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The 2021 Nobel Peace Prize this year goes to journalists Maria Ressa of the Philippines and Dmitry Muratov of Russia.
Journalist Maria Ressa of the Philippines and journalist Dmitry Muratov of Russia will be awarded the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize for protecting freedom of expression. The Norwegian Nobel Committee made the announcement Friday in Oslo. They would be honored “for their courageous fight for freedom of expression in the Philippines and Russia.”
At the same time, both are representatives of all journalists who stand up for this ideal in a world where democracy and freedom of the press are encountering increasingly unfavorable conditions, said the committee’s chairwoman, Berit Reiss-Andersen. “Free, independent and fact-based journalism” is a protection “against abuse of power, lies and war propaganda,” she said. “Without freedom of expression and freedom of the press, it becomes difficult to successfully promote fraternity between nations, disarmament and a better world order.”
Maria Ressa uses freedom of speech to expose abuses of power, violence and authoritarianism in her country, she said. Ressa co-founded Rappler in 2012, a digital media investigative journalism company.
“I’m a little bit shocked. It’s really emotional, but I’m happy on behalf of my team and I’d like to thank the Nobel Committee for recognizing what we’re going through,” Ressa told Norwegian TV2 after the announcement.
Muratov co-founded the independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta in 1993, which is the “most independent newspaper in Russia today, with a fundamentally critical attitude toward power,” the committee said, praising Novaya Gazeta’s “fact-based journalism,” in addition to its “professional integrity.”
Muratov has been the newspaper’s editor-in-chief since 1995. For decades, he has defended “freedom of speech in Russia under increasingly difficult conditions,” the Nobel Committee said. In the newspaper, he said, topics were discussed that were rarely mentioned in the country’s media. Since its founding, Novaya Gazeta has published articles on corruption and election fraud, for example, as well as “troll factories.”
Last year, the UN World Food Program (WFP) was awarded the prize for its fight against hunger in conflict areas. The WFP was a driving force in preventing hunger from being used as a weapon, it said.
-picture: rte.de
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