CALD General Assembly 2014 Concludes in Siem Reap

The 2014 General Assembly (GA) Conference of the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats (CALD) ended on 13 April in Siem Reap, Cambodia – the ancient capital of the Khmer Empire.  With the theme relating to minorities and indigenous groups, the GA Conference aimed to assist CALD member-parties and other stakeholders in formulating policy responses to protect and empower minorities and indigenous peoples in Asia.

“We have many minorities and indigenous peoples in Asia, and we have been witness to the various issues and problems that they confront”, CALD Chair Sam Rainsy said in his welcome remarks.  “For this reason, it is very topical and helpful to organize this conference on protecting and empowering minorities and indigenous peoples, so that we, in our capacity as political or party leaders, can better respond to their marginalization.”

The Conference was divided into five (5) sessions, excluding a special session on women, which, to a large extent, share many of the issues and problems of marginalized communities.

In the first session, Profiling Asia’s Minorities and Indigenous Peoples, two culturally diverse countries, the Philippines and Myanmar, were discussed.  Member of the Philippine House of Representatives Francis Gerald Abaya examined the Moro Muslims of the Philippines in light of the recent passage of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) entered into by the government with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).  Two Members of the Myanmar House of Representatives, Than Ngwe and Naing Ngan Lin, on the other hand, traced the plight of marginalized groups in their country to British colonization and to the rule of the military junta.

Thailand, Cambodia and Sri Lanka were discussed in the second session, Looking into the Causes of Economic Exclusion and Discrimination.  In his presentation, Former Thai Minister of Foreign Affairs Kasit Piromya pointed out that marginalization of Thai Muslims could not be addressed unless peace is secured in southern Thailand.  In the case of Cambodia, Latt Ky of the Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC) called for full disclosure of information and stricter implementation of the laws with regard to land concessions, which usually lead to displacement of indigenous peoples.  National Organizer of the Liberal Party of Sri Lanka, Newton Peiris, concluded the session with a discussion on the implications of the end of the civil war on the condition of the Sri Lankan Tamil population.      

The second day opened with a special CALD Women’s Caucus session chaired by Cambodian parliamentarian Mu Sochua. In this session, the work of the group of Kimsour Lim, a young female activist, to save Areng Valley from “development aggression” was highlighted.

The third session, Responding to Marginalization: Assimilation vs. Integration covered two countries with clear ethnic policies – Malaysia and Singapore.  Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia’s Lau Yew Wee discussed how the New Economic Policy (NEP), a socio-economic affirmative action program by the Malaysian government, has significantly improved the economic conditions of the Bumiputera.  In the case of Singapore, Wong Wee Nam of Singapore Democratic Party noted that while there is a semblance of ethnic harmony in the city-state, much more needs to be done to build an inclusive and cohesive Singaporean society.  The session was ended by Myanmar Peace Center’s Nyo Ohn Myint’s presentation, which highlighted the importance of trust-building in the process of crafting Myanmar’s ethnic policy.

In the fourth session, Protecting and Empowering Minorities and Indigenous Peoples: What Party Leaders and Policy-Makers Can Do, Shih-chung Liu of Democratic Progressive Party of Taiwan and Richard Tsoi of Democratic Party of Hong Kong shared their experiences on how their respective countries and political parties, by establishing relevant institutions and crafting the necessary policies, protect and empower their minorities and indigenous peoples.  In particular, they emphasized the importance of education, social welfare and legal protection in addressing discrimination and economic exclusion of marginalized groups.

The last session was a world café session where the delegates were divided into three groups to assist in drafting CALD’s position on minorities and indigenous peoples.  The three topics discussed under the facilitation of Democrat Party of Thailand’s Prakob Chirakiti, Philippine Member of House of Representatives Lawrence Fortun and Democratic Progressive Party of Taiwan’s Sophie Hsu, were: major issues of marginalized groups in Asia; instruments to address marginalization; and what can CALD do to improve the plight of minorities and indigenous groups.

“As liberals and liberal democrats, we understand minority rights as a fundamental tenet of democratic space that complements majoritarian rule.  In a democracy, numerical strength, or victory in electoral terms, would not mean in any way that majoritarian rule will be done at the expense of minority rights.  Minority rights are inalienable rights, and no one, not even those who win elections, has the right to infringe on these”, CALD Secretary General Neric Acosta said.