Speeches, etc.

Margaret Thatcher

Remarks on the death of Dr Andrei Sakharov ("an inspiration to millions")

Document type: Speeches, interviews, etc.
Venue: Bristol
Source: BBC Radio News Report 1800 15 December 1989
Editorial comments:

Morning; exact time and place of issue uncertain.

Importance ranking: Minor
Word count: 169
Themes: Foreign policy (USSR & successor states), Civil liberties

Political leaders from all over the world have been paying tribute to the Soviet nuclear physicist and human rights campaigner, Dr Andray Sakharov, who died last night in Moscow.

In a letter to Dr Sakharov's widow, Mrs Yelyenna Bonner, Mrs Thatcher described him as one of the great figures of our time, who was an inspiration to millions.

President Bush said he “personified all that was good and decent in the human spirit” and leaders of the European Parliament praised the role he played in Perestroika and Glasnost.

In the Soviet Union itself, where Dr Sakharov was once sent into internal exile, tributes have been paid to him in the official media, and by President Gorbachev, with whom Dr Sakharov clashed over the pace of reform. Preparations are now being made for the funeral.