members of the political opposition parties Free Peasant's Party, Sunshine Uzbekistan, Erk and Berlik.
The Civil Society of Nepal
Over the past eight years, Nepal has been besieged by one of Asia's deadliest conflicts that has resulted in over 10,000 deaths. In the decade and a half since its democratic transition, Nepal has struggled to contend with both a Maoist insurgency and a repressive and anti-democratic monarchy. Nepal is a country of 26 million people where over 40 percent live below the poverty line and where ethnic and caste divisions continue to plague the country. Nepal's tenacious civil society, which must work in the limited space between the Maoists and the monarchy, continues to fight to reestablish the democracy that appeared briefly just over 15 years ago. Since the tribute was made at the Assembly, hundreds of thousands of Nepalis went to the streets demanding the restoration of democracy. The king, facing the prospect of large and growing street protests and an increasingly unsupportive international community, relinquished the absolute control he had wielded since February 2005 and quickly moved to reconstitute the parliament, which he had originally dissolved in 2002.
The Crimean Tatars and their Mejlis (Parliament)
The Crimean Tatars continue to struggle to build democratic culture while supporting democratic change. We pay tribute to this movement and especially to one of its heroic figures, Mustafa Djemilev, who spent a total of 18 years in the gulag as a prisoner of conscience, and to the Mejlis (parliament) that he heads and helped shape into a unique self-governing body.
The John B. Hurford Memorial Dinner was sponsored by the Hurford Foundation, whose President, Robert Miller, offered his appreciation to all of the Movement's participants "for your extraordinary efforts on behalf of the people of the world." He added: "Our Foundation is committed to continuing its support of your efforts." The Democracy Courage Tributes dinner is named for John Boyce Hurford (1938-2000), an internationalist and philanthropist who played an important role in helping to conceptualize and bring into being the World Movement for Democracy. Previous Tribute recipients include The Democracy Movement in Sudan, The Democracy Movement in Belarus, The Mano River Union Civil Society Movement, The Israel-Palestine Center for Research and Information (Israel)/ Panorama (Palestine). |
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