Hungarian Award Rejected By Finnish Writer
- 10 Oct 2014 9:00 AM
Finnish writer and translator Hannu Launonen has refused to accept a prize financed by the Hungarian government, on the grounds that Hungarian government policies regarding human rights and freedom of opinion are irreconcilable with basic principles of the international writers group PEN.
Launonen received the Order of Merit from then president Pál Schmitt in 2011 for decades of outstanding work.
He has refused the Janus Pannonius prize, financed partly from private and partly from government funds.
American poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti refused the prize hen it was first presented, in 2012, citing concerns similar to those expressed by Launonen.
Source: Hungary Around the Clock
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