Geert Wilders Nominated For Sakharov Prize
Wednesday 07 July 2010By EU Reporter Correspondents
Geert Wilders has been nominated for the Sakharov prize for his "tireless commitment to freedom of speech and his continuous struggle against islamization, mass-immigration and the leftish attacks on Western Humanist Judeo-Christian values that destroy Europe from within."
The nomination comes from Dutch MEP Barry Madlener who is currently seeking more support for Wilders' nomination. The email sent around to gather support highlights the fact that Wilders is currently being prosecuted by the Dutch judiciary as well as death threats and his having been denied entry to various countries and institutions. As a result, the email calls for The European Parliament to "give a signal, by awarding Geert Wilders the Sakharov Prize 2010 that it will not tolerate such monstrous attacks on freedom of speech".
While freedom of speech is an ideal the EU holds dear, and Wilders, in this reporter's opinion, has every right to express himself, the fact that he has been put forward for a prize named after Andrei Sakharov and that has previously been given to democracy and human rights campaigner Hu Jia, who currently languishes in a Chinese prison is a bitter pill to swallow considering some of the views he espouses.