30 January 2009
The Student Peace Prize Laureates
The Student Peace Prize Laureates
1999: Antero Benedita da Silva and ETSSC from East Timor
In 1999 the East Timorean student Antero Benedita da Silva and East Timor Students’ Solidarity Council (ETSSC) received the very first Student Peace Prize. Da Silva and ETSSC were awarded the Prize for their untiring and non-violent struggle against the Indonesian occupying power.
As leader and founder of ETSSC, da Silva made an important contribution in the struggle for peace and democracy in East Timor. According to the Student Peace Prize Committee the work of da Silva and his organization, enlightened the capacity and central position that students could have when making an effort for peace. In 1999 Indonesia had precisely given East Timor its autonomy back, after an occupation that lasted for 25 years. ETSSC’s main work at the time therefore consisted of educating the East Timorean people about their democratic right to vote, and arranging for students to come together and discuss their social and political rights.
Da Silva is today a researcher within peace and conflict studies, and a lecturer at the University of East Timor (UNTIM). Among other projects he is working with solving conflicts in Nepal and Burma.
2001: Min Ko Naing and ABFSU from Burma
The Student Peace Prize was in 2001 awarded to the All Burma Federation of Student Unions (ABFSU) and their leader Min Ko Naing for their contributions to promoting and improving democracy, peace and solidarity in Burma.
Naing stands out as a symbol of Burmese students’ struggle for human rights in their country. Among others he has been cooperating with Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Aung San Suu Kyi, and next after her Naing is considered to be the most important symbol of human rights defenders in Burma. While being awarded the Student Peace Prize, Naing was in prison, a term which lasted for 16 years. His crime was his peaceful struggle for democracy and human rights. He was released in 2004, but only three years later he was arrested again, this time for participating in a peaceful demonstration. While this is written, he has still not been released.
The committee in 2001 emphasized that the members of ABFSU arranged non-violent demonstrations. The courage and perseverance of ABFSU were important conditions to why ABFSU and Naing were awarded the Prize. The committee underlined the importance of ABFSU’s go-ahead spirit. They kept going despite the fact that the Burmese government responded with arrests, torture and murder. According to sources in the organization, Democratic Voice of Burma, very few leaders of ABFSU from 2001 are still alive today.
2003: ZINASU from Zimbabwe
In the violent, non-democratic regime of Robert Mugabe, who considers students and education as a threat – Zimbabwean students face suppression and oppression every day. Zimbabwe National Student Union (ZINASU) was awarded the Student Peace Prize in 2003 as a signal of solidarity, acknowledgement and support of Zimbabwean students' struggle for democracy, human rights and academic freedom.
In 2003 ZINASU only counted 5000 students. After receiving the Prize they grew enormously, and now represent the amount of 350 000 students all over Zimbabwe. Today they look upon being awarded the Student Peace Prize as a “landmark achievement”.
ZINAZU is an umbrella organisation with means to join the students of Zimbabwe. They also aim to promote students’ interests and views upon the educational and political authorities. Their acts are non-violent and peaceful, and this is partly the reason why they were chosen to be the laureate. Daily they experience the threat of torture, resistance and killings. They have to make difficult choices and sacrifices, and the fact that they bravely and patiently continues their work despite the risks, made them stand out when the committee agreed upon awarding them in 2003. The committee saw ZINASU’s role as crucial in the struggle for a better future in Zimbabwe. Today ZINASU is one of the leading actors demanding the resignation of President Mugabe and his regime, and that citizens should get their will trough democracy.
2005: ACEU from Columbia
Columbian Organization for University Students (ACEU) is a non-violent Columbian student organization. ACEU aims to defend the public University, students’ rights and contributes to a political solution on the ongoing armed conflict in their country. The organization was established in 1998, and only few years after, in 2005, they received the Student Peace Prize
Violence, crime, narcotics and forty years of civil war, have made Columbia a country full of difficulties. There is need for dialogue between the different groups of forces; guerrillas, AUC (United Self-Defence Forces of Colombia) and the military. ACEU supports and struggles for the fulfillment of these dialogues. The organization is opposing to the political regime of President Alvaro Uribe, who has stopped important peace negotiations and uses the military to disintegrate his opponents.
Another large problem is the increasingly privatization of schools and universities, which leads to maintenance of unemployment and class distinctions. ACEU aims for autonomous, democratic and national supported public universities, and the rights to organize themselves. They also aim for peace and social justice for the civil society of Columbia.
Members of ACEU have been arrested, tortured and killed, all because they have raised their voices and brought attention to existing problems in society. The organization received the Student Peace Prize of 2005 for their courage and ongoing struggle. Through the Prize they have been able to bring attention to their cause and on-going struggle.
2007: Charm Tong from Burma
On the border between Burma and Thailand, Charm Tong is educating Burmese refugees with the aim of one day returning to their homeland strong and successful. In 2007 Tong was awarded the Student Peace Prize for her untiring work for democracy and human rights for the Burmese people.
Tong was herself a Burmese refugee, and since the age of six her home has been in Thailand, on the border to Burma. At the age of 16 she became a human rights activist. The year after she held a speech at the United Nations Commission in Genève about the junta’s mistreating of Burmese people. With the same aims, she has later met with Former President of the USA, George W. Bush.
In 2001 she was one of the founders of School for Shan State Nationalities Youth (SSSNY). The aim is that the Burmese people shall learn about their country, human rights and democracy, so that they one day can help in the struggle to free Burma. Tong and SSSNY believe in equality for all. SSSNY is a school where different ethnic groups from the Shan-state live and study together. To be able to attend, every student has to promise to continue working for the aims of SSSNY. Tong is today the leader of the school.
So far one of Tong’s most important projects has been the report, “License to Rape”, where she documented more that 600 rapes done by the military junta towards Burmese women. The report contributed to world attention towards the situation in Burma, especially the Burmese women. For this Tong got international recognition, and the report helped change the view of women as victims, but rather as a resource for peace and development. The report was done in cooperation with the organization, Shan Woman’s Action Network (SWAN), where Tong also has an important role as their leading spokeswoman.
Charm Tong received the Student Peace Prize for leading a non-violent, enterprising struggle for peace, democracy, equality and freedom for all. Also the fact that she sees every human being and every ethnic minority as equivalent was of great importance when awarding her the Prize. The committee describes her as a leader of tomorrow. Today she is traveling all over the world to enlighten people about the contraventions on the Declaration of Human Rights that goes on in Burma.
Written by Åshild Hals,
January 2009
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