CALD 2007 Annual Report

2007 CALD

Council of Asian Asian Liberals & Democrats Democrats

ANNUAL REPORT

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from the incoming Chairman Let me come straight to the point: Democracy in Asia is in retreat.

Message

The assassination of Benazir Bhutto signals a drastic setback to Pakistan’s return to democracy. The crackdown on the opposition, media, and judiciary by Pervez Musharraf means that his country looks set to be embroiled in more political uncertainty.

The generals in Naypyidaw continue to maim and kill their own countrymen who would speak truth to them. Thousands languish in prisons across Burma, all because they want a say in the running of their country’s affairs, thanks largely to the cowardly inaction of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

In Thailand, a military coup dislodged former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra who was himself bent on authoritarian control. Ironically, the ensuing election may yet see the return of Thaksin.

The ruling coalition in Malaysia returned to strongman politics, arresting, jailing, and detaining without trial pro-democracy politicians and activists calling for reform of the country’s political system. The courageous advocates of change who showed up in the tens of thousands on the streets of Kuala Lumpur in the latter half of 2007 were met with tear gas, water cannons, and ready handcuffs.

And in my own country, Singapore, the government enhanced the penal code to give itself more power to curtail democratic activity. My colleagues and I, as well as civil- society activists, continue to be arrested and investigated for speaking and gathering in public.

Authoritarians in the region have beaten back the tide of change change that would have heralded freedom and democracy for the people.

Longtime autocrat Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore who advocated “Asian values” in place of democratic development is admired by like-minded politicians across Asia. The Vietnamese government has appointed him as an advisor, Thaksin openly proclaims his admiration for Lee’s ways, Chinese leaders continue to model its autocracy on Singapore’s, and even leaders of Taiwan’s Kuomintang, who recently won the parliamentary elections, sing praises of Lee Kuan Yew’s one-party system.

Such political myopia stems, to a significant degree, from the intimidation of the international press. Sued and prosecuted repeatedly in Singapore’s courts (the latest victims are the Far Eastern Economic Review and the Financial Times), publications and broadcasters operating in the region do not comment and analysis on the politicoeconomic reality of the city-state. As a result, the picture beamed to other countries is an unrealistic picture of an efficient and corrupt-free, 1

albeit authoritarian, governmental system. Nothing could be further from the truth. State exploitation of a significant layer of the underclass in Singapore is rampant. The only difference is that the repression is so pervasive and sophisticated that dissent is little heard.

As members of CALD, we must pay heed to despotism rearing its head again in Asia. We have come a long way to establish our credentials as leaders of liberal democracy in the region. Let us not stand by idly while the autocrats attempt to roll back the progress that we have helped to make.

Now is not the time for weak knees, especially in the face of an onslaught of challenges that threatens the fabric of democracy in our part of the world. Rather, is the time for leadership and action. We must take the initiative to support those who continue to strive mightily in the face of oppression and injustice. That support must not just be in word but also, and more important, in deed.

Under the steady hand of my predecessor, former Philippine Senate President Franklin Drilon, CALD has moved on critically important projects, such as the communications workshops and the election observation missions.

We also need to work more closely on the ground with member parties to develop youth and women participation, as well as to ensure greater and fairer access to the media. We need to continue to deepen and strengthen our relations with our partners in Europe: the Liberal International and the Alliance for Liberals and Democrats in Europe, as well as to make greater inroads into the political establishment in the United States. We must call greater attention of our partners to the growing political problems in our region.  As you can see, there is much that needs to be done. With an able Secretariat under the leadership of Dr. Neric Acosta, I am certain much will be done. If we persist and persevere in the ideals of CALD as we envisioned them when we first came together fifteen years ago, I have every confidence that we will succeed in our endeavor to bring about freedom to our shores and enable our peoples to live in dignity, justice, and prosperity.

To this end, I wish all of us greater strength and courage.

Dr. Chee Soon Juan

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from the SECRETARY GENERAL It was Woodrow Wilson, the academic-turned-US president, who said in the wake of the First World War and in the struggle to establish the League of Nations that we must “make the world safe for democracy.”

Today, almost a century hence, we are faced with a curious doubleedged reality: an increasing march of democratization across continents in a post-Cold War, globalizing world on one hand, and a growing trend of “illiberal democracies,” as writer Fareed Zakaria would have it, on the other. As we see the specter of “elected autocrats” in the region and around the world from Putin’s Russia to Chavez’s Venezuela and Musharraf’s Pakistan and the curbing of civil liberties and the violation of human rights in struggling democracies like the Philippines, Thailand, Bangladesh, and as far as Kenya, the call may well be the reverse of Woodrow Wilson’s battlecry: that we must “make democracy safe for the world.”

Message

We at the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats embrace this call as we celebrate our 15th anniversary this year. Our raison d’etre, in 1993 when the idea of an Asian grouping of liberal democratic parties was first conceived, and today after many international conferences, workshops, publications and with growing global networks such as those with the Liberal International or the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats of Europe rings ever true and steadfast: “safeguarding developing democracies in Asia.”

Indeed, democracy is under threat in many parts of the region and the world, buffeted by the forces of corrosive populism, widespread poverty, endemic corruption, and armed insurgencies and terrorism.

Freedom House notes and laments how democratic institutions in so-called “weak states” are held hostage to the practices of patronage and intolerance for dissent and free expression, and how electoral democracy is compromised by widespread fraud and the increasing influence of big money and special interests.

In 2007, the spirit of freedom yet again burst open in the unprecedented expression of protests in Burma led by heretofore apolitical monks. Via the wonders of the Internet and new technologies, the world watched and stood in solidarity with this tide of dissent and democracy in what is one of the most repressive and closed states on the planet today.

But the world also stood in horror as another brutal military crackdown ensued and quelled yet again what could have been a rising wave of democratization.

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Our new CALD Chairman, Dr. Chee Soon Juan of the Singapore Democratic Party, remains barred from traveling outside his country, was recently jailed, and has been facing bankruptcy charges for simply calling for greater freedoms and political rights. In the Philippines, unabated extra-judicial killings of journalists or activists represent a horrific scourge on the democratic landscape. Each of our member parties has its own rich narrative of sacrifice and struggle against the forces of state repression or the patent abuse of official power.

We at CALD, however, believe that the nodes of meaningful cooperation and struggle are everywhere, that every linkage and network forged between and among liberal democratic parties and organizations in the region and beyond contributes, however slowly or painstakingly, to the consolidating of democratic institutions and the rule of law, to the opening of more spaces for liberty, to the protection of human rights, and to the steady pace of the march of freedom. Building the foundations of partnerships and collaborative efforts every program pursued or project implemented for education and advocacy, human rights, political management, campaign reforms and strategies, and so on translates into more purposive action on the part of citizens, parties, civil-society organizations, media, and the academe to jealously protect the gains of democracy and keep the forces of tyranny at bay.

It is thus with pride that we present another year’s report on CALD and its string of activities, programs, and initiatives in 2007. And it is with great hope that we begin 2008 as a hallmark of 15 years of friendship and common purpose: that of ensuring that democracy in Asia will be safe and safeguarded in a world faced with the enormous challenges arising from rapid globalization, dizzying social change, and protracted conflicts.

Dr. Neric Acosta CALD Secretary General

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Contents MESSAGE FROM THE INCOMING CHAIRMAN MESSAGE FROM THE SECRETARY GENERAL

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CALD PROJECTS FOR 2007 CALD Political Party Management Workshop CALD Executive Visit to Jakarta CALD-ALDE Parliamentary Missions to Jakarta and Sinagpore CALD Women’s Roundtable and Executive Committee Meeting 5th CALD Communications Workshop CALD-LI Human Rights Conference

6 8 10 12 15 17 19

SPEECHES A Call for Collective Action on Human Rights Toward Greater Spaces of Freedom

21 22 24

RESOLUTIONS IN 2007

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BULLETIN Another CALD Program Officer Learns His ABCDE’s Some CALD Guestbook Entries Taiwanese Democrats and Filipino Liberals Meet In Celebration of a CALD Man A “Challenging” Hour A Full Four Days Post Mortems and Plans in Taipei ODA 101 New Party At the Helm A Toast to Two Liberal Stalwarts

31 32 33 35 36 39 40 42 44 45 47

INTERNSHIP A New Batch of Interns at the EP The Man from Burma Coeds at CALD

49 50 52 53

INTERNATIONAL ACTIVITIES Democrats Meet in Rome CALD Renews Support for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi CALD in Cambodia

55 56 58 60

SPEAKERS

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CALD CALD Members About CALD

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Projects Projects February

CALD POLITICAL PARTY MANAGEMENT WORKSHOP Jakarta, Indonesia / 4-7 February

A workshop, attended by senior staff of CALD member and observer parties, focusing on political party organization aimed at strengthening and developing their respective organizations.

CALD EXECUTIVE VISIT TO JAKARTA Jakarta, Indonesia / 7-8 February

20 Hosted by the Nation Awakening Party (PKB) and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP), this mission to the Indonesian capital was attended by parliamentarians and top party officials from CALD member and observer parties. An Executive Committee meeting was held, and the CALD delegation had audiences with the PKB and the PDIP.

April

ALDE-CALD PARLIAMENTARY MISSIONS TO JAKARTA AND SIngpore Jakarta, Indonesia and Singapore / 10-13 April

A joint parliamentary mission organized by the Alliance of Liberals & Democrats for Europe and CALD, with the support of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation, was organized in these two ASEAN cities to seek stronger cooperation between Asian and European liberals through issue-based discussions and dialogues.

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cald women’s roundtable and executive committee meeting Phnom Penh, Cambodia / 13-16 September

September

A roundtable discussion on the theme “Women in Politics: Beyond Affirmative Action” (as part of CALD’s commitment to the Win With Women Global Action Plan) was attended by senior officials of CALD member and observer parties. An Executive Committee Meeting was also held in this event hosted by the Sam Rainsy Party.

5th CALD communicaTions workshop Manila, Philippines / 18-23 November

November

007 Hosted by the Liberal Party of the Philippines, a workshop on political communication for Asian liberal and democratic parties and aimed at presenting trends and best practices in political campaigns saw the participation of senior media and communications specialists from CALD member and observer parties.

cald-li human rights conference Taipei, Taiwan / 7-11 December

December

Liberal International and CALD held a conference with the theme “Strengthening Networks and Combating Human Trafficking” in order to strengthen the LI-CALD parliamentarians network in terms of addressing human rights issues and the growing problem of human trafficking. The event, hosted by the Democratic Progressive Party of Taiwan, coincided with the CALD General Assembly and Turnover Ceremonies.

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Projects

CALD POLITICAL PARTY MANAGEMENT WORKSHOP Jakarta, Indonesia / 4-7 February

Neither nasty rain nor massive flooding could keep the participants and speakers in CALD’s very first Political Party Management Workshop from converging at its designated venue, the Four Seasons Hotel in Indonesia’s sprawling capital, early in the year. Perhaps this was because political parties worldwide seem to be losing the public’s confidence in them, and many now wanted see how parties could regain lost ground.

