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Water on the Brain

jonathanfryer — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 22:43:42 +0000

Oil has dominated the geopolitical agenda for the past three decades, not least since George W Bush and Dick Cheney have been in charge in Washington. But water could be the new oil, according to Ed Davey, Liberal Democrat Foreign Affairs spokesman and MP for Kingston and Surbiton. He was the keynote speaker at the annual general meeting of the Liberal International British Group (LIBG) at the House of Commons this evening, presided over by Malcolm Bruce MP (Chairman of the all-party Select Committee on International Development). Ed underlined how important the issue of water is in relation to peace and security, not only in the Middle East, but in so many regions of the world. The party president, Simon Hughes MP, also put in an appearance at the AGM and underlined his support for LIBG and its internationalist work. Amongst the distinguished gathering was Emil Kirjas, (Macedonian) Secretary General of Liberal International, and the Canadian Liberal MP, Marco Silva.

At the subsequent dinner, at the National Liberal Club, we were able to thank David Griffiths, who has for many years served as either Chairman or Secretary of the group, as well as the outgoing Treasurer Ahmad Mallick. There is likely to be a generational change within LIBG over the next year or so, which is essential for the smooth functioning of any healthy organisation. In the meantime, LIBG will be hosting what promises to be one of the liveliest fringe meetings at the Bournemouth LibDem autumn conference, on the theme 'Middle East: Is a Two-State Solution Still Viable?', with speakers including Ran Gidor (Counsellor at the Israeli Embassy), Jeff Halper (from the Israeli Committee against House Demolition), a Palestinian academic (to be confirmed) and Willie Rennie, MP, who was recently on a fact-finding mission to Israel/Palestine.

Link: www.libg.org.uk

Holding Burma to Account

jonathanfryer — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 22:53:43 +0000

Burma has an unfortunate tendency to disappear quickly from the headlines in the Western press. In Britain, it is seen as a less 'sexy' subject than Zimbabwe, though in many ways the situation in Burma is as bad, if not worse. The military junta is a kleptocracy that enslaves its people and seems devoid of any feeling when thousands of Burmese citizens die. Moreover, whereas there is a growing feeling internationally that the Zimbabwean regime is on its last legs (Robert Mugabe's personal longevity perhaps only explicable by the hypothesis that the Devil can't quite face welcoming him into Hell), the Burmese junta seemingly could go on and on, fed by its country's natural resources and bolstered by the compliance of some of its neighbours.

China's failure to use its clout to hold Burma to account is well known. But as Malcolm Bruce, MP (Chairman of the House of Commons Select Committee on International Development) said at a Liberal Democrat pasta and politics in Hackney tonight, India -- the self-proclaimed world's largest democracy -- hasn't exactly been turning the screws, as it could. I argued in the discussion following Malcolm's presentation that the best hope for change may come through regional pressure, from within ASEAN (one recalls that Vietnam intervened to get rid of the genocidal Khmer Rouge in Cambodia), though don't hold your breath. ASEAN's southern African counterpart, SADCC, hasn't emerged with many brownie points re Zimbabwe, despite the efforts of some members such as Botswana and Tanzania.

Liberal International will be holding its next Executive in Bangkok, in December, and Burma will be right at the top of the agenda. Thailand has had to absorb hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing fighting, persecution and starvation in Burma, and has been the conduit for much recent aid. The West cannot bring the military thugs to account on its own -- and would probably be unwise to try. But if ASEAN took a lead, it could be a very different matter.

Three for the Price of One

jonathanfryer — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 21:45:42 +0000

Attendees at the Liberal International British Group's annual garden party at Anneliese Waugh's home in Moor Park earlier today had the unusual luxury of three distinguished guests of honour: Liberal Democrat Party President, Simon Hughes MP, the Secretary General of Liberal International, Emil Kirjas, and the former President of the parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe, Lord Russell-Johnston. The leitmotif of their short speeches was the importance of internationalism, both in terms of policy and in maintaining links with like-minded parties round the world. It was gratifying to hear confirmation from Simon that Nick Clegg is determined that next year's European elections will be fought on international issues -- in other words, matters which have a European dimension. Nine years ago, the LibDem election literature was all about education, health and crime -- and I'm still getting aggrieved complaints from pro-Europeans who wondered why we were shirking the challenge of fighting a European election properly then. 2004 was distinctly better. But I hope that in 2009, we will at last see the real thing!

