ROBERT SCHUMAN MEDAL AWARDED TO RADIO B2-92

Strasbourg, October 28, (SENSE) - "Presidential conference", an assembly of the leaders of parliamentary factions in European Parliament, has decided to award Sakharov Prize for 1999 to the leader of the independence movement in East Timor, Xannana Gusman. Other nominees for this year's award were Belgrade radio station B2-92 and an activist from Uganda fighting against drafting children into military units, Miss Angelina Acheng Atyam.

Immediately after announcing the decision regarding this year's Sakharov prize winner, the largest parliamentary faction consisting of Christian Democrat parties as well as People's parties in the European Parliament, which nominated B2-92 for Sakharov Prize, also announced that Radio B2-92 was the winner of this year's Robert Schuman Medal.

The prize, named after Andrei Sakharov, a Russian nuclear physicist (1921-1989) and 1975 Nobel Peace Prize winner, was instituted eleven years ago. So far there there were 12 winners of Sakharov Prize. Nelson Mandela and Anatoly Marchenko won the prize in 1988, and Ibrahim Rugova was awarded last year. The prize was given three times to nominees from ex-Yugoslavia. Adem Demaçi won the prize in 1991 and Sarajevo-based daily newspaper "Oslobodjenje" in 1993.

Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought was established during his exile in the town of Gorky. In a letter addressed to the President of the European Parliament at the time, Lord Plumb, Sakharov stressed that this prize was, in his view, a recognition of his struggle for human rights, but that it was also an encouragement for all of those dedicated to this goal.

Sakharov Prize winner will receive €15,000 (approximately 30,000 deutsche marks) at the last mid-December session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

Branislav Milosevic