Anti-Musharraf lawyer wins human rights award

South Korea Thursday honoured Pakistani lawyer who has long records of leading members of the legal community in thier fighting against President Pervez Musharraf and the military regimes.

Muneer A. Malik, the former President of the Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan, was Thursday announced winner of the 2008 Gwangju Prize for Human Rights. The award was proclaimed by The May 18 Memorial Foundation in Gwangju, South Korea.

Malik has played an enormous role in the struggle of the lawyers, judges and the rest of the citizens of Pakistan for the independence of the judiciary. Under his leadership he was able to mobilize lawyers and the people to fight the repression imposed by President Musharraf, the foundation stated.

Also, in the 1980's Malik had been in the forefront of the struggle against the military rule of then President Zia Ul Haq, it said.

The Gwangju Prize is administered by The May 18 Memorial Foundation, a non-profit organization established on August 30, 1994. It was organized by surviving victims of the 1980 Gwangju Democratic Uprising, the victims' families, and the citizens of Gwangju.

The prize is an award given to individuals, groups or institutions that have contributed in promoting and advancing human rights, democracy and peace in their work. Former Prize winners included the first president of East Timor Xanana Gusmao, Aung San Suu Kyi of Burma and human rights activist Angkhana Neelaphaijit from Thailand. This year, Malik was selected from 21 candidates nominated from Bangladesh, Burma, China, India, Indonesia, Philippines, South Korea, Sri-Lanka, Taiwan and Vietnam.

The prize award includes a good medal, a certificate of achievement and US $ 50,000.00, will be conferred to Malik on May 18 at the ceremony to commemorate the May 18 Gwangju Democratic Uprising.

Subhatra Bhumiprabhas

The Nation