In Asia especially, many countries have weak political party systems that make them vulnerable to personality cults and patronage. For parties to serve the people, clear agenda and solid platforms are vital.

In preparing the workshop’s program, CALD observed that, “Political parties are the heart and soul of democracies. They form the cornerstone of a democratic society and serve a function unlike any other institution in a democracy. Parties aggregate and represent social interests and provide a structure for political participation. Representative democracy cannot function without alternative parties and candidates to vote for. Political parties are crucial in aggregating interests, presenting political alternatives, and forming a link between the voters and those elected.”

The objectives of the results-oriented workshop thus included: giving participants an overview of political parties and their role and functions in a democracy; refreshing their knowledge regarding the basic requirements and functions of political party organization and management; enabling them to learn from other political parties and identifying best practices in terms of management and internal party reform; encouraging transparency, accountability, and internal democracy in political parties; and enabling them to observe and understand the political environment in the host country, Indonesia.

The workshop, which was held with the support of Friedrich Naumann Foundation and hosted by CALD observer parties Nation Awakening Party (PKP) and the Indonesian Party of Struggle (PDIP), had as speakers Paul Rowland, senior resident director of the Indonesian Office of the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs; and Stefan Kapferer, head of the Representative Office of the State of Lower Saxony in Berlin and Germany’s Free Democrat Party former campaign and strategy manager. Acting as facilitators were top Philippine political

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consultant Malou Tiquia and National Institute for Policy Studies Executive Director Lambert Ramirez.

The participants were Peter Lim Bin from the National Council of the Union of Burma; Keo Phirum and Matthew Sherwin from the Sam Rainsy Party in Cambodia; Ahsanul Mina of PKP; Hendra Kusumah of PDIP; Dong-Ho Lee from the Uri Party of Korea; Katherine Ooi Seok Ting from the Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia; Asif Khan from the Liberal Forum Pakistan; Chit Asis from Liberal Party, Philippines; Romesh Fernando of the Liberal Party, Sri Lanka; and Jirayu Tulyanond of the Democrat Party of Thailand.

In attendance as well were Sungeun Lim of FNF Korea and Warsito Ellwein of FNF Indonesia.

By the time the workshop wrapped up, CALD Executive Director John Coronel was announcing that there would be another one in 2008. It was also revealed that CALD leaders were seriously reviewing the various recommendations submitted by the workshop participants on how to improve their respective parties through better systems and increased transparency.

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Projects

CALD EXECUTIVE VISIT TO JAKARTA Jakarta, Indonesia / 4-7 February

THE weather was far from welcoming when CALD held its first political party management workshop Jakarta in February, but the two CALD observer parties in Jakarta were nevertheless the perfect hosts.

On 6 February, former Indonesian president and current chairman of the Nation Awakening Party (PKB) H.E. Abdurrahman Wahid held a dinner reception at his Jakarta home for the members of the CALD executive committee, as well as for the workshop participants. Helping the former Indonesian leader with the hosting chores were his wife, former First Lady Shinta Nuriya Wahid, and daughter, Yenni Zarmubah Wahid.

The next day, the CALD delegation visited the PKB headquarters in Jakarta, where they were met again by Gus Dur and other top PKB officials.

On 9 February, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) received the CALD group at its headquarters in the Indonesian capital, with Secretary General Pramono Anung Wibowo leading the welcoming party. Wibowo also gave a speech in behalf of his party, and CALD Secretary General J. Nereus Acosta responded for the organization.

Both PKB and PDIP are parties to reckon with in Indonesia, and have turned in remarkable performances during elections. PKB’s Wahid was president of Indonesia from 1999 to 2001. His immediate successor, PDIP’s Megawati Sukarnoputri, was his vice president. Megawati was president from 2001 to 2004.

PKB and PDIP have been CALD observer parties for several years now, and both have proved to be steadfast friends of CALD. This was proven by the large turnout of members of both parties in the events PKB and PDIP both hosted in Jakarta.

At the reception at Wahid’s home, for instance, most of PKB’s senior officials were present, Minister Muhaimin Iskandar, General Chairman of the National Board; Secretary General Lukman Edy; Deputies Secretary General Moh. Hanif Dhakirity, Eman Hermawan, Rieke Dyah Pitaloka; Parliamentary Faction Chairperson Ida Fauziyah; Treasurer Bahruddin Nashori; and Deputy Chairmen Hermawi F. Taslim and Andy Muawiyah Ramli. Members of the advisory board TGK Ali Hanafiyah and Ahmad Rawi were also in attendance.

Members of Parliament who were also at the reception included Badriyah Fayumi, Saidah Sakwan, Lalu Misbah Hidayat, Marwan Jakfar, 10

Arifin Junaedi, Aris Junaedi, Anisah Mahfudz, M. Khaidir Wafa, A. Syafrin Romas, Mufid Busyairi, Nursyahbani Katjasungkana, Prof. Cecep Syarifuddin, Bisri Romly, Anna Mu’awanah, Abdullah Azwar Anas, Taufikurrahman Saleh, Saifullah Makshum, Ali Mubarok, Imam Nahrawi, Masduki Baidlowi, Suhendy Karyawan, Hamdun, and Ishartanto.

Among those on hand to greet the CALD delegation at the PDIP headquarters, meanwhile, were PDIP officials Mangara Siahaan, MP, Deputy Secretary General for Internal Affairs; Agnita Singedekane, Deputy Secretary General for External Affairs; Philips Wijaya, MP, Treasurer; Daniel Budi Setiawan, MP, Deputy Treasurer for Fund Management; Murdaya Poo, MP, Chief of Human Resources & Fund Raising; Panda Nababan, MP, Chief of Public & Media Relation/Deputy Chairman of the House Party Faction; Mindo Sianipar, MP, Chief of SmallMedium Scale Entrepreneurship & Cooperation/Deputy Chairman of the House Commission IV; Hamka Haq, Chief of Religion & Spirituality; Dudhie M. Murod, MP - Chief of Public Organization; Arif Budimanta, Chief of Foreign Affairs; Heri Akhmadi, MP, Deputy Chairman of the House Commission X; T. Gayus Lumbuun, MP, Deputy Chairman of the House Honorary Board; Theodorus J Koekrits, MP, Head of Disaster Mitigation Body; Bambang Wuryanto, MP, Department of Homeland Affairs/Regional Autonomy; Hasto Kristiyanto, MP - Deputy Secretary of Election Succession Body; Eva K. Sundari, MP; Ismayatun, MP; and Jasona Laoly, MP. Aside from Acosta, the CALD executive committee members were former CALD Chairman and Philippine Education Secretary Florencio “Butch” Abad; former CALD Secretary General and Democrat Party (Thailand) Spokesman Ong Ard Klampaiboon; Saumura Tioulong, MP, of the Sam Rainsy Party of Cambodia; CALD Women’s Caucus Chair and LP Vice President Rep. Dina Abad; Lee Kah Choon, Deputy Secretary General of the Malaysian People’s Movement Party (Gerakan); Dr. Rajiva Wijesinha, President of the Liberal Party of Sri Lanka; Chee Siok Chin of the Singapore Democratic Party; David Taw of the National Council of the Union of Burma; Amy Hsiao and Pingya Hsu of the Democratic Progressive Party of Taiwan; and Dr. Asif Khan of the Liberal Forum Pakistan.

The CALD delegation was joined by Friedrich Naumann Foundation’s Hubertus von Welck, Regional Director for East and Southeast Asia; Dr. Rainer Adam, Resident Representative (Jakarta), and Mr. Siegfried Herzog, Resident Representative (Manila).

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Projects

ALDE-CALD PARLIAMENTARY MISSIONS TO JAKARTA AND SIngpore Jakarta, Indonesia and Singapore / 10-13 April

A fruitful two days in one country, a surprise roadblock in another. The experiences of the joint CALD-Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) parliamentary mission in two neighboring nations may have been poles apart, but both still underscored the importance of dialogue to strengthen democracies, and of efforts to widen democratic space.

ALDE, the biggest third force in the European parliament, is a partner of CALD. Their joint mission actually aimed to discuss the development of democracy in Asia and Europe. In Indonesia, a populous nation that has been constantly in the throes of economic and political hardships, the mission completed a full-day workshop that touched on democracy, religion, and accountability in government without incident, aside from touching bases with CALD observer parties and Jakarta-leg hosts Nation Awakening Party and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle. But in Singapore, which has been ruled by the same party since 1965 even as it is acknowledged as a Southeast Asian economic powerhouse, the mission’s members were prevented from speaking in a previously scheduled public forum.

The request for the CALD-ALDE delegation to speak at the 13 April forum had been submitted to the Singaporean ambassador to the European Parliament on 29 March. But the local host, CALD member Singapore Democratic Party, did not receive a reply until 7 p.m. of 12 April. Singaporean authorities had not only turned down its request to hold the forum, the mission’s members were also denied professional visit passes, which are required of foreigners before they take to podiums in the city state.

One state media report said, “The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) says Singapore politics is reserved for Singaporeans and foreigners should not abuse their privilege by interfering in domestic politics.”

But ALDE delegate Graham Watson, MEP, said, “We have followed all normal procedures, our cooperation with liberal and democratic parties in Asia has grown out of the work of the Asia-Europe Foundation, based in Singapore, and I am therefore particularly surprised and disappointed at this decision.”

CALD delegate Henedina Abad, MP, of the Liberal Party (Philippines), also said, “As a group of Asian liberals and democrats, we are disappointed since this mission is supposed to be a continuing and constructive 12

dialogue on how best to pursue democratic ideals. We regret that this is misconstrued as being interference into Singaporean internal affairs.”

Still, the mission’s visit to Singapore was not all for naught. On 12 April, the joint delegation had a breakfast meeting with Holger Standertskjold, ambassador of the European Commission in Singapore.

The delegation then attended the 10th anniversary exhibit of the Asia Europe Foundation.

The CALD-ALDE delegates also had a meeting with SDP officials, among them Secretary General Chee Soon Juan.

But the delegates obviously had better results in Jakarta, where the joint mission had actually began on 10 April. The next day saw them hard at work at the workshop (supported by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation) at the Four Seasons Hotel, with many of the delegates acting as panelists.

The first session, “Challenges for Democratic Consolidation,” had for its panel the Democrat Party’s (Thailand) Kasit Piromya, former Thai ambassador to the United States; Philippine MP Abad; Ignasi Guardans, MEP, of Spain; and Lydie Poifer, MEP, of Luxemburg. Session 2, “Diversity Within Islam,” featured Cecep Syriffudin, MP, of PKB; Senator Rhina Bhar of Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia; and Jules Maarten, MEP, of the Netherlands and former secretary general of Liberal International.

