Nobel Peace Prize for journalists for fighting for freedom of expression
The 2021 Nobel Peace Prize has gone to two journalists for their courageous work in extremely adversarial environments, exposing various malpractices in the government system.
The 2021 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to journalists Maria Ressa of the Philippines and Dmitry Muratov of Russia “for their courageous fight for freedom of expression”, as the Norwegian Nobel Committee said in its citation. The committee stressed that freedom of expression is vital for promoting peace.
“Free, independent and fact-based journalism serves to protect against abuse of power, lies and war propaganda,” said Berit Reiss-Andersen, chair of the committee.
“Without freedom of expression and freedom of the press, it will be difficult to successfully promote fraternity between nations, disarmament and a better world order to succeed in our time,” she said.
Given that Reporters Without Borders, a press freedom watchdog, observed a “dramatic deterioration” in media freedoms in 2021 as governments used the pandemic as a pretext to control information, the award could not be more timely.
Maria Ressa is the co-founder of the news website Rappler which has focused “critical attention on the (President Rodrigo) Duterte regime’s controversial, murderous anti-drug campaign”, the Nobel committee said.
Dmitry Muratov is the co-founder of the independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta, which is “the most independent newspaper in Russia today, with a fundamentally critical attitude towards power”, the Nobel committee said.
Journalists have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize but on rare occasions. The last was the German, Carl von Ossietzky, who was awarded the 1935 award “for his burning love for freedom of thought and expression”, after revealing that Germany was secretly re-arming after World War I. For his revelations, he was imprisoned twice, the second time by Adolf Hiter. He ultimately died in a prison hospital in 1938.
Before Ossietzky, Ernesto Teodoro Moneta of Italy was awarded in 1907 “for his work in the press and in peace meetings”.
