In light of his historic nomination, Benny is available for media interviews and other media related inquiries on the subject. He can be contacted via e-mail: [email protected]
This is his press contact number: +447833114087
Benny has been nominated for the second year in row for the esteemed Nobel Peace Prize, awarded annually by the Norwegian Nobel Committee for those who have “done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses”.
Benny was nominated last year by a group of professors from Reading University in the United Kingdom and has been successfully nominated once again this year by several famous international dignitaries. These nominators received a letter by the Nobel Committee this April, confirming the approval of their nomination.
This year, Benny was nominated jointly by 3 parliamentarians and individually by the Bishop of Oxford. He is now one of 278 nominees to be officially registered by the Nobel Committee as a candidate Nobel Peace Prize. The names and details of his nominators are as follows:
Benny was also individually nominated for the prize by:
He was nominated by these people as he has devoted his life to a just and peaceful solution to the conflict in West Papua, the western part of the island of New Guinea. West Papua, which is illegally occupied by Indonesia, continues to experience a slow genocide that has killed an estimated half a million Papuans since 1961. The struggle for peace and self-determination in West Papua has remained largely unreported, since Indonesia restricts the entry of foreign journalists and humanitarian organisations: in the face of this silence the efforts of Benny Wenda are all the more courageous and vital. You can read more about Benny’s story, including his wrongful imprisonment and brave escape through the Biography section of this website here.
Tomorrow, the Nobel Peace Prize Winner will be announced in Oslo and Benny has been invited there by the Oslo Freedom Forum where he gave a talk in 2012. Benny will therefore be present in the country during the award ceremony, please do keep him in your hearts and prayers.
Benny would like to thank his nominators and all his friends and supporters of the West Papuan people. He is confident that with such support from around he world, he will one day return home in peace to a Free West Papua.
Thank you all very much