UK Labour leader receives peace prize amid media silence

UK Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has been awarded an international peace prize for his anti-war efforts, an event that was largely ignored by major British and international media.

Corbyn received the prestigious Sean MacBride Peace Prize for his “sustained and powerful political work for disarmament and peace” on Friday, after a powerful speech at the UN office in Geneva.

“As an active member, vice-chair and now vice-president of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament in the UK he (Corbyn) has for many years worked to further the political message of nuclear disarmament,” read a press release from the International Peace Bureau.

Pointing to Corbyn’s record as a former head of the Stop the War Campaign in the UK, the statement commended the Labour chief for advocating “peace and alternatives to war.”

“As a member of parliament in the UK he has, for 34 years continually taken that work for justice, peace and disarmament to the political arena both in and outside of Parliament,” the statement said of Corbyn.

“He has ceaselessly stood by the principles, which he has held for so long, to ensure true security and well-being for all – for his constituents, for the citizens of the UK and for the people of the world,” it continued.

• Corbyn calls for end to UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia

Corbyn has called for dismantling Britain’s costly nuclear weapons program, known as Trident.

He has also promised to end the UK’s weapons deals with Saudi Arabia, amid mounting criticisms that British weapons are being used to kill Yemeni civilians. Stopping UK airstrikes in Syria and opting for a political solution to resolve the years-long conflict there is another priority on Corbyn’s list.

Lack of media coverage

Social media users noted the limited coverage of the news, raising questions over the true intent behind the media silence.

“#BBCNews is it true Jeremy Corbyn won an international peace prize this weekend, just I'm yet to see/hear it on any of your news programs,” wrote one user on twitter.

Another user said the silence was intentional, because the news was “perhaps inconvenient for national party politics.”

Dedicated to the memory of peace campaigner and 1974 Nobel Peace Prize winner and a founding member of Amnesty International Sean MacBride, the award, was also given to political activist and historian Noam Chomsky.

PressTV-American dream has collapsed: Chomsky

Lack of attention for popular demands and a declining society has lead to the death of the American dreams, according to Noam Chomsky.

The renowned linguist won the award for leading a decades-long push for peace, fighting imperialism and militarist US foreign policy. He will be presented with his award in the US next year.

A Japanese campaign group against the US military presence in Okinawa was another winner. They received the award in Barcelona in November.

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