(Newswire.net — December 2, 2014) — The world’s recognition for the highest moral standards, the Right Livelihood Award, was given to Edward Snowden, the worlds most famous fugitive hero. He recieved this award for revealing state surveillance, which violated basic democratic and constitutional rights.
At the ceremony, Snowden addressed the public via live video stream from Moscow, where he received a three-year residence permit last August.
While the audience in the building of the Swedish parliament received the whistleblower with a long applause, he said in his acceptance speech he is hoping that this was only a beginning, “despite all we have accomplished in the last year.”
“These are things that are unlikely to change soon,” he said. “But they have been worth it, all the prices we paid, all the sacrifices we made, I believe we’d do it again. I know I would do again.”
“This is about us, this is about our rights,” Snowden said. He told the audience through a video conference that what he did is “about the kind of societies we want to live in, the kind of government we want to have and the kind of world that we want to make for the next generation.”
Snowden reminded the audience that when we assess the government, we need to think about not only its quality, but also the relationship that we have with it.
In his speech, Snowden gave a small lecture on democracy saying that we need to be partner to a government, rather than to be a subject of it.
“There is so much more to do…and together we will achieve it,” Snowden concluded.
Traditionally for past 18 years, the ceremony announcement has been held at the Swedish Foreign Ministry hall in Stockholm. This year, however, the Sweden’s Foreign Ministry banned the Right Livelihood Award Foundation as they announced Snowden as one of the candidates. Instead, the ceremony had to be held at the Swedish parliament.
Snowden shared the award with Alan Rusbridger, the editor of the Guardian who published Snowden’s documents.
There is a 500,000 kronor ($70,000) prize money that Snowden will not receive. However, the Right Livelihood promised to use his prize money to “fund legal support for him.”
The Swedish Green party urged the Swedish government to grant Snowden political asylum and fly him to the country on an official government plane, authorities have not responded to the request.