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COPENHAGEN, Denmark , Dec 11 (AP) \u2014 The two journalists who shared this year\u2019s Nobel Peace Prize received their awards Friday during a pomp-filled ceremony in Norway, with both warning that the world needs independent reporting to counter the power of authoritarian governments.<\/p>\n
Maria Ressa of the Philippines and fellow laureate Dmitry Muratov of Russia gave their Nobel lectures at Oslo City Hall. The Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded them the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize for their separate fights for freedom of expression in countries where reporters have faced persistent attacks, harassment and killings.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, we growl and bite. Yes, we have sharp teeth and strong grip,\u201d Muratov said of journalists. \u201cBut we are the prerequisite for progress. We are the antidote against tyranny.\u201d<\/p>\n
Muratov also used his speech to give a dire warning about the potential for a war between Russia and Ukraine. A massive Russian troop buildup near Ukraine\u2019s border has led to Western diplomatic efforts to prevent an invasion, which the Kremlin has denied it is planning.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn (the) heads of some crazy geopoliticians, a war between Russia and Ukraine is not something impossible any longer. But I know that wars end with identifying soldiers and exchanging prisoners,\u201c Muratov said.<\/p>\n
Ressa, 58, co-founded Rappler, a news website critical of the Philippine government, in 2012. Muratov, 59, was one of the founders in 1993 of the independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta.<\/p>\n
Ressa, the first person from the Philippines to win the Nobel Peace Prize, offered a bleak assessment of the journalism industry, saying \u201cthe era of competition for news is dead.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to help independent journalism survive, first by giving greater protection to journalists and standing up against states which target journalists,\u201d she told the audience of 200 people, including Norwegian royals and officials who sat with a meter (3 feet) separating them for the pandemic-curtailed ceremony. Normally the Oslo event is attended by 1,000 people.<\/p>\n
Ressa, who was visibly moved, couldn\u2019t resist taking a selfie with Muratov inside the Oslo City Hall before the arrival of the Norwegian royals.<\/p>\n
Together with the medals featuring the effigy of the prizes founder Alfred Nobel and diploma, came 10 million kronor ($1.1 million) to be shared between them.<\/p>\n
Norwegian Nobel Committee chairwoman Berit Reiss-Andersen said free speech and information are \u201ca basic prerequisite for democracy itself.\u201d The laureates \u201care participants in a war where the written word is their weapon, where truth is their goal and every exposure of misuse of power is a victory.\u201d<\/p>\n
Muratov said that in Russia, journalism \u201cis going through a dark valley\u201d with many reporters and human rights activists being branded as \u201cforeign agents.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMany of our colleagues have lost their jobs. Some have to leave the country. Some are deprived of the opportunity to live a normal life for an unknown period of time. Maybe forever\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
Muratov ended his lecture by asking the assembly to honor reporters \u201cwho have given their lives for this profession, with a minute of silence. I want journalists to die old.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Thursday, the Brussels-based International Federation of Journalists said that imprisonments of media workers are on the rise, with 365 journalists behind bars compared with 235 last year. Nine journalists have been killed in the line of duty in Afghanistan alone and 102 imprisoned in China.<\/p>\n
Russia still has 12 journalists behind bars, and three reporters were killed in the Philippines, it said.<\/p>\n
David Beasley, head of the World Food Program that won the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize, also gave a lecture in Oslo and called on world leaders \u201cto assert your power and stop all of these horrible wars.\u201d Beasley was given the award last year at a ceremony in Rome, due to the pandemic.<\/p>\n
He said that the combination of conflict, climate and COVID \u201chas created an unprecedented perfect storm,\u201d adding \u201c45 million in 43 countries are knocking on famine\u2019s door\u2014 and it is within our power to save them.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also urged billionaires to \u201cgive us the $6.6 billion we need to prevent famine now and save 45 million lives now,\u201d and said they \u201cknow how to revolutionize phones, cars, rockets, and retail. Help us revolutionize how the planet eats.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ceremonies honoring all of the newest Nobel laureates are usually held in Oslo and Sweden\u2019s capital, Stockholm, on Dec. 10, the anniversary of prize founder Alfred Nobel\u2019s death. However, due to the pandemic, the awards in physics, chemistry, medicine, literature and economics were presented during ceremonies in the laureates\u2019 hometowns.<\/p>\n
Later Friday, a ceremony is planned in Stockholm. Speeches by Nobel officials will be interwoven with the ceremonial presentations. A local audience is scheduled, including Sweden\u2019s King Carl XVI Gustav and other members of the royal family.<\/p>\n
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COPENHAGEN, Denmark , Dec 11 (AP) \u2014 The two journalists who shared this year\u2019s Nobel Peace Prize received their awards Friday during a pomp-filled ceremony in Norway, with both warning that the world needs independent reporting to counter the power of authoritarian governments. Maria Ressa of the Philippines and fellow laureate Dmitry Muratov of Russia […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-178953","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-world"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/178953","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=178953"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/178953\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=178953"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=178953"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=178953"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}