The Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats (CALD) and Liberal International (LI) recently concluded the “CALD-LI Mission to Asia: Fortifying Liberal Democracy and Partnership in the Region”. This mission, apart from discussing the current issues and concerns of liberal parties and organizations in Asia, also aimed to strengthen the means of communication and networking amongst CALD, LI and their partners in the region.
The mission, held on 6-10 April 2010, included visits to the capitals of Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. The members of the delegation were: Mr. Hans van Baalen, Member of European Parliament and LI President; Mr. Emil Kirjas, LI Secretary General; Mr. Yim Sovann, Member of Parliament and Speaker of the Sam Rainsy Party of Cambodia; Mr. Lito Arlegue, CALD Executive Director; and Ms. Connie Chung, LI Asia and Human Rights Officer.
On April 7, the CALD-LI delegation met with the officials of the Democrat Party at the Thai National Assembly. Aware of the failure of negotiations between the government and the red shirt protesters just before Easter, Mr. van Baalen conveyed the support of CALD and LI to the Democrat Party, which, he desribed as “the only political party in Thailand that can nurture democracy and bring about political stability.” Speaking in behalf of the Democrat Party, Party Spokesman and Member of Parliament Dr. Buranaj Smutharaks expressed the party’s sincere gratitude for the support and noted that the presence of the delegation was “an important source of courage” at their time of need. While the meeting was being held, the red shirts surrounded the Thai Parliament, forcing the host to cut short the meeting and call for a press conference. In the press conference, Mr. van Baalen reiterated the support of CALD and LI to the legitimate government of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, and his hope for the immediate resolution of the political crisis in Thailand.
Mr. van Baalen’s public lecture on “Tolerance and the Protection of Minority Rights” in the University of Malaya on April 8 commenced the mission’s Malaysian leg. In his speech, Mr. van Baalen related the experience of Europe with regard to promoting tolerance and protecting the rights of minority groups, before discussing his thoughts on Malaysia’s record on these issues. The lecture was followed by a luncheon meeting with high-ranking officials of Parti Gerakan Rakyat, a CALD member party and an observer party in LI. Mr. Arlegue from the CALD Secretariat tackled CALD’s possible activities in Kuala Lumpur in collaboration with the party, while Mr. van Baalen conveyed LI’s desire for the party to seek full LI membership status. A seminar on “Human Rights, Democracy and Free Market: Guarantee for Development” where Mr. van Baalen, Mr. Arlegue and economist Dr. Shankaran Nambiar served as panelists capped the delegation’s line-up of activities in Malaysia.
On April 9 in Singapore, the delegation had a briefing with the Singapore Democratic Party, another CALD member and LI observer party, on how they can assist each other in furthering the democratic agenda in the city-state. This was followed by a roundtable discussion (RTD) the next day with other opposition parties and members of civil society organizations. The RTD participants from Singapore agreed that while they have differences, they must work together in order to bring about democratic change in their country. Mr. van Baalen reiterated that “only this (opposition alliance) will force openness and democracy”, otherwise, the Singaporean government would just continue with its old authoritarian ways.
The joint CALD-LI mission was made possible through the support of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation (FNF).
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