In a Nobel Lecture, Olexandra Matviychuk, a representative of Ukraine's Center for Civil Liberties, told the gathering in Oslo: "Russia is deliberately inflicting harm on civilians aiming to stop our resistance and occupy Ukraine. (...) This is not a war between two states, it is a war of two systems – authoritarianism and democracy."
She went on to say: "We have to establish an international tribunal and bring Putin, Lukashenko [Belarusian president ed.] and other war criminals to justice."
The Russian co-winner of this year's Nobel Peace Prize, Jan Rachinsky, who heads Memorial, asked in his speech: "Yes, we have tried to resist the erosion of historical memory and legal consciousness by documenting crimes of both the past and the present. (...) But did our work prevent the catastrophe of 24 February?" referring to the date Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
"The monstrous burden that fell on our shoulders that day became heavier after we received the news that the prize had been awarded to us," Rachinsky added, calling Russia's decision to invade to Ukraine "insane and criminal."
When the Norwegian Nobel Committee announced its decision on this year's laureates, committee chairwoman Berit Reiss-Andersen said it wished "to honour three outstanding champions of human rights, democracy and peaceful co-existence in the neighbour countries Belarus, Russia and Ukraine."
(ał)
Source: Reuters, IAR