Alternative Nobel winners named

2005-09-29 22:02

Stockholm - Activists from Canada and Malaysia, a Mexican artist and a group representing Kalahari Bushmen on Thursday were named the winners of the Right Livelihood Awards, known as the "alternative Nobels" for promoting justice, fair trade and cultural renewal.

The two million kronor ($256 660) cash prize was shared by Canadian activists Maude Barlow and Tony Clarke, Malaysian opposition leader and rights activist Irene Fernandez and the First People of the Kalahari. Mexican artist Francisco Toledo won the honorary prize.

The awards were founded in 1980 by Jakob von Uexkull, a stamp dealer who sold his collection to fund a programme to recognise work he believed was ignored by the prestigious Nobel prizes.

The First People of the Kalahari, and its founder Roy Sesana, were recognised "for resolute resistance against eviction from their ancestral lands, and for upholding the right to their traditional way of life".

Sesana set up the group in 1991 to fight for the rights of the Bushmen in Botswana.

Campaigning for human rights

Fernandez, a Malaysian opposition leader and rights activist, was honoured for her work to stop violence and abuse against women and migrant workers.

"She's a very brave woman," Uexkull said as he announced the winners in Stockholm.

Barlow and Clarke were cited for "their exemplary and longstanding work in for trade justice and the recognition of the fundamental human right to water".

Barlow was a high-profile leader in Canada's women's movement and heads the Council of Canadians, a public advocacy group. Clarke has campaigned against free trade and corporate power. Their recent work has focused on management of the world's water resources, the citation said.

Toledo was cited for "devoting himself and his art" to protect the cultural heritage and environment of his native Oaxaca region of Mexico.

The awards will be presented by Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf in a ceremony at the Swedish parliament on December 9, one day before the Nobel Prizes are handed out.

- AP