Government Accountability Project: Ridenhour Award Ceremony Tomorrow
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
APRIL 3, 2007
10:47 AM
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CONTACT: Government Accountability Project
Erik Smith, Blue Engine Media
Phone: 202.496.2129
Kim Nauer, The Nation Institute
Phone: 212.209.3380
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Ridenhour Award Ceremony Tomorrow
President Carter among Those Honored; Will Speak at Press Conference
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(Washington, D.C.) – The 2007 Ridenhour Prizes will be awarded
tomorrow, April 4, at 12:30 p.m. at the National Press Club in
Washington, D.C. The Ridenhour Prizes, sponsored by the Nation
Institute and Fertel Foundation, seek to recognize and encourage those
who persevere in acts of truth-telling that protect the public
interest, promote social justice or illuminate a more just vision of
society. The Government Accountability Project is a strategic partner
for the awards. The prize-winners include:
- President Jimmy Carter has been awarded The Ridenhour
Courage Prize in recognition of his life-long defense of the public
interest, his passion for social justice, and the courage he has
displayed in speaking forthrightly on contentious and controversial
subjects. President Carter will speak for 20 minutes and will address
the issues raised in his recent book Palestine Peace Not Apartheid.
Following his remarks, President Carter will take questions from the
media at a 2:15 p.m. press conference at the National Press Club.
- Donald
Vance, an American contractor turned FBI whistleblower in Iraq who was
detained by American troops and held at the notorious Camp Cropper for
over three months, has won The Ridenhour Prize for Truth-Telling. Vance
was held without charge, denied counsel, kept in isolation, subjected
to sleep deprivation, interrogated for hours and periodically denied
food and water for long periods. Since being released by the U.S.
military without explanation, Vance has bravely come forward to tell
his story and call for accountability.
- Washington Post
journalist and editor Rajiv Chandrasekaran has been awarded The
Ridenhour Book Prize honoring an outstanding work of social
significance from the prior publishing year. Chandrasekaran’s book,
Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq’s Green Zone is an
exemplary work of reportage that takes us behind the barricaded walls
of Baghdad’s Green Zone. Chandrasekaran chronicles how the Coalition
Provisional Authority’s bureaucratic arrogance and ineptitude led to
their disastrous postwar planning and directly contributed to the chaos
that we witness in Iraq today.
“It takes nerve and courage to speak out, even in a free country,"
observed Nation Institute president Hamilton Fish. “People who
articulate unpopular truths place their reputations and livelihoods at
risk, and are often subjected to retaliation. By their acts of bravery,
the Ridenhour Prize winners have strengthened our commitment to
democracy.”
“The
recipients recognized this year stepped forward at a time when dissent
is out of fashion,” said Fertel Foundation founder Randy Fertel. “The
model of integrity and fearless truth-telling that was the legacy of
Ron Ridenhour is advanced by the distinguished work of this year’s
prize winners.”
Presenters of the 2007 Ridenhour Prizes include
Rabbi Leonard Beerman, a graduate of Hebrew Union College-Jewish
Institute of Religion, founding Rabbi of the Leo Baeck Temple in Los
Angeles, past president of the Pacific Association of Reform Rabbis and
board member of the U.S. Interreligious Committee for Peace in the
Middle East; Ted Koppel, the longtime anchor of ABC's Nightline and now
Managing Editor of the Discovery Channel; and Rory Kennedy, an
award-winning documentary producer whose latest project, The Ghosts of
Abu Ghraib, was aired recently on HBO.
Past recipients of the
Ridenhour Prizes include former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, journalist
Seymour Hersh, 9/11 widow and activist Kristen Breitweiser and
whistle-blower Daniel Ellsberg.
About the Ridenhour Prizes
The
Ridenhour Prizes seek to recognize and encourage those who persevere in
acts of truth-telling that protect the public interest, promote social
justice or illuminate a more just vision of society. The prizes
memorialize the spirit of fearless truth-telling that one-time
whistleblower and lifetime investigative journalist Ron Ridenhour
reflected throughout his extraordinary life and career. Each award
carries a $10,000 stipend.
For more information go to www.ridenhour.org
About Ron Ridenhour
In
1969, Vietnam veteran Ron Ridenhour wrote a letter to Congress and the
Pentagon describing the horrific events at My Lai – the infamous
massacre of the Vietnam War – bringing the scandal to the attention of
the American public and the world. Ridenhour later became a respected
investigative journalist, winning the George Polk Award for
Investigative Journalism in 1987 for a year-long investigation of a New
Orleans tax scandal. He died suddenly in 1998 at the age of 52. At the
time of his death, he was working on a piece for the London Review of
Books, had co-produced a story on militias for NBC’s Dateline and had
just delivered a series of lectures commemorating the thirtieth
anniversary of My Lai.
About The Nation Institute
Founded
in 1966, The Nation Institute has a commitment to the values of free
speech and open discourse. The Institute places particular importance
on strengthening the independent press in the face of America's
increasingly corporate-controlled flow of information, and through its
programs the Institute promotes progressive values on a variety of
media platforms. The Institute sponsors a number of projects including
conferences, seminars, televised town hall-style meetings, web
newsletters, book publishing, social justice awards, investigative
reporting, film production, journalism fellowships and internships. For
more information go to www.nationinstitute.org
About The Fertel Foundation
Energized
by a passion for weaving ideas and people together, the Fertel
Foundation seeks to foster projects related to the arts and education.
The Foundation, established in 2000 as a supporting organization of the
Greater New Orleans Foundation, is especially interested in initiatives
from which new communities and new insights may emerge, and those that
challenge entrenched communities of power. It also devotes considerable
funding to projects within its overall mission that help rebuild a
better New Orleans – and create national models – in a post-Katrina
world. For more information go to www.fertel.com
Event
logistics: The speeches by President Carter and other honorees will be
held in the ballroom of the National Press Club at 12:30 p.m. President
Carter’s media availability will be held in the Press Club’s First
Amendment Lounge at 2:15 p.m.
Government Accountability Project
The
Government Accountability Project is the nation’s leading whistleblower
protection organization. Through litigating whistleblower cases,
publicizing concerns and developing legal reforms, GAP’s mission is to
protect the public interest by promoting government and corporate
accountability. Founded in 1977, GAP is a non-profit, non-partisan
advocacy organization with offices in Washington, D.C. and Seattle, WA.
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