Liberalism in Egypt

jonathanfryer — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 22:42:59 +0000

We had an excellent day seminar in Cairo today, on the challenges facing Liberal values in Egypt, organised by the local Democratic Front (a newly registered Liberal party, which is an observer member to Liberal International), with financial assistance and participation from the UK Liberal Democrats, with assistance from the Westminster Foundation for Democracy. Among the approximately 100 Egyptian participants were not only members of the Democratic Front, but also representatives of the venerable El Wafd party and the much newer (and currently somewhat besieged) El Ghad, as well as academics and journalists.

I gave two presentations: on the history of the British Liberal Party, and on the question of whether values of human rights, freedom and democracy are universal. The latter is something I often lecture on at London University's School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), and it's a burning issue in the Middle East. George W Bush has been trying to export an American template which, as I said, is not wholly accepted in Europe, let alone elsewhere in the world. Democracy, in particular, has to be fashioned in a way that corresponds to the specific realities of each individual country, though the broad principle of bottom-up legitimacy of power is something that can be generally valid.

Of course, it is much more difficult to promote Liberal values in developing countries with high levels of poverty and illiteracy, where the prime concern of most people -- including in Egypt -- is day-to-day survival. So it is likely that Liberalism has quite a long haul in Egypt, even though the country actually had a rather vibrant Liberal political environment before the British squashed it in 1882. The country is very much in transition, however -- even if most people appear to be unsure of where that transition is going.

Link: http://dfeg.wordpress.com

The World Food Summit

jonathanfryer — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 18:40:33 +0000

The presence of the Zimbabwean tyrant Robert Mugabe at the World Food Summit in Rome (which opened today) should not distract people's attention from the importance and urgency of the issues being discussed. The United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), which is hosting the conference, has warned industrialised countries that unless they increase yields, eliminate trade barriers and transfer food to where it is needed most, a global catastrophe could occur. Soaring food prices have pushed an estimated 100 million more people into hunger. However, the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon, urged governments to turn the criis into an opportunity. 'While we must respond immediately to high food prices, it is important that our longer term focus is on improving world food security,' he said.

President Luis Inacio 'Lula' da Silva of Brazil denounced what he called the intolerable protectionism which 'stunts and disrupts' farming in developing countries. Poorer nations are faced with food import bills 40 per cent higher this year. Though summits in themselves cannot resolve the crisis, this meeting is an important step in the right direction and will need to be followed up by all concerned, not least the European Union. Liberal International British Group (LIBG) presented a resolution on this subject to last month's Congress of the Liberal International in Belfast and will be encouraging the British Liberal Democrats to campaign hard on related matters.

The Ulster Folk and Transport Museum

jonathanfryer — Sun, 18 May 2008 19:45:49 +0000

The 55th Liberal International Congress ended on an unconventional note, with an evening reception at the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum in North Down, whose Alliance Party Mayor, Dr Stephen Farry, greeted the delegates on arrival. We were entertained in the (indoor) Transport bit, rather than the (outdoor) Folk bit, though colleens from the Royal Tara Dance Academy performed (brilliantly) for us, in front of a thumping great steam engine. The venue was every big little boy's fantasy: hall after hall of the most wonderful trains, trams, buses, cars, motorcycles, bicyles and so on. I bathed in the nostlagia of 1960s stuff, and not for the first time drooled at the beauty of early 20th century luxury cars. Most of the exhibits were actually made in Ireland, including, of course, a De Lorean car. But the most famous product of Ulster's transport craft, the Titanic was, of course, not on display, being at the bottom of the Atlantic.