Session 3, “Curbing Corruption and Increasing Transparency in a Globalized Economy (Addressing State Capture, Corruption, and Influence), had as speakers Saumura Tioulong, MP, of Cambodia’s Sam Rainsy Party; Fiona Hall, MEP, of the United Kingdom; and Eugenjus Gentivilas, MEP, of Lithuania.

Also at the workshop were ALDE’s deputy secretary general Nicolo Rinaldi, Watson, and Anders Samuelsen, MEP, of Denmark; Willa Chandra Sutriandi, MP, of PDIP, who was among those who gave brief messages at the start of the event; Badyiyah Fayumi, MP, of PKB; CALD Executive Director John Coronel; and FNF Regional Director for East and Southeast Asia Hubertus von Welck, who also gave a short speech.

Among the observers was Florian Witt, political adviser and attaché of 13

the European Union Representative to Indonesia, Brunei Darussalam, and East Timor.

The delegates managed to squeeze in a luncheon meeting with the local press and, later, an audience with former Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid at the PKB headquarters.

The members of the organizing committee for the mission were Coronel, Rinaldi, ALDE Secretariat’s Therese Murdock, CALD Program Officer Carlo Religioso, and FNF-Jakarta’s Nur Rachmi and Irina Dayasih.

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cald women’s roundtable and executive committee meeting Phnom Penh, Cambodia / 13-16 September

Projects

Men had a chance to say a few words during the event, but the spotlight remained steadfast on women in politics for the entire three days of a CALD meeting in Phnom Penh. Jointly presided by Henedina Abad, chairperson of the CALD Women’s Caucus and former MP from the Liberal Party (Philippines), and Saumura Tioulong, MP, of the Sam Rainsy Party of Cambodia, the CALD Women’s Roundtable took as a theme “Women in Politics: Beyond Affirmative Action.” Indeed, although women have made inroads in politics across the globe, they still wield far too little clout compared to the men and often do not have much impact on policy-making.

As late as 2003, for instance, women ministers were concentrated in social areas (14 percent) compared to legal (9.4 percent), economic (4.1 percent), political affairs (3.4 percent), and the executive (3.9 percent), according to the website onlinewomeninpolitics.org. It also noted that a mere “26 women presided over one of the Houses of the 178 existing Parliaments, 64 of which were bicameral.”

The CALD roundtable held 13 to 16 September at the Cambodiana Hotel was thus geared toward increasing women’s participation and presence in politics. It had two main parts: Getting There (experiences and best practices for getting selected and elected) and Staying There (transformative politics). Actually a follow-up to the 2006 CALD Women’s Conference on Advancing Women in Politics that was held in Taipei, Taiwan, the Phnom Penh gathering tackled questions such as “What are the roles of political parties in terms of establishing and tapping women’s votes?” and “Do women candidates make a positive difference in affecting the nature of campaigns?” Also discussed were the realities of political compromise as well as how women politicians can positively affect the political culture.

Recommendations made during the roundtable were then presented to the CALD Executive Committee, which had a meeting at the same venue.

Speakers for Part I were SRP Deputy Secretary General and former Cambodian Minister of Women’s Affairs Mu Sochua; Taiwanese MP BiKhim Hsiao; and former Thai MP and former Democrat Party Director General Dr. Pusadee Tamthai. Reactors, meanwhile, included CALD Secretary General J.R. Nereus Acosta and Cambodian MP Son Chhay of the SRP.

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For Part II, the speakers were Ng Siew Lai, member of the State Assembly and official of the Malaysian People’s Movement Party, and Maria Pakpahan of the Nation Awakening Party of Indonesia. The discussants were former Ambassador Kasit Piromya of DP Thailand and Dr. Rajiva Wijesinaha, head of Sri Lanka’s Peace Secretariat and former president of the Liberal Party.

The roundtable was hosted by the Sam Rainsy Party, with the support of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation and the Democratic Progressive Party of Taiwan. Cambodian opposition leader and MP Sam Rainsy, FNF regional director for East and Southeast Asia Hubertus von Welck, Taiwanese MP Sue Huang of the DPP, and CALD Secretary General Acosta all helped open the event with messages of support.

The activity’s objectives were in line with the Win With Women Global Action Plan that included: removing restrictions on women’s political participation, including restrictions on women’s suffrage and candidacy; increasing the number of female elected officials at the national, provincial, and local levels; ensuring that political parties include women in meaningful leadership positions and in meaningful numbers; and encouraging greater participation of women in government decisionmaking and advocating for legislation that enshrines full equality of men and women.

Even today, there are still countries that do not have universal suffrage, among them Brunei Darussalam. The United States, meanwhile, is the only industrialized nation that has not ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).

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5th CALD communicaTions workshop Manila, Philippines / 18-23 November

Projects

Getting one’s message across can be quite a challenge in today’s noisy world of politics, and so the latest CALD Communications Workshop concentrated on the sharing of campaign experiences of political parties and practical tips from political experts.

Held in Manila on 18 to 23 November, the workshop featured principles of political campaign communication that served as the theoretical framework. The participants then took turns presenting their respective parties’ experiences out on field, which in turn became the springboards for deeper discussions on what tactics work and why.

Among the highlights of the workshop was the talk given by Campaigns and Grey President Yoly Ong, a Philippine advertising top gun.

Participants were also regaled by the stories of how the Philippine opposition was able to maintain its majority in the Senate during the 2007 May elections despite the formidable efforts by the ruling coalition to wrest control of the Upper House. Former CALD Chairman and LP President Florencio Abad, for instance, spoke about the winning senatorial campaign of Benigno Aquino III, son of former President Corazon Aquino. A former Secretary of Education and MP, Mr. Abad served as the campaign manager of Senator Aquino. Rolando Averilla, chief of staff of Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, meanwhile recounted how they ran a campaign even while the candidate remained behind bars.

Genuine Opposition Spokesperson (G.O.) Adel Tamano later took the participants through the media plan that helped clinched the votes for most of his candidates.

The participants who presented case studies represented CALD member-, associate-, and observer-parties such as the Democrat Party of Thailand; the Democratic Progressive Party of Taiwan; the Liberal Party of the Philippines; the Liberal Party of Sri Lanka; Parti Gerakan Rakyat

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Malaysia; the Sam Rainsy Party of Cambodia; Singapore Democratic Party; Nation Awakening Party of Indonesia; Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle; and Liberal Forum Pakistan.

From Cambodia were Keo Phirum, Panharith Savan, and Sara Oum; from Indonesia Hanjaya Setiawan (PKB) and Munyati Sullam (PDIP); from Malaysia Chong Ah Yu, Kong Kim Hock, Wong Siew Ying; from the Philippines Rey Antonio Jose Altavas, Argee Gallardo, and Paul C.H. How; from Singapore Kong Kim Hock; from Sri Lanka Vaithilingam Shanmuganthan; from Taiwan Vivien Chen, Cheng-Jou Hsu, and Roger Lee Huang; and from Thailand Rujira Chaithi, Pattamon Pengsom, and Chonthira Poleewattana.

Facilitating the workshop were CALD Secretary General J.R. Nereus Acosta and LP media relations consultant Sammy Santos. Deedee Espina, managing editor of the LP magazine The Liberal, acted as the rapporteur.

The five-day workshop was hosted by the LP and supported by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation.

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cald-li human rights conference Taipei, Taiwan / 7-11 December

Projects

A parliamentarians’ e-network became the spark for the fourth joint project of CALD and Liberal International. The latter wanted its e-network to develop into a liberal mechanism that could be used to coordinate global efforts to protect human rights. CALD then proposed a humantrafficking agenda and the 2007 CALD-LI Human Rights Conference in Taipei was born.

The conference had the theme “Strengthening Networks and Combating Human Trafficking” and attracted high-profile speakers from across Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe to discuss the imperative institutional approaches to human rights and the rising global concern on human trafficking. According to the BBC, at least 600,000 people mostly women and children — are trafficked across national borders each year. It adds that this does not count “the millions trafficked within their own countries.”

“The victims of trafficking are often subjected to force, fraud, or coercion, for the purpose of exploitation,” observed Hubertus von Welck, East and Southeast Asia regional director of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation, which supported the conference jointly with the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy (TFD), in his welcome remarks. “Trafficking in persons is, therefore, a new form of slavery and is a terrible crime against ‘the fundamental rights and dignity’ of the victims. We must use all our efforts to end such criminal activities.”

“It is perhaps true that much of the international legal and human rights framework to combat human trafficking is in place,” von Welck also said.

“However, it has become increasingly clear to us all that cooperation and participation between governments, NGOs, international and private organizations and individuals are needed in order to successfully fight this terrible crime. Here the conference can help and provide a platform for further initiatives.”

The conference, held at the Taipei International Convention Center from 7 to 11 December, had among its aims strengthening the LI parliamentarians’ e-network on human rights; increasing public discussions on human rights by introducing human-rights topics in national parliaments; establishing a coordinated and united action across frontiers through the parliamentarian network; and developing closer cooperation among conference participants to implement a fullspectrum political analysis in international organizations.

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In their respective welcome addresses, LI President Lord John Alderdice and FNF’s von Welck both stressed the importance of sustaining the dialogue among the liberal organizations and reminded the assembly of the crucial roles these networks play in fighting for the cause of democracy and human rights.

Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian, meanwhile, referred to LI and CALD as “Taiwan’s best friends” during his opening remarks, and said that his government would continue to work hard with both organizations “for the freedom, democracy, peace, and security of all people.”

CALD Chairman Franklin Drilon, for his part, reiterated the call on parliamentarians to “relentlessly pursue policies that will eliminate crimes against humanity.”

The conference speakers included Baroness Falkner of Margravine, Liberal Democrat peer from the House of Lords in the United Kingdom; Andrej Zernovski, MP, deputy leader of the Liberal Democratic Party in Macedonia; Ambassador M. Nagui El Ghatrifi, executive member of the Network of Arab Liberals; Lord Russell Johnston, president of ALDE group in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe; Tina Acketoft, MP, deputy for the Parliamentary Assembly Council of Europe and member of the Liberal Party of Sweden; Tan Sri Dr. Chin Fook Weng, senator from the Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia; Lorenzo Tañada III, MP, chairman of the Human Rights Committee of the Philippine House of Representatives and member of the Liberal Party; Ambassador Kasit Piromya, director for International Affairs of the Democrat Party of Thailand and advisor to the party leader; and Cambodian members of parliament from the Sam Rainsy Party, Sam Rainsy, Saumura Tioulong, and Son Chhay.

Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party hosted the conference.

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Speeches A call for collection action on human rights Toward greater spaces of freedom

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a call for collective action on human rights H.E. Chen Shui-bian President of the Republic of China (Taiwan)

Remarks at the Liberal International Conference on Human Rights and the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats General Assembly, 8 December President of Liberal International Lord Alderdice, Chairman of the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats Senator Drilon, Director of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation’s East and Southeast Asia Regional Office Mr. Hubert von Welck, Distinguished Guests: Good morning to you all!

