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Events >> The Democracy Award >> 2002 Democracy Award
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Mariam Hussein Mohamed First Lady, Honorable Guest Members, Ladies and Gentlemen. Thank you for giving me this opportunity to say a few words; I am very much delighted to receive this award. It is an award to all Human Rights Defenders in my area, the Horn of Africa, which experienced the worst atrocities in the form of abuses, mass killings, destruction of properties and lootings. Most of these atrocities were directed against women and children, in the same time, women were mostly the bread earner during the civil strife. To address the above problem, we have devised participatory Human Rights - Empowerment Approach. This approach places fundamental importance on organizing of victim groups. Individually victims are powerless - but collectively, their voices to reckon with, to fight against structural cause and the process of victimization and marginalization. Therefore, we started a series of empowerment processes through training, advocacy and peace networking, reconciliation and forgiveness. I emphasize that these efforts and their realizations could not be accomplished without the generous assistance, both financial and know-how, provided by the NED. We thank them very much. We would like to make an appeal to all concerned parties. The atrocities happening now in our region is not Godsent, it is manmade and everybody knows his or her names. They are caused by the greedy and kindless warlords, who use child soldiers to terrorize women and powerless citizens. They are those who prevent the Rule of Law and the emergence of Good Governance. We ask the International body to make them accountable for the crimes committed by these vicious warlords. Thank you all. Mehrangiz Kar Thank, you very much, Mrs. Bush and Senator Biden. It is an honor and privilege to receive this award. I accept it with heartfelt gratitude in the name of Iranian students who three years ago on this day rose up to peacefully protest censorship and support freedom of speech and were ruthlessly suppressed; in the name of the women of Iran who endanger themselves each day as they strive for the simplest and most elementary expressions of independence; in the name of the children of Iran who count on us to give them a future; in the name of my husband who remains in prison, his whereabouts unknown, his fate in the hands of vigilantes who seem to answer to no one; in the name of my daughters who have grown from ordinary adolescents into fighters for justice. In their name I thank you and I ask you to support the Iranian people's struggle for democracy. Muborak Tashpulatova When I told my eleven-year old son that I am going to receive the Democracy Award, he said, "Oh is it an Oscar of democracy? I feel that it is a great honor for me but also for all my colleagues in Uzbekistan and other countries who for the last eight years helped us to build a civil society, to create out of individuals - citizens. It is paradoxical but I feel that this award belongs also to the National Endowment for Democracy whose support was so important to us. It is very important in those countries which became independent after seventy years of communist rule that we find our own way to become citizens. It is very difficult. We have been raised as subject peoples and not as citizens, but we want our children to be different. What does it mean to be a citizen? But civic education is not sufficient if there is no civic environment, if there is no free press, free elections, freedom of assembly, or other democratic, human or liberal freedoms. Throughout the centuries, Islam coexisted in Uzbekistan with other religions and traditions. You can still go today to a Christian church in Samarkand, see statues of Buddha near the border of Afghanistan or visit famous Jewish communities in Buchara. When the fanatical fundamentalists kill people and claim that he who is not with them, is against them, they do not sound like God-loving Muslims, but like Bolsheviks, who had already once destroyed our lives, our culture, our tradition, our families. Please remember that in democratic countries the fanatics, the fundamentalists, the terrorists are not such a threat as in dictatorships, and that is why we want to build a democracy in Uzbekistan. Only educated citizens can oppose fanatics. Mrs. Bush, thank you very much for being here with us today. I would like to tell President Bush, all the Members of Congress and all of the American people, that the people of Uzbekistan also love freedom, democracy and independence as much as the American people do. Thank you very much. Nadjet Bouda Esalam Ala el djamia, in Arabic this means PEACE BE WITH YOU, and I hope that one day peace will reign not only here but also in my country. I would like to thank the National Endowment for Democracy for offering me this award. Through which they are not only recognizing me, but also many other genuine Algerian activists, who are waging a continuous battle against dictatorship, all dictatorship, because we strongly believe that there is no such thing as enlightened despots or dictators. These activists fight daily for