VIDEO: Voices for Democracy and Human Rights, from the Mayor of Oslo to the Former President of Venezuela

NEW YORK (August 17, 2009)— The Oslo Freedom Forum brought together some of the world’s leading minds to honor heroic survivors of political oppression and persecution this May 18-20 in Norway. The conference showcased the testimonies and noble purpose of these men and women who risked their lives for freedom.

Ivar Amundsen, Director, Chechnya Peace Forum: “In 1999, weeks after Vladimir Putin had taken office as Russia’s Prime Minister, Russia again went to war on Chechnya. It is estimated that another 100,000 lives had been lost, and altogether 40,000 children had been killed in those two wars. Chechnya today is in a state of emergency under a puppet president, Ramzan Kadyrov...”

Kristin Clemet, Director, Civita; President, Council of the Norwegian Helsinki Committee: “After his release in 1992, [Palden Gyatso] managed to smuggle Chinese instruments of torture out of the country as material proof of human rights abuses in Tibet. His memoir, Fire Under the Snow, bears witness to the physical and mental anguish endured by Tibetan political prisoners and proudly upholds the resilience of the human spirit...”

John Fund, Political Journalist; Columnist, Wall Street Journal: “Editorial cartoonists are able to convey in a simple yet vivid and powerful message, what the columnist needs often thousands or hundreds of words to do. The best cartoons, funny or sobering and serious, are like an unexpected punch to the gut. The brilliance of a great editorial cartoon is its simplicity in carrying great substance.”

Jan Erik Helgesen, President, Venice Commission to the Council of Europe; Professor, University of Oslo: “I see a bridge between the sad past experiences we have been witness to during this conference and a promising future. And this bridge is built by the thousands and thousands of NGOs who are out there defending the human rights defenders.”

Tom G. Palmer, Vice President for International Programs and General Director, Atlas Global Initiative; Senior Fellow, Cato Institute: “A free society doesn't just happen when you remove a dictator. It’s not an easy matter to build up the institutions of constitutional democracy—democratic elections, independent judiciary, the institutions of property, exchange, and free association that allow us to realize our liberty.”

David Satter, Senior Fellow at the Hudson Institute and Former Moscow Correspondent of the Financial Times of London: “In the end it wasn't Lithuania which was crushed, but the Soviet Union itself... the example of Lithuania was potent in revealing one of the most important vulnerabilities of the Soviet regime which was its attempt to homogenize individuals and to homogenize nations.”

Fabian Stang, Mayor of Oslo, Norway: “Dear friends of a better world, welcome to Oslo—a special welcome to those of you who have paid an extremely high price in prison in the battle for human rights on behalf of the generations to come. Thank you.”

Ramón José Velásquez, Former President, Venezuela: “[In Venezuela], the ruler has been trying out a model... There are two ways of governing in this world: Through dictatorships or through democracy. You can't mix them in such a way that the legislative power, judicial power, and the moral power... are all controlled by him alone. That's the current situation of the country, and confronting it is a great popular struggle.”

Tatiana Yankelevich, Director, Sakharov Program on Human Rights, Harvard University: “[Norway] gave Sakharov recognition—possibly in hope of protecting him from the persecution in his own country—but the way he took this award was in spirit of recognition for all human rights activists in the Soviet Union, for all prisoners of conscience in the Soviet Union. And in his Nobel speech, he listed as many of them as he could.”

HRF is an international nonpartisan organization devoted to defending human rights in the Americas. It centers its work on the twin concepts of freedom of self-determination and freedom from tyranny. These ideals include the belief that all human beings have the rights to speak freely, to associate with those of like mind, and to leave and enter their countries. Individuals in a free society must be accorded equal treatment and due process under law, and must have the opportunity to participate in the governments of their countries; HRF’s ideals likewise find expression in the conviction that all human beings have the right to be free from arbitrary detainment or exile and from interference and coercion in matters of conscience. HRF does not support nor condone violence. HRF’s International Council includes former prisoners of conscience Vladimir Bukovsky, Palden Gyatso, Armando Valladares, Ramón J. Velásquez, Elie Wiesel, and Harry Wu.

Contact: Alex Gladstein, Human Rights Foundation, (212) 246.8486, info@thehrf.org