To start off, on behalf of the government and the 23 million people of Taiwan, I would like to welcome and express my most profound appreciation to our comrades for working hard in the quest for freedom and democracy, and congratulate Liberal International on this auspicious occasion as it celebrates its 60th anniversary.

Since its establishment in 1947, Liberal International (LI) has been committed to the causes of freedom, justice, and the rule of law, providing a most vital platform for cooperation between democratic parties in many countries. LI has made shining contributions to the spread of the fundamental values of liberalism, and its

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work is highly praised by people around the world.

LI and the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats (CALD) have played a positive role in helping to strengthen and consolidate Taiwan’s democracy and in maintaining peace in the region. When Taiwan is unfairly treated or unreasonably oppressed in the international arena, LI always stands up for its belief in democracy and freedom and speaks out for Taiwan. To us, it is like coming in from the winter cold to a warm fire.

Many members of LI and CALD have spoken or expressed concern about such issues as security in the Taiwan Strait, China’s military intimidation, and restrictions imposed on Taiwanese people when they travel abroad.

LI and CALD are also witnesses to the transformation of Taiwan’s democracy.

During the presidential elections in 2000 and 2004, LI and CALD held executive committee meetings here and observed the elections. Election time is again nearly upon us, with legislative elections scheduled to take place next January and the presidential election next March. In conjunction with these, referenda will also be held. I want to thank LI and CALD for once again coming to Taiwan in support of our democracy. We are truly grateful to you.

Much to our regret, China has stepped up its suppression in recent years. It has blocked Taiwan not only from international inter-governmental organizations that require statehood as a prerequisite for membership, but also from international nongovernmental organizations and alliances of political parties that do not require statehood as a prerequisite for membership. What’s worse, China does not stop at bullying Taiwan, but goes further to bully Taiwan’s friends.

For example, LI has called on the World Health Organization to allow Taiwan to participate so as to protect the health rights of Taiwan’s people, as doing so would both demonstrate a universal value and benefit the international community as a whole. It is astonishing, then, that China used this just appeal as an excuse to bully LI and maneuver to strip LI of its general consultative status with the United Nations.

Not long ago, our Legislative Yuan passed a resolution calling for Taiwan to participate in the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. After it was passed, I had hoped that the UN Secretariat would accept this document and place it in its archive. But to our

great regret, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon came out with a distorted interpretation of UN Resolution 2758 as his reason for rejecting this document.

Taiwan and the People’s Republic of China are two different countries, one on each side of the Taiwan Strait, and neither exercises jurisdiction over the other. This is an undeniable fact.

Holding fast to a belief in freedom, democracy, and human rights, Taiwan is willing to shoulder its responsibilities as a member of the international community. It is my earnest hope that our friends will continue to support Taiwan’s participation in international organizations.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the lifting of martial law. Taiwan was under martial law for 38 years under the KMT, the longest period of martial law in modern times. We have learned through personal experience how important it is to protect human rights. That’s why when I assumed the presidency in 2000, I announced that one of the major objectives of my government would be to build a nation based on human rights principles. I also proclaimed that Taiwan would abide by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, so that the development of human rights in Taiwan would mirror that seen worldwide.

In 2003, the Democratic Progressive Party government worked with political parties and organizations under LI to launch the LI Human Rights Project, which dispatched experts to promote human rights in all continents.

When the military regime in Burma violently cracked down to suppress its own people this September, our government quickly condemned its atrocities and urged the international community to intervene in the hope of seeing freedom, democracy, and peace returned to the Burmese people.

Any brutal or violent acts, whether to oppress one’s own people or to threaten foreign countries, cannot be tolerated by civilized society. I would like to appeal to the international community to see clearly the true nature of China’s authoritarian government and understand the implications of its awful human rights record. Moreover, the world should pay close attention to the military intimidation, diplomatic oppression, and united front tactics China uses against Taiwan.

Besides, although the human-rights situation has been improving in general, there are still many problems that must be addressed through the collective action of all members of the international community. Statistics show that, today, millions of people are being bought and

sold like commodities across the globe, which constitutes nothing less than a 21st-century slave trade.

We must not allow human beings to be denigrated and treated as commodities.

We will not stand for the brutalizing of people as a byproduct of globalization.

Taiwan’s Ministry of Interior last year proposed a plan to combat human trafficking, while last week, the Legislative Yuan added a chapter on combating human trafficking to the Immigration Act and introduced measures to strengthen the protection of the rights of foreign workers in Taiwan.

International cooperation is necessary to effectively curb human trafficking, implement a global disease prevention and healthcare network, and fight terrorism. The urgency of allowing Taiwan’s participation in international networks dealing with these issues is clear. We will continue to work hard with Taiwan’s best friends, LI and CALD, for the freedom, democracy, peace, and security of all people.

In closing, I would like to once again commend the efforts and contributions LI has made to the advancement of human rights across the world, and wish LI a very happy birthday on the 60th anniversary of its founding. As well, I wish the LI conference and CALD General Assembly every success. Thank you!

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toward greater spaces of freedom Hon. Franklin M. Drilon CALD Chairman

Speech delivered at the 10 December Turnover Ceremony in Taipei

His Excellency President Chen Shui Bian, President of Taiwan, distinguished members and officers of the Liberal International, CALD colleagues and friends, partners in the FNF and the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy, ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon.

Once again, let me take this opportunity to thank his Excellency President Chen and the Democratic Progressive Party for the warm hospitality accorded us on this visit, and for the friendship and solidarity among member parties of the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats that we affirm today.

I bring to you today the expression of gratitude and friendship of the Liberal Party of the Philippines, which has proudly stood and served as CALD Chair Party for the last two years. It was in Taiwan as well two years ago when we received the mantle of CALD’s leadership from the DPP and from my predecessor as CALD Chair, His Excellency President Chen.

This is an auspicious gathering of the CALD political family, as we celebrate today, December 10th, the 59 th anniversary of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, signed in

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1948 as humanity’s charter to enshrine the universality of human dignity and the right of every man, woman and child to live lives of freedom, justice, and prosperity.

We have come to this historic point of turning over for the seventh time the chair of the CALD, a shining testament to the enduring vision of CALD over the last 14 years. We have, indeed, come a long way since our founding in 1993, and from the time then Thai Foreign Minister Surin Pitsuwan acted as CALD’s first Chairman. Today, we are proud of the fact that Dr Surin’s energy and leadership as an Asian leader continues to be a source of inspiration as he assumes the post of ASEAN Secretary-General.

We salute the other Chair Parties and Chairpersons that have come before us: His Excellency President Chen, the Honorable Florencio ‘Butch’ Abad of the Liberal Party of the Philippines, the Honorable Sukhumbhand Paribatra of Thailand’s Democratic Progressive Party, the Honorable Sam Rainsy of the Sam Rainsy Party of Cambodia, and Dr. Rajiva Wijesinha of the Liberal Party of Sri Lanka. All of these Liberal leaders have left their lasting imprint of dedication and commitment to the cause of Asian democracy, human rights, and the rule of law.

Today the Liberal Party of the Philippines which along with the Democratic Progressive Party and the Democrat Party of Thailand has chaired CALD twice is honored to pass on the seal of leadership to the incoming chair party, the Singapore Democratic Party. Our friend and colleague, Dr Chee Soon Juan, has faced grueling challenges to bring greater openness and free expression in Singapore paying the high political cost of bankruptcy, imprisonment and the difficulty or prohibition of travel. Even as he is not able to join us today, we share in his unbending commitment to stand and fight for the most basic democratic rights; we salute his strength and courage in the face of political repression.

As we do so, we recall the highlights and watershed events and programs of the last two years, notably the first ALDE-CALDLI meeting on population, migration and the globalization of labor, which we held in Manila and Tagaytay in the Philippines in June 2006. Former President Corazon Aquino, our country’s icon of democracy and ‘people power,’ keynoted the conference, which gave CALD singular honor and great pride. Our CALD conference on Official Development Assistance (ODA) in picturesque Siem Reap in April 2006, hosted by the Sam Rainsy Party, was a seminal undertaking on the identification and assessment of best practices and approaches on ODA accountability. It

is also a source of pride that that we have launched today the CALD book that this conference engendered Tracking Aid: Public Accountability in Official Development Assistance another addition to the growing collection of CALD publications and books, an ‘Asian Democracy’ repository of liberal insights, best practices, academic treatises, presentations and essays on a range of political, social, and economic themes.

In Phnom Penh last September we held the CALD Women’s Roundtable, followed by a Roundtable on Democracy Challenges in Asia held in Bangkok. We consolidated our regional and global networks by high-level visits to Rome in April for the La Margherita Congress and International Democrats meeting and with former President of Indonesia Abdurahman Wahid in January and April this year.

In April the CALD and ALDE, led by Member of the European Parliament, the Hon. Graham Watson, embarked on a joint parliamentary mission to Singapore and Jakarta, with the participation of the Nation Awakening Party (PKB) and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) of Indonesia. It is most unfortunate, however, that on the mission’s Singapore visit, our ALDE and CALD colleagues were barred by the Singapore government from speaking in a forum on democracy in Asia and Europe; this made it to the BBC, which referred to the incident as the “gagging” parliamentarians reminiscent of “repressive authoritarian regimes.”

But like good and dogged liberals, we soldier on and remain hopeful and

OUR PARTY is the only serious challenger to the current regime

undaunted. CALD was active and wellrepresented in many forum-discussions in the successful Liberal International 54th Assembly in Marrakech, Morocco in November last year as it was in Sofia, Bulgaria in 2005. In Morocco, our former CALD Chairman Sam Rainsy was awarded the distinguished Freedom Prize and our former Taiwan MP and CALD Secretary General Bi-Khim Hsiao was re-elected as one of the six vicepresidents and the only Asian and the only woman vice-president — of Liberal International.

Our CALD resolutions covered a range of pressing issues such as resuming peace negotiations in Sri Lanka, standing in firm solidarity with Aung San Suu Kyi and the cause of freedom and democracy in Burma, expressing support for the embattled leaders of the Singapore Democratic Party, and calling for peace and dialogue vis-a-vis the Taiwan Straits issue. Workshops on political party management and political communications for member party staff were held in Kuala Lumpur, Taipei, Phnom Penh, and just a few weeks ago, in Manila. We have sent over ten CALD interns to the European Parliament and have had interns from DPP and even the United States in the Secretariat office in Manila.

All these activities for stronger networkbuilding, political education conferences, publications, inter-party exchange and internship programs, and workshops abundantly attest to the fact that we have not only progressed remarkably as a political family in 14 years, but that we have grown in institutional stature, respectability and strength in the region.

Our joint conference with the Liberal International here in Taipei and our continuing close partnership with the Friedrich Naumann Stiftung and the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy — serve as a stirring example of meaningful, enduring collaboration in attaining a common goal of deepening the traditions and trajectories of liberal democracy, human rights, the rule of law, and to enshrine and expand economic and political freedoms across Asia and the globe.