peace and democracy in Algeria. This moment is one of the special moments of my life. At such moments, I always like to share special thoughts with those around me. My first thought is of the person who has always been behind me during my years of struggle. She has always been there and has always encouraged me to continue my fight. I would like to tell you about my mam, who is a very traditional woman. She never had the opportunity to study at the university or read about the theories or Rousseau or Jefferson. But she nevertheless understands the utility and importance of this cause, our cause, which is that of peace and democracy. This traditional woman, who, each time that I got ready to go out and protest or make a public statement, had a fear in her heart for her daughter. Only god knows how difficult it is for a mother to experience that, especially in a country that is in the middle of an armed conflict that has claimed thousand of lives. She feared I could be manipulated, or raped or even assassinated. In spite of all of this, she never asked me to give up my fight. For this I would like to say thank you mam, thanks for being there for me, thanks for believing in me, and thanks for charring me with this cause. Secondly, I would like to thank my sincere comrades and friends in Algeria, with whom I fight side by side in spite of all the obstacles. My comrades are not only members of the two civil society organizations with which I'm active (I mean le Rassemblement - Actions Jeunesse, and SOS Disparus), but are also found throughout Algerian society. They are journalists who, in spite of all the pressures and difficulties that they face both from their editor as well as from the regime, try to ensure that the voice of truth is heard. They are the activists within civil society and political parties who fight on a daily basis to establish a culture of democracy in Algeria. They are also simple citizens and courageous youths in all the regions of the country, who speak out against injustice and in favor of human dignity. I would also like to thank all my comrades and friends in the international community, who I do consider essential partners in the fight for truth and justice, which for me are the key building blocks of peace and democracy. I would like to share this prize with all of you: my mother, my Algerian friends and my fellow international activists. And I would like to say to you all:" TODAY MORE THAN EVER, WE MUST CONTINUE OUR FIGHT". Since September 11,2001, the world has a new understanding of the importance of fighting against terrorism. As someone who has lived more than ten years of terrorist violence in my own country, I see this as a positive effect of this terrible human tragedy. But, from the experience of my country, I can tell you that fighting terrorism by arms alone will not bring an end to this deadly violence. In my country, the policy of combating terrorism through armed means alone has cost us one hundred twenty thousand lives, thousand of disappeared persons, a destroyed economy and a profound isolation from the rest of the world. If it is true that the level of violence has decreased since the terrible time of the mid 90's, it also true that hundreds of innocent people still die each year. In my opinion, this is not a victory. And the roots of terrorism remain as strong today as during the 1990's. WHY???. In my opinion, the factors that produced terrorism in the 1990's still exist in Algeria today. My fellow countrymen, countrywomen and I need your help to fight against the roots of this terrorism. They are found in: First: the limits to freedom of expression and association in my country; Second: the absence of the rule of law and an independent judiciary; Third: the lack of transparency and public confidence in our electoral process and political institutions; Fourth: corruption and poor economic management that have led to the wasting of our resources and failure to create jobs for the thousands of youth that enter the job market each year; And fifth, they are also the result of the inequalities of the world economic and political systems that means that most of the resources are from the south, but most of the decisions are made in the north. I would like to invite you to help us to fight against the roots of terrorism in Algeria by assisting us to combat the political, economic and social injustices that led to this terrible phenomenon. I would like to ask the policy makers present in the audience tonight to remember these issues in discussions with your Algerian counterparts. I would like to ask the civil society activists in the room to continue and intensify exchange programs with my fellow Algerian activists. I would like to invite the journalists among us tonight to reach out to your peers in Algeria and share your experience with them. And I would love to ask the American people to open your heart to and to include in your prayers the thirty million Algerians who dream one day of fully assuming their rights as citizens in a land of PEACE. Thank you once again for this honor, thanks for sharing this special moment with me. May good be with you. Wa el salam alaikoum wa rahmatou ellah. |
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