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This year’s award winners are three fighters from the political opposition in Belarus.
Vienna / Graz (OTS) – Styria Media Group, Kleine Zeitung, “Presse”, FURCHE and Styria Buchverlage handed over the Fritz Csoklich Democracy Prize to fighters of the political opposition in Belarus yesterday due to the lockdown without guests in the editorial office of the Kleine Zeitung Vienna. Svetlana Tichanowskaja and Veronika Zepkalo received the 10,000 euro award for their courageous fight against dictator Alexander Lukashenko. The third winner, Maria Kolesnikowa, could not be there: she is in solitary confinement in Belarus.
“Svetlana Tichanowskaja, Maria Kolesnikowa and Veronika Zepkalo have been at the forefront of the democracy movement in Belarus since 2020. The country in which the last dictator in Europe, Alexander Lukashenko, is making a name for himself precisely through the use of migrants as a means of political pressure. Lukashenko is not recognized by the EU as a legitimate president because of electoral fraud. In his own country he can silence every voice that opposes him “, the jury records in its reasoning: “The three women became the face of change, they were the peaceful answer to violence.”
The Belarusian writer and translator wrote in her laudation Yulya Tsimafeyeva about Swetlana Tichanowskaja, Maria Kolesnikowa and Veronika Zepkalo: “Brave, compassionate, emphatic, optimistic, energetic and beautiful – you are the new generation of Belarusian politicians, my generation. You created the positive and bright image of my country in a situation in which Belarus was just a blank spot on the post-Soviet map. ” The acceptance speeches by Tichanowskaya and Zepkalo were brief, urgent and humble: Both emphasized that the honor did not apply to them personally, but to all their compatriots who fearlessly stand up for freedom, democracy and the rule of law in Belarus.
“I really believe that Belarus will be a success story. Together we will bring about change in our country – through free elections. We have wonderful people in Belarus. After such cruel experiences, we will build a new Belarus – where people are respected, where law and order prevail, where people feel free and can speak their minds. I am very optimistic that we can do it“, so Swetlana Tichanowskaja.
“I will do everything I can to ensure that all political prisoners in Belarus are released, that my country has a future and that my children can grow up in a free country”, Veronika Zepkalo also emphasizes in an interview with FURCHE editor-in-chief Doris Helmberger-Fleckl as well as editors-in-chief Hubert Patterer (Kleine Zeitung) and Rainer Nowak (“Presse”) and Styria book publishing manager Elisabeth Stein-Hölzl.
Austria’s Foreign Minister Michael Linhart emphasizes: “Women are the spearhead of the democracy movement in Belarus. Maria Kolesnikowa, Svetlana Tichanowskaja and Veronika Zepkalo symbolize all those who tirelessly raise their voices for democracy, human rights and the dignity of each and every individual. Their courage and determination are an inspiration to all of us and our common goal of an independent, free, democratic and prosperous Belarus. “
Styria-CEO Markus Mair: “Freedom of expression, freedom of the press, democratic values and a willingness to democracy, clarification and education must also be the foundation of the future: Without them, it will not work. They offer a solid intellectual basis, as also represented by Fritz Csoklich throughout his life, regardless of the zeitgeist. Fritz Csoklich was a role model. This year’s award winners are no less. “
The Fritz Csoklich Democracy Prize as a work of art was once again designed by artist and calligrapher Claudia Dzengel.
About the Fritz Csoklich Democracy Prize: The prize is aimed at domestic and foreign people from politics, business, science, religion and journalism. Against the background of growing social polarization, loosing social brackets, increasingly difficult understanding, doubts about the European project and growing nationalisms, the winners must contribute to changing these developments for the better. So that opposites are overcome, physical and spiritual boundaries are broken, and democracy within and the understanding of the European project are strengthened.
Jury: Karin Bergmann, former director of the Vienna Burgtheater; Brigitte Bierlein, former Austrian Chancellor; Michael Csoklich, journalist; Irmgard Griss, former President of the Supreme Court and candidate for the Federal Presidency; Doris Helmberger-Fleckl, editor-in-chief “Die Furche”; Helga Kromp-Kolb, meteorologist and climate expert; Markus Mair, CEO Styria Media Group; Rainer Nowak, editor-in-chief and managing director of “Die Presse”; Matthias Opis, Managing Director of Styria Buchverlage; Hubert Patterer, editor-in-chief and managing director of the Kleine Zeitung; Manfred Prisching, sociologist; Eva Schlegel, artist; Lojze Wieser, author; Kurt Wimmer, former editor-in-chief of the Kleine Zeitung.
Inquiries & contact:
Margot Hohl
Styria Media Group
Head of Corporate Communications
margot, hollow@styria.com
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:quality(70):focal(795x595:805x605)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/liberation/P7F5GXRHUFHOXCPAEEZAPOQYBE.jpg "Death of Dave Hickey, art without manners")