Again, the Liberal Party stands proud and honored in having served as CALD Chair Party for this second time. We are deeply inspired by the synergy of commitment and devotion of our member parties to the indivisible cause of freedom and democracy. As four of our member parties stand for elections in the next few months Thailand on December 23 rd, and Cambodia, Malaysia and Taiwan next year we affirm our unstinting solidarity and cooperation with all of them.

As we turn this seal of leadership to the Singapore Democratic Party, we uphold the cause and struggle for the fundamental right to free expression and assembly, democratic choice, and justice as embodied by brave individuals like Dr. Chee Soon Juan. We know that greater spaces of freedom and larger arenas of democracy in each of our countries can only bode well for the future of an Asia that is not only prosperous, but just, free and democratic steadfastly, resolutely liberal democratic.

Long live CALD and the democratic principles it professes and the liberal values it embraces. Long live Asian Democracy.

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Resolutions Resolution No. 1 S. 2007 CALD expressing its confidence on the Democrat Party’s legacy of democratic tradition with the positive ruling of Thailand’s constitutional court Resolution No. 2 S. 2007 CALD recognizing Mr. John Coronel’s exemplary performance and dedicated service as CALD Executive Director from 1999 to 2007 Resolution No. 3 S. 2007 CALD urging the LTTE to resume negotiations and to cease from attacking economic targets Resolution No. 4 S. 2007 CALD calling upon the Singaporean government to review its laws and legal processes that militate against the freedom of expression Resolution No. 5 S. 2007 CALD deploring the current spate of violence in Burma

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CALD resolutions in 2007

Resolution No. 1 S. 2007

Resolutions

Expresses confidence that, with the ruling of the Constitutional Tribunal, the Democrat Party’s legacy of democratic tradition will continue to flourish and contribute to the development of Thailand and its people; reiterates CALD’s belief that political parties are indispensable in any democratic country; and hopes for the immediate restoration of civilian rule in Thailand. Issued 1 June 2007 Resolution No. 2 S. 2007 Expresses gratitude to Mr. John Joseph Coronel, CALD’s first executive director who has held the post since 1999, for his tireless work and sterling service to the organization and its members; and, noting that he has submitted his letter of resignation effective 31 October 2007, wishes him continued success in his future endeavors. Issued 15 September 2007 Resolution No. 3 S. 2007 Urges the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to return to negotiations under the auspices of the Ceasefire Facilitators and the Co-Chairs and to cease from attacks on economic targets; requests the Sri Lankan government to refrain from initiating military action, while respecting its right to take defensive measures; welcomes efforts at rehabilitation and reconstruction, in which the international community should cooperate with the Government of Sri Lanka while paying due attention to the maintenance of human rights; thanks the International Committee of the Red Cross for responding positively to the Sri Lankan government’s request regarding road transport and ensuring LTTE’s cooperation, and requests that similar measures be taken to facilitate transportation of people and essential goods by sea; and urges the international community to stand steadfast against any forced conscription, and to protect all families, and in particular to ensure the recruitment of children stops forthwith. Issued 15 September 2007

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Resolution No. 4 S. 2007 Calls upon the government of Singapore to: review its laws and legal processes that militate against freedom of expression; encourage its citizens to engage in the promotion of democracy and justice without fear of reprisal; permit political leaders to travel freely and engage in discussion and debate on political issues; and stop its persecution of Dr. Chee Soon Juan, Secretary General of the Singapore Democratic Party, who is currently in prison at Singapore’s Queenstown Remand Prison. Issued 15 September 2007 Resolution No. 5 S. 2007 Deplores the current spate of violence in Burma and the continued and unabated suppression of the Burmese people who have been deprived of their basic rights and freedoms for the last several decades; recognizes that the economic problems besetting Burma as evidenced by the recent fuel price hike have merely exacerbated the people’s desperation and frustration; welcomes the peaceful assemblies and protests of the Burmese people and appeals to the SPDC not to use force and to respect the people’s basic rights and freedoms; notes the need for a swift resolution through a political dialogue with the National League of Democracy, a political party that has the mandate of the people, considering its landslide electoral victory in 1990; calls on the international community and in particular the United Nations Security Council to support the calls for political dialogue; urges the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, as well as Burma’s influential neighbors, China and India, to pressure the ruling military junta to make the necessary political reforms to help alleviate the political and economic woes of the Burmese people and to promote regional stability and security; and reiterates its calls for the unconditional release of Daw Aung Suu Kyi, U Khun Htun Oo, Ko Min Ko Naing, and all other political prisoners in Burma. Issued 26 September 2007

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Bulletin Another CALD Program Officer Learns His ABCDE’s Some CALD Guestbook Entries Taiwanese Democrats and Filipino Liberals Meet In Celebration of a CALD Man A “Challenging” Hour A Full Four Days Post Mortems and Plans in Taipei ODA 101 New Party At the Helm A Toast to Two Liberal Stalwarts

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Bulletin another cald program officer learns his abcde’s CALD Program Officer Carlo Religioso visited the Slovenian resort town of Bled in May, but no vacation awaited him there. Rather, he participated in the 9th Annual Bank Conference on Development Economics (ABCDE), which was co-organized by the Paris-based World Bank. Religioso, who is the second CALD program officer to attend an ABCDE event (the first was Brian Gonzales in 2005), had received a support grant from the Slovenian Ministry of Finance to attend the conference, which was held 16-18 May. The 2007 conference’s theme was “Private Sector and Development,” and included plenary sessions on financial institutions, the investment climate, and the provision of the public service by non-state actors.

Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa and Finance Minister Andrej Bajuk, as well as World Bank Senior Vice President Francois Bourgugnon were the major speakers during the opening ceremony. The event attracted some 400 delegates representing the academe, civil society, the private sector, and government — from over 90 countries.

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some cald guestbook entries

IT’S always busy at its Manila office, but whenever friends drop by, CALD wastes no time rolling out the welcome mat.

Mid- to late 2007 caught CALD doing just that as it entertained visitors from near and far. But CALD being CALD, pleasure was always mixed with a little bit of business.

On 28 June, for instance, CALD hosted a dinner for National Endowment for Democracy (NED) Director for South and Southeast Asia Brian Joseph and Assistant Program Officer Jessica Gingerich. NED is a private, nonprofit organization that strengthens democratic institutions around the world through nongovernmental efforts. Joseph and Gingerich, who are both based in Washington, DC, were in the Philippines to assess the political situation and explore opportunities for increased NED development in the country.

Bulletin

Earlier in the day, Joseph and Gingerich had a meeting with CALD’s Secretary General Neric Acosta, Executive Director John Coronel, and Program Officers Paolo Zamora and Carlo Religioso. Friedrich Naumann Foundation Resident Representative Siegfried Herzog also joined the discussions, which revolved around the democratic works and advocacies of the three organizations and explored areas for cooperation in the future.

On 5 July, it was the turn of the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI) Senior Associate and Regional Director for Asia Programs Peter Manikas and Program Officer for Asia Brooke Okland to enjoy hospitality, CALD style, when they became the guests of honor at a luncheon hosted by CALD. Invited to the gathering, which doubled as a meeting, were NDI Philippines Senior Resident Director Mark Wallem and Senior Resident Country Director for Mindanao Programs Nelia Agbon.

CALD was represented at the luncheon meeting by Acosta, Coronel, Zamora, and Religioso. FNF Communications Officer Alexandra Cuyegkeng also joined the discussions.

NDI a partner of CALD — is a nonprofit organization working to strengthen and expand democracy worldwide. NDI and CALD have worked together on numerous workshops and activities, among them the Political Party Reform Workshop II that was held in Bangkok in 2004. That same year, CALD and NDI also organized teams of party 33

representatives to conduct pre-election missions in Taiwan, South Korea, the Philippines, and Indonesia.

It was a whirlwind visit that Dr. Lai I-Chung, director of the Democratic Progressive Party of Taiwan, paid to CALD on 13 August. DPP is a founding member of CALD and a two-term chair party of the organization.

Accompanied by James Chi-ping Chang, director of the Political Affairs Division of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in Manila, Dr. Lai conferred with CALD’s Coronel, Zamora, and Religioso. They discussed the continuing cooperation between DPP and CALD, and agreed to strengthen communications between the two offices. Lai also met with FNF’s Herzog.

CALD and FNF have been in close cooperation since CALD’s inception in 1993; the two share offices in Manila. And so when Harald Klein and Bettina Solinger — FNF’s international department head and Asia and Latin America department chief respectively visited their organization’s Manila office on 11 October, CALD was also on hand to welcome them.

The CALD Secretariat entertained its FNF guests with a multimedia presentation outlining the history, structure and growth of CALD as a liberal organization and as a vital network of liberal political parties and institutions.

Klein and Solinger are no strangers to CALD. Klein was formerly FNF Latin America regional director and had helped establish the Liberal Network for Latin America (RELIAL). In May 2005, CALD and RELIAL held a workshop “Results of and Challenges for Regional Cooperation in Asian and Latin America” during the 53rd Congress of the Liberal International at the National Palace of Culture in Sofia. A similar roundtable discussion took place in Marrakech, Morocco in November 2006.

Solinger, for her part, is a former FNF resident representative to Thailand and has actively worked together with the Democrat Party of Thailand, a founding member of CALD.

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taiwanese democrats and filipino liberals meet

TWO of CALD’s founding member parties strengthened ties once more when a high-level delegation from Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party visited Manila and on 13 August paid a courtesy call on the Liberal Party of the Philippines. Former Taiwanese Premier You Si-kun, DPP chairman, led the delegation, which was accompanied

by Wu Hsin-hsing, representative of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Manila.

Among those on hand to welcome the DPP visitors at the LP headquarters was CALD Chairman and LP President Franklin Drilon, former Philippine Senate president. Messers. Drilon and You underscored the importance of bilateral relations between the DPP and LP as sister parties through their memberships in both CALD and Liberal International. DPP International Director Dr. Lai I-Chung, who was part of the Taiwanese delegation, extended his party’s invitation for Drilon to speak during the LI Human Rights Conference in Taipei in December 2007, which Drilon accepted.

Bulletin

A short program consisting of brief remarks and a presentation was emceed by CALD and LP Secretary General Neric Acosta. LP Director General Concepcion Asis gave the presentation regarding LP and its political plans. Former Senator and LP President Wigberto Tañada, CALD Executive Director John Coronel, and Friedrich Naumann Foundation (Manila) Representative Siegried Herzog then took turns in saying a few words of welcome to the visitors.

DPP Chairman You previously served as secretary general of the Office of the President. He was also vice premier of the Executive Yuan, chairman of the Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation, and Taiwan provincial assemblyman. At DPP, he was a former secretary general and chairman and spokesperson of the 2000 President Elections Campaign Headquarters.

Other members of the DPP delegation were Lin Yu-Chang, special assistant to the chairman; Meng Yi-Chao, culture and communications department director; Lin Bing-Chung, deputy director of the Department of Organizational Development; Hung Pai-Liang, secretary to the chairman; Chen Chun-Liang, culture and communications secretary; and Roger Lee Huang, deputy researcher of the international affairs department.

