Issue 101

 

Liberals embraced at the Democratic National Convention

Jointly hosting a reception with ELDR President Annemie Neyts at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, LI President, Lord Alderdice spoke warmly of the global hope that was engendered by the Obama candidacy but warned of a time of great danger for the world. Lord Alderdice said: 'In 1858 gold was struck in Denver and people rushed here with hope of finding something that would give them a chance of a better future.  Exactly 150 years later we come to this great city, optimistic that we are seeing in the nomination of Barack Obama the rebirth of political hope in international relations.' The Democratic National Convention, and the US presidential elections, turned into events of global importance as the new administration in the White House will have an impact in many countries around the world. Senators Barack Obama and Joseph Biden will lead the Democratic ticket at the presidential elections. Addressing the international audience, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Chairman of LI's partner National Democratic Institute said: 'We Americans like to think of ourselves as exemplars of generosity and virtue, but to many people in many places, we are selfish, imperious and violent. The voters will want the new President to transform this perception...'. Joined by prominent liberals from around the world, the LI delegation consisted of LI President Lord Alderdice, Deputy President Hans Van Baalen, Vice President Bi-Khim Hsiao and Secretary General Emil Kirjas. A number of liberal leaders were present at the DNC, among them Lord David Steel, former President of Liberal International, Mátyás Eörsi, leader of the ALDE group in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Douglas Ferguson, President of the Liberal Party of Canada, Mohand Lanser, leader of Mouvement Populaire of Morocco, Bart Somers, Chairman of Open VLD of Belgium, Alexander Petchtold, Leader of D66 of the Netherlands, Ousmane Traore, Preisdent of CPR of Mali, Cecilia Malmström, Minister for Europe of Sweden, Senator Jerry Grafstein, head of the Liberal Group in the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and Federica Sabbati, Secretary General of ELDR .

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Georgian deputy PM pledges for international liberal support

Georgian Deputy Prime Minister Georgy Baramidze and the President of LI member party, the Republican Party of Georgia, David Usupashvili, addressed over 60 liberal representatives from around the world and asked for international support against the aggressive attitude of the Russian Federation against Georgia. 'What we have been witnessing in the past weeks in Georgia is an aggression of the Russian Federation against a sovereign and democratic country. The military aggression was followed by an aggression on the international obligations and commitments that Russia obliged itself to. The recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia is a provocation to the entire free and democratic world. We are grateful to the liberals for being firm in their support and defence of our common principles'. LI leadership met with the Georgian delegation and was firm in its support to the preservation of Georgian sovereignty. Lord Alderdice expressed the concern about the recent developments: 'These are dangerous times, not just because of the economic uncertainty, a developing energy and environmental crisis and lack of any real progress in the Middle East.  Events in Georgia have in a few short days set us back years and threaten a new and deeply dangerous confrontation. We must face these dangers together as progressives, or our world will be drawn back into the darkest of times.'

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President of RELIAL in Argentina amidst celebrations of RECREAR’s 6th Anniversary

Liberal International observer member Recrear para el Crecimiento (Recrear) is today celebrating its sixth anniversary with a banquet in Buenos Aires. The leader of the Party, Mr Esteban Bullrich, tells us that “the party was created as an outcome of the serious financial crisis that Argentina went through during the final days of 2001. Recrear immediately went in the thick of things by finishing third in the presidential run of 2003. Shortly after, the party became members of a coalition named PRO, which is now governing the Argentinean capital, Buenos Aires.” Regarding the future of the party, Mr Bullrich states today that “a lot has been done so far, but a lot still remains to be done in the future…We, Recrear para el Crecimiento, and the PRO coalition are building our strength in order to be a strong contender in the presidential elections of 2011.” The president of LI cooperating organisation RELIAL (Red Liberal de América Latina), Otto Guevara, travelled to Argentina to meet with the leaders of RECREAR ; and also with other political leaders of that country as well as with some of the think tanks that are members of RELIAL. Next, he will travel to Paraguay to meet with the leaders of the Partido Liberal Radical Autentico (PLRA) as well as the newly elected Vice President of the country, Dr. Federico Franco as well as with MP's. The intention of the meeting is to explore different ways to support the role of the liberals in the new government of Paraguay.

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Liberals vs. Conservatives - election imminent in Canada?

With four by-elections in the upcoming weeks along with a parliament that some have characterized as inefficient, speculation is rife across Canada that an election could be imminent. One of the central platforms in an upcoming election will be the environment, an issue championed by Liberal Party of Canada (LPC) leader Stéphane Dion. In the run-up to the next election, Mr. Dion has also indicated that arts and culture funding would be a major issue, saying that it underlines 'the striking contrast between the negative approach of the Conservatives and the optimistic approach of the Liberals, a good arts policy and standing up for the freedom of artists is a good economic policy for Canada.' The Conservatives have drastically cut arts and culture support. Supporting the LPC's commitment to equality, Mr. Dion was present in Montreal for the city's annual Gay Pride Parade earlier this summer - unlike the Conservatives who had no representatives on hand. Mr. Dion said it was important to show support for the gay-lesbian-bisexual-transgender community. 'Beyond the support that one must show to a community, it's also the values of diversity and respect that we are expressing,' he said. Under the former administration of Liberal Prime Minister the Hon. Paul Martin; Canada became one of the first nations in the world to legalize gay marriage. On 27 August, Prime Minister Stephen Harper asked the Governor General, Her Excellency Michaëlle Jean to cancel a trip abroad. The Governor General alone has the power to dissolve parliament acting on advice of the Prime Minister. This past week, at the DNC, the LI leadership met with LPC President Doug Ferguson and expressed their full support for the looming elections. LI is also very proud to announce that the LPC, as one of the founding members of LI, will host the Spring Executive Committee in 2009.