Link: www.uftm.org.uk

International Day against Homophobia

jonathanfryer — Sat, 17 May 2008 17:04:44 +0000

Liberal International marked the International Day against Homophobia today with a speech by Boris Dittrich, Advocacy Director on LGTB issues at Human Rights Watch in New York. Boris (who used to be the leader of the Dutch social liberal party, D66) pointed out that homosexuality is a capital offence in seven countries in the world and a criminal offence in 77. Simon Hughes, MP, President of the UK Liberal Democrats, spoke about the case of the young Iranian gay man in his constituency who was at risk of being deported back to Iran where he could have faced execution -- a process halted because of the international outcry by LGBT and human rights organisations.

International lawyers met in Jogjakarta, Indonesia, a while back to draw up a set of principles aimed at achieving worldwide recognition of equal treatment in law for everyone, whatever their sexual orientation or gender identity. In order to avert accusations that European countries were trying to impose their views and customs on the world, Boris Dittrich got Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay to present the Jogjakarta Principles to the United Nations last year. Today, at the LI Congress in Belfast, a strong motion was passed urging political action in defence of these principles. As an interesting reflection of the universality of human rights values among Liberals worldwide, not a single person voted against the motion, even though there were representatives from many African and Arab countries whose governments or religious authorities have institutionalised homophobia.

Link: www.idahomophobia.org

From Hillsborough Castle to Stormont

jonathanfryer — Sat, 17 May 2008 10:10:17 +0000

One of the collateral benefits of Liberal International Congresses and Executives is the opportunity they provide to get to know new places round the world. Like most mainland Brits, I had never visited Northern Ireland, until I arrived in Belfast on Thursday morning. Being in Northern Ireland has certainly influenced the tone of some of the Congress debates, not least because the Congress hosts, David Ford of the Alliance Party, and his predecessor, (Lord) John Alderdice, have been so central to the process of negotation and reconciliation in the six counties.

The Congress is taking place in the Hotel Europa, which boasts the unusual distinction of being the most bombed hotel in the world (70 times), though mercifully such excitement is a thing of the past. On Thursday evening, there was a reception for the LI Executive at Hillsborough Castle, the Queen's Northern Ireland residence, where the Secretary of State, Shaun Woodward, greeted us. He is, of course, used to living in comfortable surroundings, being the wealthiest of the defectors who left the Conservatives for New Labour. Then last night, we were entertained at Stormont, the Northern Ireland Assembly building built in the 1920s with all the pompous trimmings of a still imperial power. As John Alderdice was Speaker there at a crucial period in Northern Ireland's development, he made the ideal tour guide.

Link: www.liberal-international.org

Africa Takes Centre Stage in LI

jonathanfryer — Fri, 16 May 2008 12:57:00 +0000

There was a time, not all that long ago, when Liberal International (LI) was a Euro-centric organisation. But that has changed dramatically in recent years, as democratic forces have gained ground in Latin America, Asia and Africa, and the LI family of parties has grown. That process is continuing at the LI Congress in Belfast this week, with new membes from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Morocco, Tunisia, Madagascar and the Seychelles joining the fold. Burkina Faso should have, as well, had the delegates from the party concerned had their British visa requests processed in time.

But the star double-bill this morning was President Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal, who gave a thoughtful speech covering a wide range of political, social and economic challenges for Africa, and the Zimbabwean opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangarai, whose impassioned plea for support from fellow Africans as he tries to wrest his country's oppressed people from the grasp of the liberator-turned-dictator, Robert Mugabe, rightly won a standing ovation. This was the first time I'd seen Tsvangarai in the flesh, and he was deeply impressive. But he is well aware that pressure from the West -- especially Britain -- can be portrayed by Mugabe and his thugs as neo-colonial meddling. This makes it all the more important for South Africa's Thabo Mbeki and other reginal leaders to get their fingers out and make sure that the second round of the Zimbabwean presidential elections goes ahead smoothly, and delivers the result a majority of Zimbabweans clearly want.

