Changes

[http://www.studentsforfreeculture.eu/blog/2012/01/actas-eu-chief-kader-arif-resigns-in-protest/ ACTA's EU chief Kader Arif resigns in protest]</ref>

[http://www.studentsforfreeculture.eu/blog/2012/01/actas-eu-chief-kader-arif-resigns-in-protest/ ACTA's EU chief Kader Arif resigns in protest]</ref>

===Sakharov Laureates Concern Over ACTA===

===Sakharov Laureates MEPs to Reject ACTA===

The winners of the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought expressed their concern over ACTA and sent a letter of Appeal to the MEPs asking them to protect the freedom of expression and information by rejecting the treaty. According to them, "The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) was negotiated in secrecy and is now being forced on elected representatives as a done deal to which they are asked to assent. This approach represents a dangerous bypassing of the democratic process." <ref>[http://en.rsf.org/union-europeenne-online-freedoms-threatened-by-15-12-2011,41557.html Statement by the Sakharov Laureates, Appeal to Members of the European Parliament]</ref> The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought is an award established by the European Parliament in 1988 to recognize the contributions of individuals and organizations in promoting human rights and fundamental freedoms. It was named after Russian physicist Andrei Dmitrievich Sakharov who won the Nobel Prize in 1975 for his efforts in increasing the awareness on the dangers of nuclear arms.<ref>

The winners of the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought expressed their concern over ACTA and sent a letter of Appeal to the MEPs asking them to protect the freedom of expression and information by rejecting the treaty. According to them, "The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) was negotiated in secrecy and is now being forced on elected representatives as a done deal to which they are asked to assent. This approach represents a dangerous bypassing of the democratic process." <ref>[http://en.rsf.org/union-europeenne-online-freedoms-threatened-by-15-12-2011,41557.html Statement by the Sakharov Laureates, Appeal to Members of the European Parliament]</ref> The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought is an award established by the European Parliament in 1988 to recognize the contributions of individuals and organizations in promoting human rights and fundamental freedoms. It was named after Russian physicist Andrei Dmitrievich Sakharov who won the Nobel Prize in 1975 for his efforts in increasing the awareness on the dangers of nuclear arms.<ref>

[http://www.europarl.europa.eu/aboutparliament/en/002398d833/Sakharov-Prize-for-Freedom-of-Thought.html Background to the Sakharov Prize]</ref>

[http://www.europarl.europa.eu/aboutparliament/en/002398d833/Sakharov-Prize-for-Freedom-of-Thought.html Background to the Sakharov Prize]</ref>