Geuzenpenning
Encyclopedia
The Geuzenpenning is a Dutch award given to persons or organizations who have fought for democracy
and against dictatorship
, racism
and discrimination
. It has been awarded annually since 1987 in the city of Vlaardingen
.
The Geuzenpenning is an initiative of the Geuzen Resistance 1940-1945 foundation. The organization takes its name from the a resistance group called 'De Geuzen' which was active during World War II
around Vlaardingen
, Maassluis
and Rotterdam
. The resistance group, in turn, took its name from the Geuzen
, a collection of armed groups that fought the Spanish occupation of the Low Countries
in the 16th century, during the Dutch Revolt
. Fifteen of the WWII Geuzen were executed by German forces at the Waaldorp plain
on 13 March 1941, along with three leaders of the Amsterdam
February Strike
. After the war, surviving members of the group started the foundation to honor the memory of their fallen comrades and the Geuzen ideals, to promote and maintain democracy in the Netherlands
and to heighten global awareness of all forms of dictatorship, discrimination and racism.
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
and against dictatorship
Dictatorship
A dictatorship is defined as an autocratic form of government in which the government is ruled by an individual, the dictator. It has three possible meanings:...
, racism
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
and discrimination
Discrimination
Discrimination is the prejudicial treatment of an individual based on their membership in a certain group or category. It involves the actual behaviors towards groups such as excluding or restricting members of one group from opportunities that are available to another group. The term began to be...
. It has been awarded annually since 1987 in the city of Vlaardingen
Vlaardingen
Vlaardingen is a town in South Holland in the Netherlands. It is located on the north bank of the Nieuwe Maas/Nieuwe Waterweg river at the confluence with the Oude Maas...
.
The Geuzenpenning is an initiative of the Geuzen Resistance 1940-1945 foundation. The organization takes its name from the a resistance group called 'De Geuzen' which was active during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
around Vlaardingen
Vlaardingen
Vlaardingen is a town in South Holland in the Netherlands. It is located on the north bank of the Nieuwe Maas/Nieuwe Waterweg river at the confluence with the Oude Maas...
, Maassluis
Maassluis
Maassluis is a town in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality had a population of 32,847 in 2004, and covers an area of 10.11 km² .It received city rights in 1811...
and Rotterdam
Rotterdam
Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
. The resistance group, in turn, took its name from the Geuzen
Geuzen
Geuzen was a name assumed by the confederacy of Calvinist Dutch nobles and other malcontents, who from 1566 opposed Spanish rule in the Netherlands. The most successful group of them operated at sea, and so were called Watergeuzen...
, a collection of armed groups that fought the Spanish occupation of the Low Countries
Low Countries
The Low Countries are the historical lands around the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers, including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany....
in the 16th century, during the Dutch Revolt
Dutch Revolt
The Dutch Revolt or the Revolt of the Netherlands This article adopts 1568 as the starting date of the war, as this was the year of the first battles between armies. However, since there is a long period of Protestant vs...
. Fifteen of the WWII Geuzen were executed by German forces at the Waaldorp plain
Plain
In geography, a plain is land with relatively low relief, that is flat or gently rolling. Prairies and steppes are types of plains, and the archetype for a plain is often thought of as a grassland, but plains in their natural state may also be covered in shrublands, woodland and forest, or...
on 13 March 1941, along with three leaders of the Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
February Strike
February strike
The 1941 February Strike, also known as 'The Strike of February 1941', was a general strike organized during World War II in the Netherlands against the anti-Jewish measures and activities of the Nazis. Its direct causes were the pogroms held by the Germans in the Jewish neighbourhood of Amsterdam....
. After the war, surviving members of the group started the foundation to honor the memory of their fallen comrades and the Geuzen ideals, to promote and maintain democracy in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
and to heighten global awareness of all forms of dictatorship, discrimination and racism.
