Mizzima-Apr 17
The renowned Northern Irish peace activist Mairead Corrigan Maguire, herself a recipient of the 1976 Nobel Peace Prize, has nominated the UK-exiled Burmese human rights activist and genocide scholar Dr Maung Zarni for the prestigious prize. On the eve of the Burmese traditional New Year this week, the Forces of Renewal Southeast Asia (FORSEA) and the Free Rohingya Coalition (FRC) jointly announced Maguire’s nomination, based on Zarni’s “impactful and tireless activism for peace and harmony among human communities over three decades”. Maguire’s nomination letter to the Nobel committee highlighted Zarni’s activism both for democracy in Myanmar and for “non-violence campaigners for peace and freedom from Tibet, East Timor (now Timor Leste), Nigeria, India, Thailand, Palestine and the Jewish diaspora”. While Zarni says that the Nobel prize “has been deeply tarnished” by some awards, “of which the late Henry Kissinger was only the most infamous”, he adds, that “as a radical anti-imperialist, I am most proud to be Maguire’s choice”. Dato Sri Saifuddin Abdullah, Malaysian Member of Parliament, former Foreign Minister and Chairman of Parti BERSATU’ International Bureau said: “Zarni is an activist-academic who is very committed to the struggle of the Myanmar people to uphold freedom, human rights and democracy. His approach is consultative and inclusive, with a clear people-centered end game. He does not limit his works only for his countrymen and women, but extended it to the oppressed around the globe.” Read more at: https://eng.mizzima.com/2024/04/17/9074#google_vignette
