Olatz Hernandez
Correspondent. Brussels
Monday, September 30, 2024, 7:00 p.m.
The leader of the Venezuelan opposition María Corina Machado received the Václav Havel award from the Council of Europe on Monday, a gesture that once again shows the international community’s rejection of Nicolás Maduro’s regime. The institution – made up of 46 countries and which is independent of the European Union (EU) – awarded Machado with a cash prize of 60,000 euros for “his outstanding action in civil society and in defense of Human Rights.”
The Venezuelan politician was disqualified as a candidate in the presidential elections of July 28 in Venezuela, has been hiding since August of this year for fear of reprisals and addressed the Council Assembly through a recording, after her daughter Ana picked up the award in his name.
In her message, the opponent said she felt “deeply moved, honored and grateful” and stressed that her movement has demonstrated “the victory of the democrats against the dictatorship.” She dedicated the award “to the millions of Venezuelans who embody Havel’s values and ideas every day” and noted that the importance of this recognition “is immense,” not only for her, but for all those who fight together “for the cause.” of freedom in Venezuela.
This award is named after the humanist and former president of the Czech Republic and is awarded each year to an outstanding figure in the defense of Human Rights. In his speech at the award ceremony, the President of the Assembly of the Council of Europe, Theodoros Rousopoulos, noted that six of the eleven previous winners of the Václav Havel Human Rights Prize are in prison and urged their immediate release. “These individuals only committed a crime, they simply wanted their voices to be heard to share their vision of a just and free society.”
In the case of María Corina Machado, the president assured that her name “is next to those whose lives are at risk to create more democratic and just societies.” The other two nominees were Azervajan activist Akif Gurbanov, detained in Baku, and Georgian feminist and humanitarian activist Babutsa Pataraia.
Sakharov nominee
The Venezuelan, co-founder of the civil organization Súmate and previously a member of the National Assembly, is also among the nominees for the European Parliament’s Sakharov Prize, along with the opposition candidate, Edmundo González, who is in Spain and wants to file an asylum application. The two names appear, at the proposal of the popular Europeans, on the list of possible candidates for what is the highest award given by the European Parliament. The final decision will be announced at the end of October.
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