“As a Tunisian, a woman, and president of FIDH I am especially pleased with this strong message of support for our struggles”, she added.
On 7 October 2011, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Tawakkul Karman, a Yemeni activist, Leymah Gbowee, a Liberian activist and Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, President of Liberia.
Souhayr Belhassen emphasised that “by rewarding Tawakkul Karman, the public face of the peaceful protests in Yemen*, the Committee contributed to breaking the wall of silence enclosing the repression that has been raging through the country over the past several months”. Despite the many appeals and warnings to the international community by the human rights organisations, Yemen is being absorbed by spiralling violence with the civilian population as its main victim.
*See the press release of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, http://www.fidh.org/Death-threats-against-Ms-Tawakkol-Karman-YEM-001
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