Lidové noviny, 4 February 2010

The Czech Republic is officially supporting the nomination of Chinese dissident and human rights activist Liu Xiaobo for the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize, reports Lidové noviny. In the Czech parliament, which the daily notes, has not been able to agree on anything for several weeks, this is the one issue to achieve a consensus. Writer and university professor, Liu Xiabo was sentenced to 11 years in prison last December for his association with Charter 08: a manifesto which criticizes the government in Beijing. The reference to Charter 77 — a major pro-democracy initiative in communist Czechoslovakia — prompted the Czech parliament to announce its support for Liu. Spain will be backing another nominee: on 1st February, ABC reported that Plataforma FVF, an independent citizens association supported by a number of newspapers and public figures, proposed the nomination of the Vicente Ferrer Foundation. The foundation, which is named after a Catalan aid worker who died in 2009, plays a key role in bringing humanitarian aid to India's poor.