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in celebration of a cald man

It’s never easy letting go of someone who has been so much a part of the organization, so when CALD Executive Director John Joseph Coronel announced that he was giving up his post, CALD’s extended family wound up giving him not one, but three farewell parties and in three different Southeast Asian cities at that.

Bulletin

As CALD was wrapping up its activities in Phnom Penh, Cambodia in September, the CALD Executive Committee, along with the Sam Rainsy Party and the regional office for East and Southeast Asia of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation, hosted a dinner reception in honor of Coronel.

The 16 September party, held at the famous Foreign Correspondents Club in the Cambodian capital, was chaired by CALD and Liberal Party of the Philippines Secretary General J.R. Nereus Acosta.

Two nights later, Coronel was feted in yet another party, but this time in Bangkok. Hosting the dinner reception at Paisano Restaurant were the Democrat Party of Thailand and FNF Regional Office for East and Southeast Asia.

On 18 November, the opening of the 5 th CALD Communications Workshop in Manila’s Crustasia Restaurant doubled as the third farewell dinner for Coronel, who is actually the first executive director of the CALD permanent secretariat.

Indeed, in a tribute to Coronel in Bangkok, Prince Sukhumbhand Paribatra, former CALD chairman and Thai deputy foreign minister, said the outgoing executive director had become “in a lot of ways, a symbol to all of CALD.” “I think John has become to CALD what Big Ben is to London, the Eiffel Tower is to Paris, the Statue of Liberty is to New York, and the Brandenburg Gate is to Berlin…even the arches to McDonalds and Colonel Sanders to Kentucky Fried Chicken,” said Sukhumbhand.

“Most members of CALD seem to be out of power for one reason or another,” he also observed. “So that means that most of the time, John has to cope with numerous requests for communication and coordination like condemning this government and that government for political repression. Another constraint is geographical in nature.

Members of CALD are spread over a wide geographical area so it’s very difficult to communicate. John’s emails have been very famous for their persistence.”

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“(It’s) always been a difficult job that John tackled with a great deal of vision, a great deal of pride, a great deal of decency, a great deal of patience and a very great deal of diplomatic skills,” added Sukhumbhand.

Educated at the University of the Philippines and the University of Hawaii, where he was a scholar of the East West Center, Coronel has done consultancy work in public relations and political campaigns. He is also a published and award-winning writer and reviewer, with some of his works having appeared in the Philippine Post and Bluprint Magazine.

Although he ended up spending eight years at CALD, he had started his professional career as a writer for Batibot, a Philippine children’s educational TV program.

Among the highlights of the Phnom Penh event was a multimedia presentation on his life and work at CALD that was produced and presented by CALD Program Officers Paolo Zamora and Carlo Religioso.

CALD also presented Coronel with a plaque of appreciation that extolled his “exemplary performance and dedicated service as Executive Director from January 1999 to October 2007” and “his invaluable contributions and devotion to the principles and ideals of the organization.”

Many CALD friends and colleagues came to the Foreign Correspondents Club to wish Coronel well, among them Cambodian opposition leader and former CALD chairman Sam Rainsy, MP, and his fellow parliamentarians Saumura Tioulong and Mardi Seng of the Sam Rainsy Party; as well as FNF East and Southeast Asia Regional Director Hubertus von Welck and FNF Resident Representative (Philippines) Siegfried Herzog.

Other guests included former CALD interim chairperson and Sri Lankan peace secretariat head Dr. Rajiva Wijesinha of the Liberal Party; Liberal International Vice President and former CALD secretary general BiKhim Hsiao of Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party; CALD Women’s Caucus head Henedina Abad of the Liberal Party, Philippines; former Thai ambassador to the United States and the United Nations Kasit Piromya of the Democrat Party; Rufino Biazon, MP, of LP Philippines; Dr. Carina Chotiware of Chulalongkorn University; former CALD intern Matt Sherwin; and lawyer Gladys Nebab-Zamora.

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At the 18 September reception in Bangkok, Coronel’s DP well-wishers, aside from Prince Sukhumbhand, were DP Deputy Leader Alongkorn Ponlaboot and DP Spokesperson Ong Art Klampaiboon, who both served as CALD secretaries general; DP Deputy Spokesperson and former MP Dr. Buranaj Smuthraks; former MP Isra Sunthornvut; Sirinun Senakant; and Somphon Potisophon.

Joining in the toasts were Nyo Oh Myint and David Taw of the National Council of the Union of Burma; FNF Malaysia Project Officer Dr. Busarin Dusadeeisariyawong; FNF Cambodia Project Officer Khim Sophanna; FNF Regional Program Assistant Officer Krittiya Sintupongphan; Bjorn Wirembeck; Dr. Boonmark Sirinaovakul of Rangsit University; former CALD program officer Brian Gonzales. Dr. Carina Chotiware of Chulalongkorn University; FNF’s Herzog and von Welck; CALD Secretariat’s Acosta, Religioso and Zamora.

The Manila party, meanwhile, had Coronel honored with speeches from Herzog; former CALD chairman Florencio Abad of LP Philippines; Jules Maaten, MEP, representing the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe and Liberal International; and CALD Chairman and LP President Franklin Drilon.

CALD Resolution No. 2 S. 2007, which was issued in September, lauded Coronel’s contributions to the “growth and progress of the organization,” as well as his “reliable leadership and professional management in the CALD Secretariat.” It also expressed CALD’s gratitude to Coronel for “his tireless work and sterling service to the organization and its members” and wished him continued success in his future endeavors.

Coronel repeatedly thanked everyone, saying whatever praise was given him he shared with “a very dedicated and committed staff.”

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a “challenging” hour

Politicians are often criticized for making long-winded speeches, but on 18 September, CALD and the Regional Office for East and Southeast Asia of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation proved that politicians can also hold a blitzkrieg conference on timely topics. For a little more than an hour, CALD and FNF friends had a roundtable discussion on “Changes and Challenges of Democracy in Asia” in Bangkok, Thailand.

Dr. Suchit Bumbongkarn, professor emeritus of the Social Science Department of the prestigious Chulalongkorn University, gave the main presentation. He noted dilemmas confronting countries across the region, arising from instances where elected leaders seem all too ready to employ authoritarian measures to contain dissent or consolidate power. Thailand and the Philippines were highlighted since these share common experiences with popular democratic movements interspersed with coups or military-backed uprisings.

Bulletin

Suchit noted that both countries continue to be saddled with problems of poverty, corruption, and underdevelopment and are grappling with questions of democratization vis-à-vis development thrusts. Another interesting issue raised in the roundtable was whether or not the so-called notion of “Asian values” continues to hold sway in official or policy-making circles in these two countries, even as networks like CALD promote the primacy of democracy, human rights, and market economy.

The discussion and open forum that followed was animated, given the prospects of national elections for Thailand in December 2007, and in May 2010 for the Philippines. The reactors were CALD Secretary General Dr. J.R. Nereus Acosta and Democrat Party of Thailand Spokesperson Dr. Burnaj Smuthraks.

Chairing the short conference was former MP and Thai Deputy Foreign Minister M.R. Sukhumbhand Paribatra. Also on hand to give an opening message was DP Deputy Leader Alongkorn Ponlaboot.

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a full four days

FOUR DAYS may be far too short a period for some people to finish multiple tasks, but by the time CALD program officers Paolo Zamora and Carlo Religioso wrapped up their 15 to 19 October trip to Taipei, Taiwan they had compiled a list of accomplishments.

Bulletin

Zamora and Religioso were actually in the Taiwanese capital primarily to firm up the arrangements for the Liberal International Conference on Human Rights and CALD General Assembly that were both going to take place there in December. But their visit to Taipei was also in conjunction with the mission of Nyo Ohn Myint, head of the Foreign Affairs Committee and the Executive Committee of both the National League for Democracy-Liberated Area (NLD-LA) and the National Council of the Union of Burma, a CALD member organization.

Nyo Mint was seeking assistance from Taiwan in behalf of the Burmese exiled community and to update the Taiwanese about the crackdown on the protests that had been led by monks in Burma. To show CALD’s support not only for NCUB and NLD-LA, but also for Burma’s prodemocracy protesters, Zamora and Religioso joined Nyo Mint in his meetings with Taiwanese officials.

One highlight of their small group’s stay in Taipei was a press conference with no less than Taiwanese Vice President Annette Lu and officials of the Democratic Pacific Union (DPU) regarding the latter’s initiatives to launch the Pacific Network of Democracy in Burma. The Network, which

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is aimed at supporting the democracy movement in Burma, denounced the use of extreme violence by the ruling military to suppress even peaceful dissent in that troubled Southeast Asian nation.

The CALD program officers and Nyo Mint also visited the Ministry of Foreign Affairs where they met up with Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Yang Tzu-Pao, who assured them of Taipei’s support for the Burmese people’s continuing struggle for freedom and democracy.

During the early part of their visit, the trio had been feted with a dinner that had the Taiwan Thinktank, an independent nonprofit public policy research organization, as host. Among those present were Lin Chialung, deputy secretary general to the president of Taiwan, former CALD program officer Andrea Yang, and staff from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party’s joint China Affairs and International Affairs Department. DPP Deputy Secretary General Liu Chien Sin welcomed the CALD delegation when it visited DPP’s headquarters.

Zamora and Religioso also had a meeting with former CALD Secretary General Bi-Khim Hsiao, MP and director of DPP’s International Affairs Department. DPP was to act as host of the LI-CALD December event.

Hsiao, who is also LI vice president, discussed the program and logistical matters with the CALD program officers.

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post mortems and plans in taipei

Bulletin

Taipei 101, the Taiwanese capital’s towering landmark, became the venue of CALD’s 2007 General Assembly, which saw all of the organization’s eight member parties represented. The agenda of the meeting, held 10 December, included the review of the CALD Women’s Workshop that was held in September in Phnom Penh, as well as of the 5th CALD Communications Workshop that took place in Manila in November. Also discussed were several proposed projects for 2008, among them the continued CALD internships to the European Parliament, the SEACACALD Migration Conference in Bangkok, the Asian Democracy Online: Freedom Without Borders, the ALDE-CALD Meeting in Brussels, the 2nd CALD Political Party Management Workshop in Penang, and the 15th Anniversary Conference.

CALD’s member parties are the Democrat Party of Thailand, Democratic Progressive Party of Taiwan, Liberal Party of the Philippines, Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia, Sam Rainsy Party, Liberal Party of Sri Lanka, Singapore Democratic Party, and the National Council of the Union of Burma. Also present during the General Assembly were CALD associate member Liberal Forum Pakistan and CALD observer parties Nation Awakening Party of Indonesia and Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle.

Representatives from CALD partners Liberal International and Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Liberty were in attendance as well.

