Opposition leader Milinkevich welcomes nomination of Stanislaw Shushkevich for 2007 Nobel Peace Prize :: Charter'97 :: News

Alyaksandr Milinkevich, leader of the Movement for Freedom, has welcomed the nomination of Stanislaw Shushkevich, Belarus` formal head of state between 1991 and 1994, for the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, BelaPAN reported. Mr. Milinkevich, the winner of the European Parliament`s 2006 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, has called on the heads of state and government, as well as other influential people to second the nomination of the "first president of Belarus," the former presidential candidate`s press office said.

"It was through his effort that Belarus became a nuclear-weapon-free state and the existing dictatorial regime did not get this deadly weapon in its hands," Mr. Milinkevich was quoted as saying. "Stanislaw Shushkevich stands a good chance of receiving this highly prestigious award for his civic position and continuous struggle for independence, democracy and human rights in our country."

The candidacy of the 72-year-old Shushkevich was proposed by former Polish President Lech Walesa and backed by several incumbent presidents among others.

The politician was nominated for the award for the withdrawal of nuclear weapons from Belarus, "for his active role in the peaceful breakup of the Russian colonial empire that existed in the form of the USSR," for his contribution to the bloodless transformation of the USSR into independent countries, and for his devotion to the principles of peace, democracy and human rights.

The 2007 Nobel Peace Prize winner will be announced in Norway`s capital city of Oslo in October 2007.

Stanislaw Shushkevich was born in Minsk into a family of teachers on December 15, 1934. In 1956, he graduated from the mathematics and physics department of Belarusian State University (BDU). He served with BDU between 1961 and 1994 and then was invited to head the Center for Political and Economic Studies at European Humanities University.

Between 1968 and 1991, he was a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. In 1991, Dr. Shushkevich was elected chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the Republic of Belarus, thus becoming the formal head of state. In December 1991, he, together with Boris Yeltsin of Russia and Leonid Kravchuk of Ukraine, signed an agreement in the Viskuli government residence in Belarus` Belavezhskaya Pushcha National Park, which formalized the breakup of the USSR and led to the formation of the Commonwealth of Independent States. On January 26, 1994, Dr. Shushkevich was removed from his position of chairman of the Supreme Soviet through the effort of a parliamentary anti-corruption commission led by Alyaksandr Lukashenka, who accused him of stealing a box of nails to renovate his country house.

Dr. Shushkevich has been chairman of the Belarusian Social Democratic Hramada since 1998. He is a corresponding member of the National Academy of Sciences.