Recipients
The Geuzenpenning has been awarded to:- 1987 - Amnesty InternationalAmnesty InternationalAmnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
, Netherlands chapter - 1988 - Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands (posthumously)
- 1989 - Stichting Februari 1941 (February 1941 Foundation)
- 1990 - Richard von WeizsäckerRichard von WeizsäckerRichard Karl Freiherr von Weizsäcker , known as Richard von Weizsäcker, is a German politician . He served as Governing Mayor of West Berlin from 1981 to 1984, and as President of the Federal Republic of Germany from 1984 to 1994...
, president of West GermanyWest GermanyWest Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990.... - 1991 - Bernard IJzerdraatBernardus IJzerdraatBernardus IJzerdraat was a Dutch resistance fighter in the Second World War.A tapestry restaurer from Rotterdam, he became involved as early as 1936 in the Eenheid door Democratie movement which opposed Fascism and Communism...
, resistance figher (posthumously) and László TőkésLászló TokésLászló Tőkés is a Romanian politician of Hungarian ethnicity, currently serving as a Member of the European Parliament and Vice President of the European Parliament ....
, RomaniaRomaniaRomania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n minister and revolutionary - 1992 - Anne Frank Stichting (Anne FrankAnne FrankAnnelies Marie "Anne" Frank is one of the most renowned and most discussed Jewish victims of the Holocaust. Acknowledged for the quality of her writing, her diary has become one of the world's most widely read books, and has been the basis for several plays and films.Born in the city of Frankfurt...
Foundation) - 1993 - Max van der StoelMax van der StoelMax van der Stoel, KCMG was a Dutch politician and former Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands. He served as the first High Commissioner on National Minorities of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe....
, UNUnited NationsThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
inspector in IraqIraqIraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
and High Commissioner on National MinoritiesHigh Commissioner on National MinoritiesCreated on July 8, 1992 by the Helsinki Summit Meeting of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, the High Commissioner on National Minorities is charged with identifying and seeking early resolution of ethnic tension that might endanger peace, stability or friendly relations between...
in Europe - 1994 - Doctors without Borders, Netherlands chapter
- 1995 - Václav HavelVáclav HavelVáclav Havel is a Czech playwright, essayist, poet, dissident and politician. He was the tenth and last President of Czechoslovakia and the first President of the Czech Republic . He has written over twenty plays and numerous non-fiction works, translated internationally...
, president of the Czech RepublicCzech RepublicThe Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest.... - 1996 - Harry WuHarry WuHarry Wu is an activist for human rights in the People's Republic of China. Now a resident and citizen of the United States, Wu spent 19 years in Chinese labor camps. In 1992, he founded the Laogai Research Foundation. In 1996 the Columbia Human Rights Law Review awarded Wu its second Award for...
, ChineseChinaChinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
dissident - 1997 - Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo
- 1998 - Vera ChirwaVera ChirwaVera Mlangazua Chirwa is a Malawian born lawyer and human and civil rights activist. She was Malawi's first female lawyer and a founding member of the Malawi Congress Party. She fought for multiparty democratic rule in Malawi and was charged with treason, tried and sentenced to death by the...
(MalawiMalawiThe Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by Lake Malawi. Its size...
, AfricaAfricaAfrica is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
), Noel PearsonNoel PearsonNoel Pearson is an Aboriginal Australian lawyer, academic, land rights activist and founder of the Cape York Institute for Policy and Leadership, an organisation promoting the economic and social development of Cape York....
(AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
), Muchtar Pakpahan (IndonesiaIndonesiaIndonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, AsiaAsiaAsia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
), Rosalina TuyucRosalina TuyucRosalina Tuyuc Velásquez is a is a Guatemalan human rights activist. She was elected as a Congressional deputy in 1995, elected from the national list of the New Guatemala Democratic Front, and served as Vice President of Congress during that period.Tuyuc is a Kaqchikel Mayan.In June 1982, the...
(GuatemalaGuatemalaGuatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
, AmericasAmericasThe Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
) and Sergei Kovalyov (RussiaRussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, EuropeEuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
) - 1999 - Human Rights Association (Turkey)Human Rights Association (Turkey)The Human Rights Association is an NGO for advancing Human rights in Turkey, founded in 1986 and headquartered in Ankara.- History :...
