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Tuesday, October 31, 2006
| Morgan wins Award  Category: News and Politics MORGAN Tsvangirai wins the prestigious 2001Solidar Silver Rose Award. He was presented with the award yesterday at a special ceremony at the European Union (EU) Parliament in Brussels. The award was presented to him by Glenys Kinnock, a Member of the EU Parliament, on behalf of the president Guyvuy Vherhofstadt. The Solidar Silver Rose is an award for outstanding achievement by an individual or organisation in the activities of civil society and in bringing about a fairer and more just society. Tsvangirai, whose party almost ended Zanu PF's 21 years of uninterrupted rule in last year's parliamentary election, has become President Mugabe's biggest thorn in the flesh since independence. There have been a number of attempts on Tsvangirai's life by suspected Zanu PF supporters on a number of occasions as he went around the country on party business. Austrian Roma rights campaigner, Rudolf Sarkozi, and Polish community organisation, The Barka Foundation for Mutual Help, were also awarded the 2001 Solidar Silver Rose Awards. Kinnock, who headed the selection jury, said: "We hope that these awards will give greater recognition to these courageous figures, and give inspiration to others who may wish to follow in their footsteps." At a crucial period for world stability, the Solidar Silver Rose Award winners "show the positive change that can be brought about by determined individuals and organisations", the citation read. Solidar is an independent international alliance of development, humanitarian assistance and social welfare non-governmental organisations which have links with the trade unions and democratic labour parties. After accepting the award, Tsvangirai will meet with high-level officials on a tour of European capitals of Copenhagen, Stockholm, Brussels, Paris and London. During his tour, he will "ask the Western governments to send a strong signal to Mugabe that restoring the rule of law and protecting human rights in Zimbabwe remains high on the political agenda". Although the horrific events in the United States on 11 September have naturally focused world attention on combating terrorism, Tsvangirai will urge the West not to forget the crisis in Zimbabwe. Some of the officials he will meet include Charles Josselin, French Minister for Co-operation, Laurette Onkelinx, the Belgian Deputy Prime Minister, Anna Lindh, the Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs and Baroness Amos, the British Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs. |
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