Citation
OVIEDO, Spain, April 22 (Reuter) - Spanish missionaries in war-ravaged
Rwanda and Burundi were on Friday awarded the 1994 Prince of Asturias
Prize for Communication and Humanities, one of Spain's most prestigious
awards, the jury announced.
The jury made special mention of Sister Pilar Espolin, who with two
other Spanish nuns ran a hospital in the Rwandan town of Kibuye, and
gave several graphic accounts of violence in Rwanda's tribal war by
telephone to Spanish state radio.
Most Spanish missionaries have now been evacuated.
The jury wanted to emphasise with this award the new frontier in
communication opened by missionaries based in Rwanda and Burundi in
face of the tragic events in those countries,
the announcement said.
A total of eight Prince of Asturias prizes, named after Spain's Crown
Prince Felipe and each worth five million pesetas (about $35,000) are
awarded every year in areas including international cooperation, sport,
arts, literature and social sciences.
(c) Reuters Limited 1994
