Knut Halvorssen, mannen bak fjorårets Oslo Freedom Forum, gir seg ikke. Fra mandag 26. – torsdag 29. april arrangerer hans stiftelse Human Rights Foundation et nytt Frihetsforum i Oslo, også dette spekket med kjente navn.
Halvorssen bryter med den politiske korrektheten som har satt sitt stempel på menneskerettigheter i det offisielle Norge, og dette fikk han også merke. Det var dårlig med journalister, og noen av kommentarene var direkte fiendtlige. Man må ikke komme her og tro at man kan fortelle de opplyste noe nytt, feks. om Hugo Chavez eller Morales’ styre.
Participants include Uyghur leader Rebiya Kadeer, North Korean dissenter Kang Chol-hwan, former FARC hostage Ingrid Betancourt, and Sudanese reformer Lubna Hussain, who was prosecuted under Islamic law for wearing trousers. World leaders like Poland’s Lech Walesa, Malaysia’s Anwar Ibrahim, and Estonia’s Mart Laar will present, as will technology pioneers such as Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales and entrepreneur Peter Thiel. Other notable speakers include Russia’s democracy advocate and chess master Garry Kasparov, Peruvian economist Hernando de Soto, abolitionist and explorer Benjamin Skinner, Spanish human rights judge Baltasar Garzón, former Cuban political prisoner Armando Valladares, and Chechen lawyer Lidia Yusupova, hailed as the bravest woman in Europe.
“We seek to create a space for human rights defenders and social entrepreneurs from around the world to network and exchange ideas,” said Thor Halvorssen, founder of the Oslo Freedom Forum. “We want to give extraordinary human rights advocates who are lacking international support and recognition a platform to share their work with a global audience.”
http://www.oslofreedomforum.com/