CALD’s 4th Executive Committee Meeting was also held on the same day, but this time the venue was Taipei’s Grand Hyatt Hotel. Jointly presided by immediate past chairman Franklin Drilon, former Philippine Senate president, and Gandhi Ambalan, representing new CALD chairman Dr. Chee Soon Juan of the SDP, the meeting took up CALD leadership issues, the selection of a new CALD executive director, and a prospective project on Burma to be funded by the National Democratic Institute.

Also discussed were ways and means to encourage more participation from CALD members in the organization’s activities, as well as to increase their ownership of these.

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Among those in attendance at the Execom meeting were John Tan and Chee Siok Chin of SDP; Dr. Nereus Acosta and Henedina Abad of LP Philippines; Bi-Khim Hsiao and Michael Fonte of DPP; Saumura Tioulong and Sam Rainsy of SRP; Ambassador Kasit Piromya of DP Thailand; Kamal Nissanka and Dr. Romesh Fernando of LP Sri Lanka; and Nyo Mint of NCUB. Present as well were Hubertus von Welck and Siegfried Herzog of FNF and Fang-yi Ho-Wells and Jochem de Groot of LI.

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ODA 101

IS it aid or something else? What is known as overseas development assistance has long been controversial, and it’s not hard to see why.

Monies meant to alleviate the suffering of people in impoverished countries have far too often ended up in the pockets of the corrupt in both donor and recipient nations. Sometimes, too, the motives for giving assistance are less than noble, and are soon revealed to be more for the benefit of the donor.

Bulletin

The latest addition in CALD’s growing list of publications tackles all these and more. Launched on 10 December in Taipei, Taiwan, Tracking Aid: Public Accountability in Official Development Assistance looks at ODA from several angles, even as it follows the ODA process from donor institutions and governments to recipient nations and presents experiences from each end. But as its title indicates, the book focuses on the issue of mutual accountability in aid, and what has been and can be done to ensure that this is present. As CALD Chairman Franklin Drilon noted in Tracking Aid, “This book is the contribution of CALD, its member parties, and its partners to the promotion of transparency, accountability, and right to information, all of which are indispensable not just in the development of a nation, but also in a functioning democracy.”

The book is actually a collection of 15 essays, some of which first saw light in CALD’s 2006 conference on public accountability in ODA that was held in Siem Reap, Cambodia. The other contributions came from friends of CALD, enhancing what can be likened to a roundtable discussion on transparency in aid.

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new party at the helm

Barred from leaving his country, Dr. Chee Soon Juan of the Singapore Democratic Party was nevertheless present in spirit and via a multimedia presentation when his organization on 10 December formally accepted the leadership of CALD from the outgoing chair party, the Liberal Party (Philippines). The turnover ceremony, held on the 85th floor of Taipei 101, was the seventh in CALD’s history. It also marked the first time that SDP would be leading CALD. Outgoing CALD Chairman Franklin Drilon of the LP noted the “enduring vision” of what is still Asia’s only regional network of liberals and democrats. He also paid tribute to his successor at CALD, saying, “Our friend and colleague, Dr Chee Soon Juan, has faced grueling challenges to bring greater openness and free expression in Singapore paying the high political cost of bankruptcy, imprisonment and the difficulty or prohibition of travel. Even as he is not able to join us today, we share in his unbending commitment to stand and fight for the most basic democratic rights; we salute his strength and courage in the face of political repression.”

Bulletin

Chee, a neuropsychologist, is the secretary general of SDP. Founded in 1980, SDP has been a constant thorn on the side of Singapore’s ruling People’s Action Party (PAP), and has seen its officials thrown in jail for making public speeches without the government’s permission. SDP Chairman Gandhi Ambalam, who gave the acceptance speech in Taipei on behalf of Chee, is among those officials, as is Chee.

Despite the odds against it, SDP has had some members elected into parliament since 1984. Its website is constantly hacked, but SDP doggedly tries to stay online by way of blogs and podcasts posted by members and supporters. It is also the only political party in Singapore that maintains links with international organizations, among them CALD and Liberal International.

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In his videocast that was shown during the turnover ceremony, Chee said that in spite of the challenges and trials SDP is usually faced with at home, the party would not be deterred in being a voice for democracy in Singapore and will strive to make its mark in CALD. In a 2002 interview with the international news channel CNN, he had also said, “I look at some of the dissidents who have gone through difficulty, trials and tribulations, whether it’s Gandhi or Martin Luther King, or Shih Ming Te in Taiwan or Aquino in the Philippines, I think they all have a very strong message for humanity. And that is, no matter how hard it gets, no matter how repressive the government is, there is this spirituality about us that will not allow us to look the other way when injustice occurs, to pretend that nothing is happening when the poor are being oppressed, that I think is what I look up to and hope to continue the fight.�

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a toast to two liberal stalwarts

It was supposed to be a Christmas party, but a fun-filled gathering at a restaurant in a Metro Manila mall also witnessed two CALD officials being feted by some grateful friends and colleagues for jobs well done in the political arena.

At the 18 December Christmas celebration of Liberal Party Philippines, LP President and Philippine Senator Mar Roxas honored former Philippine Senate president Franklin Drilon with a toast for his invaluable contributions and principled leadership as both LP president and CALD chairman. CALD Women’s Caucus Chairperson Henedina Abad meanwhile noted CALD Secretary General J. R. Nereus Acosta’s ability to bring together political leaders despite their diverse interests and persuasions.

Drilon and Acosta served as CALD chairperson and secretary general respectively from 2005 to 2007. CALD’s executive committee has decided to have Acosta remain in his post as secretary general until 2008.

Bulletin

At the gathering, Friedrich Naumann Foundation Resident Representative Siegfried Herzog noted the significant roles of both Drilon and Acosta in bringing Philippine and Asian liberal concerns to a wider audience.

“The time and effort they have devoted to international work has raised the standing of Filipino liberals and of the Philippines as a democratic nation,” said Herzog. “They have enriched the political debate, and they

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have enabled other Filipino liberals to share in the exchange of ideas and experiences.”

In response, Drilon said that for more than 14 years, CALD has stood to uphold the cause and struggle for the fundamental right to free expression and assembly, democratic choice, and justice. He said that the LP stands proud and honored in having served as CALD’s chair party, and is deeply inspired by the synergy of commitment and devotion of CALD member parties to the cause of freedom and democracy.

Acosta, for his part, observed that the LP has taken the path of the “difficult right” in the face of all kinds of political pressures and chaos plaguing the Philippines. But he says that this path “is the way of moral leadership in the politics of principle over convenience or expediency.”

“Taking this path has come at high political cost,” said Acosta, “but we are secure in the belief that we simply did what was the right thing for the country in strengthening our institutions.”

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Internship A new batch of interns at the EP M. Ravi, Singapore Democratic Party Ms. Su Yi-Chi, Democratic Progressive Party of Taiwan Ms. Apinya Jitjaturunt, Democratic Party of Thailand The man from Burma Coeds at CALD

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A NEW BATCH OF INTERNS AT THE EP

TWO researchers and a human-rights lawyer made up the latest batch of CALD interns to the European Parliament. First up was M. Ravi of the Singapore Democratic Party, who was there from 5 to 20 February. Next was Su Yi-Chi of the Democratic Progressive Party of Taiwan, whose internship at the EP ran from 8 to 25 May. Apinya Jinyaturunt of the Democrat Party of Thailand had her turn from 17 September to 5 October.

Internship

The annual internship program for CALD member parties is organized by the Alliance for Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) and the International Political Dialogue of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation (IPD-FNF). It involves parliamentary work in the European Parliament (EP) in Brussels, Belgium and Strasbourg, France and research and initiatives in select European nongovernment organizations.

Much like their colleagues who went through the same program in previous years, the 2007 interns arrived in Brussels armed with formidable credentials. Ravi, for example, is an advocate and solicitor who was admitted in the Singapore bar in 1997.

A political science and sociology graduate of the National University of Singapore (NUS), Ravi earned his law degree from the University of Cardiff in the United Kingdom.

Among the contents of Ravi’s fat resume are his stints as a TV current affairs and magazine presenter and as lecturer in various educational institutions, among them Monash University, University of Queensland, University of London, and NUS. He has also maintained a parallel career in civil and criminal litigation.

Su, meanwhile, was formerly the director of the International Affairs Department of Taiwan’s Confederation of Trade Unions.

She has a bachelor’s degree in social work and foreign literature from the National Taiwan University. She also has a master’s degree in social work from the same institution. Su is currently the assistant researcher of the DPP International Affairs Department.

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Apinya was no less prepared for the EP, being a political science graduate of the prestigious Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok and a holder of a master’s degree in political communication, advocacy, and campaigning from Kingdom University in the United Kingdom. She is now a research analyst of the Democrat Party of Thailand.

Despite the differences in their backgrounds, all three CALD interns were one in saying that their experience at the European Parliament was eye-opening and had prompted them to see things at home and elsewhere in a fresh light. Ravi, who took a special interest in human-rights debates and activities at the EP, wrote in his internship report, “The debate on the alleged use of European countries by the CIA for the transportation and illegal detention of prisoners was rather an exciting one and also formed a useful insight into how civil liberties are preserved in the wake of terrorism in Europe.”

He also said, “The more I’m here, I realize how important it is to have an ASEAN Court of Human Rights. . . That will be the day Singapore will wake up to the reality that human rights are inalienable and inextricable to economic growth.”

Apinya, for her part, commented that the EP itself “reflects (the) multifaceted characteristics of liberal democracy.” She added, “The whole experience has virtually broadened my perspective on international political affairs and the policy-making process and procedures at the regional. . . and even. . . international level.”

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the man from burma

HE wants to be known only as Mr. K, but the CALD Secretariat’s very first Burmese intern spent his time in the Philippines gaining experiences that ran from A to Z.

Internship

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It was the National Council of the Union of Burma (NCUB), a CALD member organization, which sent Mr. K to Manila to help out at the CALD Secretariat. From 8 March to 27 May, he was assigned various administrative tasks and attended CALD planning meetings. He also joined the electoral campaigns and trainings of the Liberal Party (LP) of the Philippines and the National Institute for Policy Studies. Mr. K was among the participants as well of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation-Manila Liberal Leadership Training on Globalization held from 22 to 26 April at the Bohol Beach Club in central Philippines.

During the run-up to the Philippine 10 May general elections, Mr. K attended the campaign sorties of LP senatorial candidates Rep. Benigno Aquino III and Senator Francis Pangilinan, as well as those of LP congressional bets Rodolfo ‘Ruffy’ Biazon, Lorenzo Tañada III, and Joseph Emilio Aguinaldo Abaya. These took him to many parts of the Philippines, but then Mr. K is used to traveling.

