Award - Estonia's head of government: punish Russia for attack
According to Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, those responsible for the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine must be brought to justice before a new tribunal. "For war crimes, there is the International Criminal Court, which prosecutes these acts. But there must also be a tribunal for the crime of war of aggression," said Kallas on Sunday in Hamburg when accepting the Marion Dönhoff Prize for International Understanding and Reconciliation. The war of aggression was "the mother of all crimes". The top politicians responsible must be brought to justice.
Kallas received the prize for her contribution to building a strong and democratic Europe, as the jury explained. In view of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, Kallas was an exemplary advocate for the defense of European freedoms and values. The former Polish ambassador to Germany and member of the jury, Janusz Reiter, said in his laudatory speech about Kallas: "She can lead, in good times and bad, even in times of war." Last March, she succeeded in winning elections against populist currents, just as the liberal opposition in Poland had recently done.
The weekly newspaper "Die Zeit", the "Zeit" Foundation Ebelin and Gerd Bucerius and the Marion Dönhoff Foundation awarded the prize for the 21st time this year. The award is named after former "Die Zeit" editor Marion Gräfin Dönhoff, who was born in Königsberg in 1909 and died in Hamburg in 2002.
In support of her call for an international tribunal, Kallas said that the Russians would otherwise not realize what they had done to Ukraine and previously to the Baltic countries. These wars meant glory and land gains for the Russians, but human suffering for the smaller countries. Russia had to lose its last colonial war in order to become a better country, said Kallas, referring to the American historian Timothy Snyder. History had shown that concessions did not make Russia any less dangerous.
The genocidal war in Ukraine had opened up old wounds in Estonia, explained Kallas. The abduction of children from Ukraine reminded older Estonians of their own deportation to Siberia as children. Those who returned were still among the lucky ones, as many had not returned. Her mother was deported when she was six months old. The Soviets had also deported Kallas' grandmother and great-grandmother. "Almost every Estonian family has a story like this." It is important that Russia is punished for its war crimes, otherwise they will be repeated again and again.
The human rights organization Hawar.help e.V., which campaigns for women's rights in Iran, also received a sponsorship award worth 20,000 euros. The association was founded in response to the genocide committed by the Islamic State against the Yazidis in Iraq in 2014. Hawar means cry for help in Kurdish.
Founder Düzen Tekkal (45), who accepted the award together with four younger sisters, criticized the reactions to the Hamas terror attack in Israel in her acceptance speech. This was one of the worst mass crimes against women. However, the crimes committed by Hamas are played down, hushed up or even denied by many who consider themselves politically left-wing and progressive. "If this is supposed to be the legitimate resistance of the oppressed, then it is an unparalleled moral bankruptcy that defies all rational comprehension," said Tekkal to applause from the audience in the Deutsches Schauspielhaus.
Kaja Kallas (official website) Hawar.help
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- Kallas highlighted the need for an international tribunal to hold those responsible for Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine accountable for war crimes and the crime of war of aggression.
- The Russian war of aggression against Ukraine has been a significant challenge to Europe's human rights and values, and Kallas has been a strong advocate for defending these freedoms.
- During her acceptance speech in Hamburg, Kallas received the Marion Dönhoff Prize for her contribution to building a strong and democratic Europe.
- The abduction of children from Ukraine during the war has reminded older Estonians of their own experiences of being deported to Siberia as children during Soviet times.
- In her speech, Kallas argued that Russia must be held accountable for its war crimes in Ukraine and other countries, as history has shown that concessions have not made Russia less dangerous.
- The human rights organization Hawar.help, which campaigns for women's rights in Iran, also received a sponsorship award of 20,000 euros at the event.
- Founder Düzen Tekkal of Hawar.help criticized the reactions to the Hamas terror attack in Israel, which she described as one of the worst mass crimes against women in recent history.
- Despite the political leanings of some progressive individuals, Tekkal argued that the crimes committed by Hamas should not be downplayed, hushed up, or denied.
- Estonia's head of government Kaja Kallas has been a vocal critic of Russia's actions in Ukraine and has called for international action to hold those responsible accountable for war crimes and the crime of war of aggression.
Source: www.stern.de
