Taken from BBC website

CALD Resolution No. 5 S. 2002

A resolution congratulating Mr. Roh Moo-hyun and the Millennium Democrat Party (MDP) for their  victory in the recent Korean presidential elections; expressing its confidence in Mr. Roh especially in terms of ensuring peace in the Korean peninsula; celebrating with the People of Korea the blessings of democracy; and wishing for continued and  closer cooperation between Mr. Roh and the MDP, and CALD in the future towards common aspirations for peace and democracy in the region

Pleased that Mr. Roh Moo-hyun of the Millennium Democratic Party had won the Korean presidential elections last December 19, 2002; 

Affirming that the recent elections displays the Korean people’s political maturity and commitment to democracy;

Affirming further that, considering its remarkable achievements in terms of democratization and industrialization, South Korea is a political and economic model worthy of emulation by her neighbors in East and Southeast Asia;

Noting that the South Korean elections have regional and international implications given Seoul’s role in ensuring peace in the Korean peninsula and the country’s position in the world market as the 13^th largest economy;

Believing that the victory of Mr. Roh is a vindication of President Kim Dae Jung’s Sunshine Policy and provides a clear mandate for the ruling Millennium Democrat Party to pursue with its policy of constructive engagement with North Korea

Convinced that Mr. Roh would have a major role to play not only in Korea but in international affairs as well especially in the context of North Korea’s admission of harboring nuclear weapons and U.S. President Bush’s anti-terrorism policies in the Korean Peninsula and the rest of Asia;

Remarking that Mr. Roh’s economic policy of free-market reforms coupled with reducing the gap between the rich and the poor and his diplomatic policy of conciliation and peaceful resolution to conflict reflect genuinely liberal democratic policies, which would work towards CALD’s vision for Asia as a region of peace, democracy and progress;

Noting that Mr. Roh addressed the recent CALD-European Liberals Democrats & Reform (ELDR) Party Group Meeting held last October 31 to November 1 in Seoul, Korea which was co-sponsored by the Millennium Democrat Party and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation

Now therefore be it resolved as it is hereby resolved that the Council of Asian Liberals & Democrats congratulate Mr. Roh Moo-hyun and the Millennium Democrat Party (MDP) for their victory in the recent Korean presidential elections; express its confidence in Mr. Roh especially in terms of ensuring peace in the Korean peninsula; celebrate with the People of Korea the blessings of democracy; and wish for continued and closer cooperation between Mr. Roh and MDP, and CALD in the future towards common aspirations for peace and democracy in the region.

For the Council of Asian Liberals & Democrats:

M. R. Sukhumbhand Paribatra, MP
Chair
 

December 21, 2002