Ludwig-Erhard summit: Moving award ceremony for freedom fighters in the East

Created: 04/22/2022, 18:00

By: Alexandra Korimorth

At the award ceremony to the Belarusian civil rights activist Svetlana Tichanovskaya (connected via screen): (from left) Wolfram Weimer, Alexandra Logvinova (confidant of the award winner), Christiane Goetz-Weimer, Ilse Aigner and Manfred Weber.

© Thomas Plettenberg

Moving moments at the Ludwig Erhard summit in Gmund: The participants honored the winners of the Freedom Prize with standing applause.

The award went to the freedom fighters in the East.

Gmund

– The Ludwig Erhard summit at Gut Kaltenbrunn on Friday (April 22) reached its climax with the presentation of the Media Freedom Prize.

This year the prize went to the freedom fighters in Eastern Europe, above all to Volodymyr Zelenskyj, President of Ukraine, and the Belarusian civil rights activist Svetlana Tichanovskaya.

The latter was connected live and received standing applause from the summit participants.

She then addressed questions about support from European states and the possible outcome of the war.

President of the Landtag Ilse Aigner certifies award winners "heroism"

But before that, the President of the State Parliament, Ilse Aigner, took the floor to pay tribute to the award winners – the Russian journalist Marina Owsjannikova, who was also on the list of award winners, was subsumed under “Russian freedom fighters” because of “current diplomatic upheavals”.

Anyone who opposes Putin, Lukashenko and an unjust state shows real heroism.

Selenskyj and Tichanovskaya are his outstanding role models.

"The world bows to you," said Aigner, who personally had to admit: "We were wrong about Putin." Publisher Christiane Goetz-Weimer introduced the two award winners once again.

They fought against evil, war and tyranny and would defend their freedom and “our freedom” with words and deeds, great courage and their lives.

Ukrainian President Zelenskyy: decisive and clear, but not bitter

Laudator and member of the European Parliament Manfred Weber praised: “Selenskyj has made the impossible possible.

He gave his citizens the strength and motivation to take up the fight.” Today, two months after the start of the war, many even believed that Ukraine's success was possible.

Weber said he admired Selenskyj for being "decisive, hard and clear" but not bitter in the face of suffering.

Svetlana Tichanovskaya: "Democracy will prevail"

Civil rights activist Svetlana Tichanovskaya was recognized as a "courageous voice for people" who wanted to live in a free and democratic Belarus.

The former presidential candidate was connected live via screen at the ceremony.

Her confidant and presswoman Alexandra Logvinova accepted the award on site on her behalf.

She hopes for an end to the Lukashenko regime, for which there are several possible scenarios, said the award winner.

"The struggle for democracy is taking place now, and we will win it." Tichanovskaya asked for further internal and external pressure to be put on Lukashenko and economic and political pressure on dictatorships themselves.

She was convinced: "The regime will not exist forever.

Democracy will prevail.”

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