, Turkish human rights organization - 2000 - Nataša KandićNataša KandicNataša Kandić is a Serbian human rights activist and the founder and executive director of Humanitarian Law Center , an organisation campaigning for human rights and reconciliation in the former Yugoslavia.- Work :After finishing her studies in Sociology, Nataša Kandić became...
(SerbiaSerbiaSerbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
) and Veton SurroiVeton SurroiVeton Surroi is a popular Kosovo Albanian publicist and politician. Surroi is the founder and former leader of the ORA reformist political party, and was a member of Kosovo assembly from 2004 to 2008...
(AlbaniaAlbaniaAlbania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
/KosovoKosovoKosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
), human rights activists - 2001 - European Roma Rights CentreEuropean Roma Rights CentreThe European Roma Rights Centre is an international public interest law organisation engaging in a range of activities aimed at combating anti-Romani racism and human rights abuse of Roma. The approach of the ERRC involves, in particular, strategic litigation, international advocacy, research and...
and the Dutch National SintiSintiSinti or Sinta or Sinte is the name of a Romani or Gypsy population in Europe. Traditionally nomadic, today only a small percentage of the group remains unsettled...
Organisation - 2002 - Asma JahangirAsma JahangirAsma Jilani Jahangir is a leading Pakistani lawyer, advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, President Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan and human rights activist, who works both in Pakistan and internationally to prevent the persecution of religious minorities, women, and exploitation...
, PakistaniPakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
lawyer and women's rights advocate - 2003 - Defence for Children InternationalDefence for Children InternationalDefence for Children International is an independent non-governmental organisation set up during the International Year of the Child to ensure on-going, practical, systematic and concerted international and national action specially directed towards promoting and protecting the rights of the...
- 2004 - Íngrid BetancourtÍngrid BetancourtIngrid Betancourt Pulecio is a Colombian politician, former senator and anti-corruption activist.Betancourt was kidnapped by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia on 23 February 2002 and was rescued by Colombian security forces six and a half years later on 2 July 2008...
, ColombianColombiaColombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
politician - 2005 - Richard GereRichard GereRichard Tiffany Gere is an American actor. He began acting in the 1970s, playing a supporting role in Looking for Mr. Goodbar, and a starring role in Days of Heaven. He came to prominence in 1980 for his role in the film American Gigolo, which established him as a leading man and a sex symbol...
on behalf of International Campaign for TibetInternational Campaign for TibetThe International Campaign for Tibet is a private non-profit advocacy group working to promote democratic freedoms for Tibetans, ensure their human rights, and protect the Tibetan culture and environment. Founded in 1988, ICT is the world's largest Tibet-related NGO, with a total membership of...
, an organization for human rights and democracy in TibetTibetTibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people... - 2006 - Haitham Maleh, SyrianSyriaSyria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
human rights activist - 2007 - Human Rights WatchHuman Rights WatchHuman Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...
- 2008 - Martti AhtisaariMartti AhtisaariMartti Oiva Kalevi Ahtisaari is a Finnish politician, the tenth President of Finland , Nobel Peace Prize laureate and United Nations diplomat and mediator, noted for his international peace work....
, former president of FinlandFinlandFinland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
and mediator of international conflicts and civil wars - 2009 - Al HaqAl HaqAl-Haq is an independent Palestinian human rights organization founded in 1979 and based in Ramallah in the West Bank. It monitors and documents human rights violations by all parties to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, issuing reports on its findings and producing detailed legal studies.Al-Haq...
and B'TselemB'TselemB'Tselem is an Israeli non-governmental organization . It calls itself "The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories"...
, a PalestinianPalestinian peopleThe Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...
and an IsraeliIsraelThe State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
human rights organization respectively - 2010 - Betty Bigombe, president of the Arcadia Foundation
- 2011 - Sima SamarSima SamarDr. Sima Samar OC is a politician in Afghanistan, who served as Minister of Women's Affairs of Afghanistan from December 2001 to 2003...
, Afghan human rights activist, and the Armed forces of the Netherlands