Editorial The Nobel Peace Prize is an emergency call for democracy

Editorial|Editorial

Democracy and there is freedom only when there are also independent and free media, recalls this year’s Nobel Peace Prize. This is an emergency call, because at the same time the development of democracy is waning.

Filipino journalist Maria Ressa had to go through four courts in order to be allowed to travel to Norway to pick up a peace prize for her and Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov on Friday. Ressa, who founded the Rappler news site, has repeatedly criticized Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, and Ressa is now free only on bail. He is pressured not only by charges but also by death threats.

When she arrived in Oslo, Ressa wore a face mask that read that journalism is not a crime. The same strong message about freedom of speech is with Muratov, the founder of the Novaya Gazeta newspaper, who dedicates his peace prize to the newspaper’s murdered journalists.

World has also recently followed two former Nobel laureates, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmedia and the ousted leader of Myanmar, Aung San Suu Kyi. The situation for both is grim.

Just two years ago, Nobel Laureate Abiy Ahmed quickly betrayed the international community’s expectations that Ethiopia would become a stabilizer in the Horn of Africa. Abiy Ahmed drove his country into a civil war and a serious humanitarian crisis.

The 1991 Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi has been under arrest since February, when the military junta seized power. Although Aung San Suu Kyi also led Myanmar in contradictory ways, now the military is in power again. The military is forcibly suppressing pro-democracy demonstrations, and Myanmar’s once-so-hopeful future has turned into a concern for the collapse of the entire state.

The junta has just sentenced Aung San Suu Kyi to two years in prison. The verdict cannot be accepted.

The editorials are HS’s statements on a topical issue. The writings are prepared by HS’s editorial staff and reflect the magazine principle.