Reporters Without Borders, winner of the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought in 2005;

Strongly rejects the systematic violence and the recurrent acts of harassment suffered by the Sakharov Prize laureates the ‘Damas de Blanco’ (‘Ladies in White’) when they peacefully demonstrate and ask for the release of their relatives, incarcerated in Cuba for more than five years now; calls on its President to reiterate to the Cuban authorities its request that Oswaldo Payá, winner of the Sakharov Prize in 2002, be permitted, in accordance with the invitation extended to him by the European institutions to appear before them in person and explain the current political situation in Cuba; further calls on its President to express to t ...[+++]he Cuban authorities Parliament's strong wish and determination to welcome, in the coming weeks, the ‘Damas de Blanco’ to one of Parliament's places of work for the official presentation to them of the 2005 Sakharov Prize;

Welcomes the public presentation of the 2007 Report by the Council and the Commission at Parliament's December 2007 plenary session, in parallel with the award of its annual Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought to Salih Mahmoud Mohamed Osman from Sudan; has now established a regular practice and made the December plenary session an annual focal point for the EU's activities on human rights;

Strongly regrets the rejection by the Burmese and Cuban authorities of Parliament's request for their agreement to the sending of a delegation to visit former Sakharov Prize laureates; considers that Parliament should facilitate the establishment of a network of Sakharov Prize laureates, with regular meetings being held in Parliament;

147. Welcomes the active role played by the Subcommittee on Human Rights, the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on Development and the President of Parliament in standing up to cases of injustice around the world, especially through the award of the Sakharov Prize; considers that Parliament should aim at conferring more than a momentary visibility and that it should better fulfil the expectations raised, e.g. through systematic liaison with former laureates and sustained support; takes the view that the European Parliament should facilitate the establishment of a network of Sakharov Prize laureates, with regular meetings bein ...[+++]g held in the European Parliament so that the Sakharov Prize laureates may associate themselves with Parliament's activities in the field of human rights; strongly regrets the response of the Burmese and Cuban authorities to Parliament's request for their agreement to the sending of a delegation to visit former Sakharov Prize laureates;

147. Welcomes the active role played by the Subcommittee on Human Rights, the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on Development and the President of Parliament in standing up to cases of injustice around the world, especially through the award of the Sakharov Prize; considers that Parliament should aim at conferring more than a momentary visibility and that it should better fulfil the expectations raised, e.g. through systematic liaison with former laureates and sustained support; takes the view that the European Parliament should facilitate the establishment of a network of Sakharov Prize laureates, with regular meetings bein ...[+++]g held in the European Parliament so that the Sakharov Prize laureates may associate themselves with Parliament's activities in the field of human rights; strongly regrets the response of the Burmese and Cuban authorities to Parliament's request for their agreement to the sending of a delegation to visit former Sakharov Prize laureates;