The foundation that awards the Right Livelihood Award expressed concern over a decision by Cambodia to bar three environmental activists who are serving suspended prison sentences for their advocacy work from travelling to Sweden to receive the prize known as the “alternative Nobel.”
The Right Livelihood Foundation also called for the ruling to be reconsidered and said that next month’s award presentation in Stockholm will go on as planned.
“While we are saddened by this news, we are proud of the work undertaken by Mother Nature Cambodia in the face of adversity,” the foundation said.
On Monday, the chief prosecutor with the Phnom Penh Municipal Court said the trip by Thon Ratha, Phuong Keo Reaksmey and Long Khunthea was “not necessary”. They had asked for permission to make the trip Nov 24- Dec 1 to receive the award.
Last month, Mother Nature Cambodia was announced as co-winner of the award along with Phyllis Omido, a Kenyan community activist, and SOS Mediterranee, a humanitarian group that rescues migrants in the Mediterranean Sea.
The Cambodian group was cited for its “fearless and engaging activism to preserve Cambodia’s natural environment in the context of a highly restricted democratic space.”
The Stockholm-based foundation said the Cambodian government’s “hostile stance against the organisation is evident.”
It cited “the unjust imprisonment” of 11 activists, the forced exile of their founder, Alejandro Gonzalez-Davidson, and ongoing intimidation, legal harassment and surveillance of those who support the organisation.
Created in 1980, the annual Right Livelihood Award honours efforts that the prize founder, Swedish-German philanthropist Jakob von Uexkull (pic), felt were being ignored by the Nobel Prizes. — AP