Link: www.liberal-international.org

Hall of Freedom

fileleytheros — Mon, 12 May 2008 16:40:43 +0000

Αναδημοσίευση από τη Φιλελεύθερη Διεθνή (Liberal International), την παγκόσμια ομοσπονδία των φιλελεύθερων κομμάτων. Είναι πραγματικά αμύθητος ο πλούτος των φιλελεύθερων ιδεών και πολιτικών που πηγάζει από την παράθεση τόσων λαμπερών εκπροσώπων του φιλελευθερισμού. Κάντε μια βόλτα, συγκρίνετε με άλλες πηγές… Αξίζει τον κόπο…

Liberalism > Politics > Hall of Freedom

Hall of Freedom

Jungfraujoch, Switzerland, 3600 meters above sea level

The Hall of Freedom is placed in a cavern of the Jungfraujoch glacier, accessible directly from the railway station. Crystals are placed for people from all over the world who fought or who are still fighting for Freedom.

Each crystal (in a different shape and size) is dedicated to one of these outstanding people with a plate quoting their name, date of birth and death, and country. The ice symbolises the harsh surroundings and the crystals symbolise the Freedom people fought for.

The period covered starts in 1848, the high time of Liberal Revolution and the birth of the modern liberal Swiss State, to our time. The ice caverns of the Jungfraujoch are visited by nearly 500,000 persons a year from all over the world. The Board of Jungfrau Railway Ltd supported the idea and made a large ice cavern available.

List of contents:

Singapore's Anti-Democracy

jonathanfryer — Thu, 08 May 2008 20:36:45 +0000

Singapore has many things going for it. It is prosperous, authentically multi-cultural (despite the large Chinese majority) and squeaky clean -- in fact, they even banned chewing gum for many years, so as not to mess up the streets and the transport system. Singapore has an airport that regularly tops the 'favourite airport in the world' list (eat your heart out, Heathrow). And despite the high population density on the island, it is green and in large parts a model of urban planning.

However, Singapore has a dark secret. It is a democracy that isn't. Firmly seen as 'one of us' by the West (including Washington and London), it is actually a one-party state. Any attempt to create a viable opposition, and for that to function properly, is thwarted at every turn. Take the latest developments. The Secretary General of the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP), Dr Chee Soon Juan, and a senior fellow party member, Mrs Chee Siok Chin, will be in court on Monday to hear what damages may be awarded against them for 'libeling' former Prime Minister Lee Kwan Yew (still the power behind the throne), and the current Prime Minister, Lee Hsen Loong (his son, surprise surprise). If past experience is anything to go by, the damages will be so high that the defendants will face bankruptcy. At other times, people who have dared to disagree have ended up in prison. That's how Singapore deals with its opposition.

It's all so sad. What ought to be a beacon of modernity and openness in South East Asia is actually a blot on the landscape, because of its systematic suppression of free democratic activity. Liberal International has appealed for urgent action by parliamentarians, the media and ordinary concerned citizens around the world. We are always keen to stand up against nasty dictatorships. Let us be true to our principles and stand up to the superficially charming anti-democracies as well.

Link: www.liberal-international.org

Food Price Crisis

jonathanfryer — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 23:45:41 +0000

Since Liberal International British Group (LIBG) submitteed a resolution on world food prices, to be debated at the Liberal International Congress in Belfast next month, the issue has shot up the global agenda. LIBG Executive member (and farmer) Phil Bennion, who drafted the text, rightly foresaw that we are not just heading for a crisis; we are already in it. This has now been stated with urgency by the World Bank and various other international institutions, which are worried that poor people in the developing world are being pushed into hunger by rocketing food prices. A labouring family's daily wages in Bangladesh, for example, are now only sufficient to buy one small bag of rice.

The Brazilian President, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who has been in the Netherlands for the past couple of days, was tackled on the issue by the Dutch Prime Minister, Jan Peter Balkenende, who wondered (as the LIBG resolution similarly wonders) whether the explosive growth of biofuels is not partly to blame for the current crisis, as land is taken out of food production to grow crops for biofuels. President Lula responded that the solution is simply to grow more food, but I'm not at all convinced that it is as simple as that. Brazil, like China and India, is championing increased private car sales, further boosting demand for fuels. I gave up my own car 8 years ago, and personally believe that we need more people to say that in cities, especially, individual car ownership is not a responsible template for the 21st century.