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Third Nobel for ASEAN
The two journalists were named the winners as they had fought tirelessly “to safeguard freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace”.
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Maria Ressa (left), cofounder and CEO of the Philippines-based news website Rappler, and Dmitry Muratov, editor-in-Chief of Russia's main opposition newspaper Novaya Gazeta were awarded Nobel Peace Prize on Friday. (AFP/Isaac Lawrence, Yuri Kadobnov )
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outheast Asia should relish the fact that in the last 30 years the Nobel Peace Prize has three times been awarded to its citizens known for their dedication and endless struggle to promote human rights and freedom, even if they have to face powerful and abusive rulers. Most recently on Dec. 10, the world’s most prestigious award went to Philippine journalist Maria Ressa, who shares the laurels with Russian journalist Andareyevich Muratov.
More Nobel Peace laureates may arise from the region, including Indonesia, as it has lately created a fertile ground for peaceful movements against tyrannies.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte played the most important role in helping Ressa to win the Nobel Peace Prize this year with his repeated death threats and persecution against the veteran journalist, who openly opposed and condemned Duterte’s killing of criminals and drug dealers as soon as he took office in 2016. Duterte even reportedly threatened to kill Ressa if she did not “shut up”.
Unsurprisingly, Duterte belittled the value of the Nobel Prize for his citizen. Russian President Vladimir Putin also played a similar role in sending Muratov to Oslo to receive the award with Ressa.
The two journalists were named the winners as they had fought tirelessly “to safeguard freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace”.
Since 1991, Southeast Asia has witnessed three of its citizens win the Nobel Peace Prize, sadly not because the region has contributed much to human rights and peace. On the contrary, because rulers in the region have violated human rights. The rulers in Indonesia in the past, Myanmar and the Philippines today have systematically oppressed people who cry for freedom and basic human rights.
In 1996, the Nobel Committee slapped then-president Soeharto in the face by awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to José Ramos-Horta and Dili Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo for their work “towards a just and peaceful solution to the conflict in East Timor”. Belo was an Indonesian citizen back then as East Timor was the 27th province of the country following the invasion in 1974.
The impact of the award was dramatic. Just three years later, East Timor voted for independence from Indonesia in a United Nations-administered referendum. On May 20, 2002, East Timor changed its name to Timor Leste and declared its independence.
In 1991, Myanmar’s democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi won the prize for her effective leadership in staging peaceful protests against Myanmar’s military regime. Her 15 years of military captivity failed to silence the daughter of Myanmar’s founding father Aung San to liberate the people from decades-long military persecution. Her National League for Democracy won the 1990, 2015 and 2020 elections by a landslide. Suu Kyi, however, sparked worldwide criticism for her defense of the military’s genocidal acts against the minority Rohingya Muslims.
The award for Ressa and Muratov is also an honor for the press, many of them having fought to defend people’s rights despite death threats and challenges from media giants such as Facebook and Google.
For leaders in this region, including President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, the Nobel Peace Prize is alarming. It is as if winning the award confirms the regression of democracy and the continuing suppression of people’s rights to allow the rulers to hold on to power.
