P24 awarded Human Rights and Democracy Prize in Norway

  
T24 columnist and Punto 24 Platform for Independent Journalism (P24) Founding President Hasan Cemal received on Sunday this year’s Sjur Lindebrække Prize for Human Rights and Democracy in Norway.
 
The award ceremony, held at the closing of the ruling Conservative Party’s annual convention in Gardermoen near Oslo, was attended by Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg. Cemal was awarded the prize for his work at P24.
 
Janne Haaland Matlary, a professor of international relations at the Oslo University and chair of the Sjur Lindebrække Prize for Human Rights and Democracy jury this year, said at the award ceremony that the prize, named in honor of Sjur Lindebrække who was a jurist as well as a politician, was given to individuals or organizations that become a source of inspiration for others with their works towards promoting human rights, democracy, the rule of law and separation of powers.

 Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg (left) and jury chair Professor Janne Haaland Matlary (right) are seen together with Hasan Cemal and Yasemin Çongar. 

“Turkey is a great country, with its cultural heritage, literature and history. And Hasan Cemal is one of Turkey’s leading intellectuals sharing his opinions with the society,” Matlary said. “Today, we are giving this prize, upon a unanimous decision of the jury, to Hasan Cemal on behalf of the P24, of which he is the founding president, for the work they did to defend freedom of expression and the rights of journalists,” she said.
 
Speaking at the ceremony, Hasan Cemal said he received the prize on behalf of the colleagues who are in prison.
 
Full text of Cemal’s speech is as follows:
 
 
The world in its present state scares me.
 
Because democracy is wearing out; both across Europe and in America.
 
Liberty, rule of law, tolerance — values that make democracy what it is — are increasingly wearing out.
 
The fundamental principles of a democracy, such as the separation of powers, independence of the judiciary, freedom of the press are all being dealt blow after blow.
 
Yes, the world in our present day scares me.
 
Because the ghosts of yesterday have started making fresh appearances.
 
Nationalism, racism, ethnocentrism, fanaticism, all of which made the world, and Europe in particular, suffer horribly in the previous century, have been regaining strength.
 
Political movements with worldviews dominated by populism, which assume that winning the elections gives them the right to do whatever they wish, are coming to power.
 
Trump says, “America First.”
 
Putin, seeking to divide the European Union and create cracks within the NATO, is longing for the past, the Soviet Union.
 
The world is headed towards yet another Cold War era.
 
The world as it is today, scares me.
 
Whereas back in 1989, I was full of so much hope when the Berlin Wall was torn down.
 
Because back then, winds of democracy, rule of law and liberty were in the air.
 
I had high hopes for a bright future lying ahead of the world and Turkey.
 
Thirty years have passed since.
 
Now, I am scared.
 
History is once again deceiving me!
 
Everything is turning upside down.
 
The West is disintegrating!
 
The United States under the Trump administration is retiring into its own shell, leaving Europe on its own.
 
The malady that is nationalism has been eating at the fundamentals of the European Union, presumably the grandest peace project in the history of the world, which emerged in the aftermath of the Second World War.
 
I cannot help but wonder:
 
Has Europe not had enough tragedies? Or is it going to once again fall into the bloodstained trap of nationalism?
 
I am not sure. I cannot remain hopeful.
 
But it is not only the world in our present day that scares me; Turkey as it is today scares me too.
 
And it scares me very badly.
 
Because this version of Turkey is on an Islamist-nationalist track.
 
This version of Turkey neglects the principles of democracy, it disregards freedoms.
 
This is a Turkey where the rule of law, the separation of powers, the independence of the judiciary are rapidly declining…
 
This is a Turkey that has almost entirely abandoned free and independent press…
 
This is a Turkey whose prisons are crammed with journalists, writers, and particularly Kurdish politicians…
 
This is a Turkey where my acclaimed colleagues and dear friends Nazlı Ilıcak, Ahmet Altan, Mehmet Altan, Enis Berberoğlu, Osman Kavala, Ali Bulaç, Ahmet Turan Alkan, Akın Atalay, Selahattin Demirtaş, Gültan Kışanak, Ayla Akat, Fırat Anlı, Aysel Tuğluk, Celalettin Can, among many others, are being deprived of their liberty and thrown behind bars…
 
This is a Turkey that dislikes different colors in life, that cannot tolerate differences…
 
This is a Turkey that has made monologism its utmost priority.
 
This is a Turkey that embarks on “cross-border adventures” in the Middle East; a Turkey that has almost turned advocating peace into a crime.
 
Sadly, this is neither the world that I hoped for, nor the Turkey in my dreams.
 
I am now 74 years old, and I have been a journalist for the past 49 years.
 
I wish I could live in a better world, in a better Turkey.
 
But when the “zeitgeist” is missed, I suppose, time does exact revenge.
 
As for the conclusion…
 
Yes, I’m afraid history will once again deceive me!
 
How sad…
 
I would like to once again express my gratitude to you for choosing to bestow this award on P24. Today, Yasemin Çongar and I accept this award on behalf of our friends, fellow colleagues and politicians who are currently imprisoned.

Tags: hasan cemal, Sjur Lindebrække Prize for Human Rights and Democracy