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(May 17, 2008/ Belfast, Northern Ireland) The Council of Asian
Liberals and Democrats (CALD) held today its first Liberal
Regional Networks Meeting during the 55th Liberal
International Congress. This gathering, co-organized and
supported by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation (FNF), aimed to
discuss avenues and initiatives to further develop and sustain
the efforts in strengthening the institutions of human rights
protection, the rule of law, and democracy.
The participating organizations included representatives of
member parties from CALD, FNF, Africa Liberal Network (ALN), Red
Liberal de América Latina (RELIAL), and Alliance of Liberal and
Democrats for Europe (ALDE).
Dr. Rajiva Wijesinha, secretary general of the Sri Lankan peace
secretariat, chaired the first session. The participants engaged
in discussions on the status of freedom and democracy in their
respective countries. They shared factors that give rise to a
weakening of democracy and the prevalent practices that
contribute to this development.
Members of the panel were Hon. Sam Rainsy, MP, president of the
Sam Rainsy Party in Cambodia; Hon. Tetsundo Iwakuni, MP, deputy
chair of the Administration Committee and director general of
the International Department of the Democratic Party of Japan;
and Prof. Ibrahim Lipumba, chairman of the Civic United Front in
Ghana.
According to Iwakuni,
Japan is having a problem dealing with the outmoded system of
representation in parliament. Citizens, he also mentioned,
become more and more disillusioned with the “politics as usual”
syndrome and increasingly feel alienated.
While Rainsy, leader of the Cambodian opposition, stressed that
election observers act more as “tourists,” but do little in the
follow though with the nitty-gritty of making democratic
processes and institutions functional, transparent and
accountable. This contributes to the weakening efforts in
preserving institutions and upholding democratic values.
A
productive dialogue on the strategies and liberal solutions to
safeguard democracy followed in the second session. Ambassador
Kasit Piromya, director for International Affairs of the
Democrat Party of Thailand, moderated the plenary composed of
Mr. Otto Guevara, co-founder of the Libertarian Movement Party
in Costa Rica; Dr. Neric Acosta, secretary general of CALD; Dr.
Mamadou Lamine Ba, deputy
administrator of the Democratic Party of Senegal (PDS); and
Hon. Graham Watson, MEP, leader of ALDE.
Dr. Ba emphasized that liberals must pay more attention to
poverty in Africa vis-à-vis our struggles for democracy. This
same insight was underscored by Prof. Lipumba in the first
session. They explained further that individual action and the
international efforts to inculcate and deepen democratic values,
especially in struggling democracies, would help secure economic
gain in the long run.
Dr. Acosta, on the other hand, mentioned that democracy and the
state have been captured by big businesses, big media, and big
money in many of our countries. He challenged liberals to fight
with new modes, new ideas, and new technologies to defeat the
forces that constrict the spaces of freedom.
Moreover, Graham Watson added that democracy is strengthened as
we integrate our actions and ideals – across borders and
cultures. Quoting from Victor Hugo, he also imparted the vision
of each liberal: that we all must work for the time when the
only battlefields are those of markets open to free exchange and
competition, and of minds open to new ideas.
Ms. Bi-khim Hsiao, re-elected vice-president of the Liberal
International and director of the International Affairs
department of the Democratic Progressive Party of the Taiwan,
moderated the last part of the program which was a discussion on
the development of regional networks and on the ways to improve
cooperation among liberal organizations.
According to Otto Guevara,
liberals are “cursed to be freedom-fighters” and should find
ways to keep the bond among networks across regions stronger.
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