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Mexican leaders to combat increasing violence

Mexico has recently overtaken Colombia and Iraq for the number of kidnapping and acknowledging the country´s increasing kidnap and murder rates, Mexican leaders have agreed on a series of tough measures to tackle the problem. The measures include sacking corrupt police officers, two new prisons for kidnappers and strategies to combat money laundering and drug trafficking. The national security pact, initiated by President Felipe Calderon, conveys a large national unity and has been signed by prosecutors and leaders across the political and regional spectrum. The increased violence has also sparked public outrage. A sign of the growing public fury is planned anti-kidnap marches for August 30th. The leader of Nueva Alianza, Liberal International observer member in Mexico, Mr Jorge Kahwagi Macari comments that “the current situation in Mexico is caused by the corruption and historic wear out of its institutions and society. There is not a single day when Mexicans don´t hear or read about murders, kidnappings and all kind of violence that affect all social levels.” Mr Kahwagi continues stating that “Nueva Alianza supports all the measures taken by President Calderon, but political parties haven´t been involved enough in the development or implementation of these policies. We are convinced that in this moment Mexican political parties have to answer to society´s demand for security in order to achieve social wellness as well as educational, cultural and economic development. We have to develop and support the best solution in order to fight the worst problem for Mexicans, namely insecurity. We will work hard in order to achieve security, peace and order in our country and we´ll do this by presenting new laws that satisfy Mexican demands.”

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LI Prize for Freedom laureate does not meet with UN Special Envoy

From 18 to 22 August, the UN special envoy Ibrahim Gambari undertook his sixth trip to Burma aimed at facilitating talks between the main opposition party and the military junta. Though meeting with the National League for Democracy (NLD) representatives and  officials, a meeting between Mr Gambari and the main leader of the NLD, (and LI Prize for Freedom laureate) Dawn Aung San Suu Kyi was cancelled. Mr Nwe Aung, the Europe Representative of the National Council of Union of Burma, a full member of  LI cooperating organisation, the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats, expressed his views on his visit, 'Mr Gambari is believed to be a good diplomat in general, but in particular he failed to accomplish his assigned mission to Burma. He is supposed not to advocate the military regimes' 2010 elections. According to the successive UN resolutions, he should recognize and advocate the result of the 1990 general elections in Burma, in which the NLD party won by landslide. Aung San Su Kyi is at present in  a bad  situation. Her personal doctor could visit her only very recently after a pause of about 9 months. Although she has been under solitary confinement for 13 years, she was not allowed to meet and consult with her lawyer. Only recently was she allowed to meet her lawyer. She is very disappointed of the treatment of the military regime, and especially the visit of Gambari, who acted as a advocate of the military regime instead of the UN Secretary General. He failed to fulfill his mission in Burma.' He concluded in his statement, 'We welcome and support the decision of Aung San Suu Kyi not to meet with Mr Gambari on his recent visit to Burma. The UN Secretary General should seriously take good lesson of Gambari's visit and should try to implement the UN mission concretely and correctly when he visits the country in December 2008.'

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LI Human Rights and Asia Officer changing at the LI Office

After two years as Human Rights and Asia Officer at the Liberal International secretariat, Fang-yi Wells will pursue a new career in law. Fang-yi is proud of her work at LI: 'Working for Liberal International has been the most proud and wonderful experience of my life. I am highly thankful for the support that I've received from the Bureau, Secretary General and my many colleagues. Without everyone's support, I would not have been able to accomplish all that I have, specifically with various human rights projects. I am truly honoured and thank you, Liberal International.' Fang-yi's ability to inspire others, her impressive knowledge of Human Rights and politics in general as well as her remarkable cooperation-ability will be much missed at the LI secretariat. LI Secretary General, Emil Kirjas comments 'Always modest and smiling, Fang-yi has managed successfully to hide the fact that she was the back-bone of the LI Secretariat in the past turbulentyear. She takes a great credit for the smooth transition that LI has undertaken over the past 12 months and for the increased quality of service to the member parties. I, just like everyone who has worked with her, will miss her a lot in our every day work and I wish her outmost success as lawyer'. The secretariat welcomes Jessie Chou as the new Human Rights and Asia officer. Ms Chou holds a Bachelor Degree in political science from the National Taiwan University in Taipei and has, during the past four years, been working as an assistant for Bi-Khim Hsiao, a former Taiwanese MP as well as a Vice-President and Bureau member of Liberal International.

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