Walter Judd Freedom Award 2010 Press Release by The Fund for American Studies
Human Rights Advocate for North Koreans Earns Freedom Award
Suzanne Scholte has been selected as the 2010 recipient of the Walter Judd Freedom Award
July 11, 2010. For more information contact Shane Mazzella 202-986-0384,
Washington, D.C. – The Fund for American Studies (TFAS) will award Mrs. Suzanne Scholte the 2010 Walter Judd Freedom Award for advancing the cause of freedom in North Korea. Called by one newspaper “the unsung angel behind [the] North Korea Human Rights Push” Scholte has been a major driving force for advancing the cause here in the United States for human rights in North Korea.
Her program that she launched in 1996 brings defectors from North Korea to the United States to raise awareness of the human rights conditions in North Korea and to support the defectors efforts to bring freedom and human rights to their homeland through radio broadcasting, balloon launches, and other means. Since that time she has sponsored over 57 North Korean defectors, many for multiple visits.
Roger Ream, President of The Fund for American Studies said, “The oppressed people of North Korea have no better friend here in the United States than Suzanne Scholte. When freedom finally arrives to that beleaguered land, it will be in part because of her ceaseless and tireless efforts.”
The Judd Freedom Award was established in 1993 to recognize an individual who has devoted his or her life to the preservation and expansion of freedom; who has been influential in world and national affairs; has been an outspoken voice against tyranny and oppression; and who embodies self-sacrifice and patriotism. These are the values of Dr. Walter Judd, a former US Congressman and missionary, whose courage, spirit, and oratory inspired thousands of people worldwide throughout his seven decades in public life.
Past award recipients include: President Ronald Reagan, Mr. William F. Buckley, Jr., Ambassador John Bolton, The Honorable Jack Kemp, Ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick, US Representative Frank Wolf, and Dr. Lee Edwards.
Scholte will receive the award on Tuesday, July 20th at an event on the Georgetown University campus.
The award is bestowed in conjunction with the Engalitcheff Institute on Comparative Political and Economic Systems. ICPES is one of five internship programs for college students sponsored by The Fund for American Studies, an educational nonprofit in Washington, D.C. For more information, visit www.TFAS.org.
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