Nobel Peace Prize ceremony, a call to arms for Ukraine
A trio representing the three nations at the centre of the war in Ukraine will receive the Nobel Peace Prize on Saturday, showing no sign of giving up the fight against Vladimir Putin and his Minsk ally.
Jailed Belarusian human rights advocate Ales Bialiatski, Russian human rights organisation Memorial, and Ukraine's Center for Civil Liberties (CCL) will be presented with their awards at a formal ceremony in Oslo.
While the Peace Prize may be a small balm for the laureates' souls, it has in no way weakened their resolve.
"Putin will stop when he will be stopped", CCL head Oleksandra Matviichuk told reporters Friday at the Nobel Institute.
"Authoritarian leaders ... see any attempt to dialogue as a sign of weakness", she said, urging Western countries to continue to help Ukraine liberate its territories occupied by Russia, including Crimea.
The CCL has documented war crimes committed by Russian troops in Ukraine for the past eight years, crimes for which Matviichuk wants to see Russian President Putin and his ally, Belarusian strongman Alexander Lukashenko, brought to justice.
"This war has a genocidal character," she said in English. "If Ukraine stops its resistance, there will be no more of us."
"So I have no doubt that sooner or later Putin will appear before an international court."
The chairman of the board of Memorial, Yan Rachinsky, agreed, while remaining more cautious in his remarks due to the penalties imposed by Moscow on those who criticise the conflict in Ukraine.
"Ukraine has to fight for its independence", he said.
"Ukraine is not fighting for its interests alone. It is fighting for our joint peaceful future".
"The choice before the international community ... is between the unpleasant situation today and the catastrophe tomorrow", he said.
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