A member of the Kachin ethnic group, he finished high school in Myitkyina, Kachin State, Burma in 1995. He earned his degree in mechanical engineering at the Don Bosco Technological School in New Delhi, India. Since 2000, he has been working for the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), where he is assigned at the foreign affairs department.

coeds at cald

The usually all-male CALD Secretariat got a feminine touch when two coeds from leading Philippine universities participated in CALD’s summer internship program from April to May. The 180-hour internship saw Guita Gopalan of the Ateneo de Manila University and Paula Nea de Vera of Miriam College doing the transcription of the two CALD activities in Jakarta, Indonesia, as well as some research on political parties in select Asian countries. Both also took on other administrative work at the Secretariat, which supervised their internship.

At the time, Gopalan was an incoming Development Studies senior. She has also been active in the Ateneo Glee Club and works part-time as a voice instructor.

De Vera, meanwhile, was also an incoming senior, majoring in International Studies. The previous year, she participated in the Japan Language and Culture Program in Tokyo, Japan. She is an active member of several organizations at her school.

Internship

In her report that she submitted at the close of her internship, de Vera wrote that she learned to treat all tasks as important. But she said that what she valued most among all her experiences during her internship were the freewheeling discussions everyone engaged in over lunch. According to de Vera, the informal discussions made her realize that her understanding of liberalism had been “limited.” Now, she wrote, she knows that “liberalism not only emphasizes on individual rights and equality of opportunities but also entails a certain responsibility. And such responsibility would mean accepting the consequences of one’s own actions. It is a principle of learning by trial and error and of self-improvement.”

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International Activities Democrats meet in Rome CALD renews support for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi CALD at Cambodia

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democrats meet in rome

IT was a Roman working holiday in late April for a CALD contingent that attended the 2nd Democrazie E Liberta-La Margherita National Congress and International Meeting Toward a New Alliance of Democrats in the Italian capital. CALD also participated in the AsiaEurope Strategic Partnership: The Future Is Now, a dialogue between Asian and European Democrats hosted by La Margherita and the European Democratic Party (EDP).

La Margherita is the centrist pillar of the ruling center-left coalition in Italy. The party co-founded the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Asia (ALDE), which is a partner of CALD and the biggest third force in the European Parliament.

International Activities

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When La Margherita conducted its congress at the Cinnecita Studios, the cinema center in Roma, on 20 April, it counted among its guests representatives from CALD member and observer parties, as well as CALD officials. Cinnecita was also the venue for the roundtable International Democrats meeting on 21-22 that included not only speakers and participants from Europe, but also those from South America and Asia.

Among the Asian speakers and participants, of course, was the CALD group, which was made up of Abhisit Vejjajiva, leader of the Democrat Party of Thailand, and his colleague Sopha Sirichoke, MP; former CALD Chairman Sam Rainsy, MP and leader of the Cambodian opposition; former Philippine Agrarian Reform Secretary Rene Villa, representing Senator and CALD Chairman Franklin Drilon; National Council of the Union of Burma Secretary General Maung Maung; Democratic Party of Hong Kong legislator James To; Democratic party of Japan’s Shadow Foreign Minister Tsuyoshi Yamaguchi; and CALD Executive Director John Joseph S. Coronel.

In his speech in behalf of CALD Chairman Drilon at the International Democrats Meeting, Villa observed that “keeping democracy is harder than achieving it.”

But he added, “This Rome meeting is a vindication of what CALD has been doing all along. That is, the dynamic, critical and sustained dialogue amongst democrats worldwide is essential in protecting democratic gains and even in helping open closed societies. For indeed, in the words of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi… ‘please use your liberty to promote ours’.”

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CALD renews support for daw suu kyi

Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi spent her 62nd birthday on 19 June still under house arrest in Burma, but her supporters overseas marked the occasion by letting Burma’s military leaders know that they remain solidly behind her and the citizens of her homeland.

CALD was among Daw Suu Kyi’s well-wishers at a combined celebration of her birthday and Burma Women’s Day at the Foreign Correspondents Club in Bangkok, Thailand. Alongkorn Poonlaboot, deputy leader of the Democrat Party of Thailand and former CALD secretary general, read CALD’s message, which was signed by CALD Chairman and Philippine Senator Franklin Drilon.

Even as the CALD statement sent its warmest wishes to Daw Suu Kyi on her birthday, it stressed, “On this auspicious occasion, we reiterate our support to and solidarity with the people of Burma in your struggle to achieve freedom and democracy in your strife-torn country.”

International Activities

CALD also urged the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC, as the Burmese junta calls itself) to immediately and unconditionally release the Burmese opposition leader from house arrest, as well as to immediately and unconditionally release the estimated 1,500 political prisoners languishing in jails across Burma. CALD expressed alarm as well over the increasing human-rights violations of political dissidents and the general population in Burma and criticized SPDC’s apparent practice of ethnic cleansing.

CALD members are actively engaged in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Inter-Parliamentary Caucus on Myanmar (Burma).

Among the Bangkok event’s major organizers was CALD memberorganization National Council of the Union of Burma (NCUB).

Although she has been under house arrest for years now, Daw Suu Kyi remains the head of the National League for Democracy (NLD), which is part of the NCUB. The NLD won a landslide victory in the 1990 elections in Burma, but the junta refused to honor the results.

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Daw Suu Kyi’s supporters had decided to celebrate Burma Women’s Day along with her birthday to acknowledge the vital role of women in the struggle for democracy and human rights in Burma, as well as the risks they are forced to endure under the present regime. CALD itself noted in its statement that “women are most vulnerable in your country. (It is) alarmed by the dismal conditions of the people Burma, especially women and children, who continue to suffer under the brutal military regime of the (SPDC).”

Alongkorn also read the letter of Liberal International (LI) President Lord Alderdice. Daw Suu Kyi was the 1995 recipient of LI’s Prize for Freedom.

“Your lifelong commitment to democracy for the people of Burma and your unwavering leadership…continue to give hope to your people and all those around the world,” the LI statement said. It called on the military junta to immediately release Daw Suu Kyi and all other political prisoners, as well as for the start of negotiations with pro-democracy activists for a constitution that would lead to democracy for all Burmese citizens.

Aside from Alongkorn, members and friends of the CALD family at the Bangkok celebration were Dr. Bunaraj Smuthraks and Dr. Boonmark Sirinaovakul of the Democrat Party of Thailand; Soe Aung of NCUB; Friedrich Naumann Foundation Regional Director Hubertus von Wieck and his colleague Krittiya Sintupongphan; and Brian Gonzales, former CALD program officer.

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CALD in cambodia

CALD Secretary General Dr. J.R. Nereus Acosta was among the international guests of the Sam Rainsy Party (SRP), when the Cambodian opposition organization held its national congress on 8-9 September at its headquarters in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Acosta relayed CALD’s message of continued support for one of its most active member organizations, and also that of his own Liberal Party (LP) of the Philippines. Constantly harassed by the ruling coalition, SRP was once even forced to hold a major meeting of its leaders in Manila, with CALD and LP acting as its hosts.

Fortunately, the party’s 2007 national congress in the Cambodian capital was not marked with any untoward incident. The culmination of months of intra-party elections held nationwide from the commune to the provincial levels, the congress’s agenda included the presentation of the party platform, an update on party expansion, and overview of the legislation proposed to the National Assembly, and talks by party leaders and foreign guests.

International

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National party officials were also selected during the congress.

Former CALD Chairman Sam Rainsy, MP, was re-elected as party president while Eng Chhay Eng, MP, was elected as its secretary general. Yim Sovann, MP, and Mu Sochua were elected as SRP treasurer and deputy secretary general respectively.

Burma Cambodia Egypt India Indonesia Malaysia Pakistan Philippines Singapore South Korea Sri Lanka Taiwan Thailand Germany Macedonia Russia Spain Sweden United Kingdom Seychelles Tanzania Colombia

Speakers

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Positions of speakers and resource persons indicated reflect designation during the actual event.

ASIA

Indonesia

BURMA

Hon. Pramono Anung, MP Secretary General Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP)

Mr. Maung Maung Secretary General of the National Council of the Union of Burma and Federation of Trade Unions -Burma Mr. Nyo Ohn Myint Foreign Affairs Committee Member National Council of the Union of Burma Cambodia Madam Mu Sochua Deputy Secretary General and former Minister of Women’s Affairs Sam Rainsy Party Hon. Sam Rainsy, MP President of Sam Rainsy Party Hon. Son Chhay, MP Chair, Foreign Affairs Committee National Assembly of Cambodia Sam Rainsy Party Hon. Saumura Tioulong, MP Sam Rainsy Party

Speakers

Egypt Ambassador Mohamed Nagui ElGhatrifi Network of Arab Liberals Egypt India Mr. Ajeet Singh Founder GURIA India

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Dr. Rainer Adam Resident Representative-Jakarta Friedrich Naumann Foundation Ms. Maria Pakpahan Nation Awakening Party of Indonesia Mr. Paul Rowland Senior Resident Director National Democratic Institute for International Affairs H.E. Abdurrahman Wahid Former President of the Republic of Indonesia JAPAN Hon. Tsuyoshi Yamaguchi, MP Shadow Foreign Minister Democratic Party of Japan Malaysia Tan Sri Dr. Chin Fook Weng Senator Malaysia People’s Movement Party (Gerakan) Hon. Ng Siew Lai Member of the State Assembly (Bukit Tengah) Malaysia People’s Movement Party (Gerakan) Pakistan Mr. Asif Khan Chairperson Liberal Forum Pakistan

Philippines Atty. Florencio Abad Former Secretary (Minister) of Education and Member of the House of Representative (1995-2001) Ms. Henedina Abad Chair, CALD Women Caucus

Dr. J.R. Nereus O. Acosta Secretary General of the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats and former Member of the Parliament (1998-2007) Mr. Rolando Tanabe Averilla Chief-of-staff of Operations Office of Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV

Mr. John Joseph S. Coronel Executive Director Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats

Hon. Senator Franklin Drilon Chairman, Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats and Former Senator of the Republic of the Philippines (20012007) Mr. Siegfried Herzog Resident Representative-Manila Friedrich Naumann Foundation Hon. Rene Villa Former Secretary of Agrarian Reform

Ms. Yoly Ong Group Chairperson of Campaigns & Grey Ms. Adela Santa Cruz-Espina Managing Editor, The Liberal (Official Publication of the Liberal Party)

Mr. Samuel Santos Media Relations Consultant, Liberal Party of the Philippines Director, Print Media Services, Senate of the Philippines Atty. Adel Tamano University President University of the City of Manila (Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila) and Spokesperson of the Genuine Opposition

Hon. Lorenzo Tañada III, MP Chairman, Human Rights Committee, Member of the House of Representatives Singapore Ms. Chee Siok Chin Central Executive Committee Singapore Democratic Party Dr. Chee Soon Juan Secretary General Singapore Democratic Party Mr. Gandhi Ambalam Chairman Singapore Democratic Party Sri-Lanka Dr. Rajiva Wijesinha Liberal Party of Sri Lanka Taiwan H.E. Chen Shui-bian President, Taiwan, and Chairman of the DPP Hon. Bi-Khim Hsiao, MP Democratic Progressive Party of Taiwan

H.E. Vice-President Lu Hsiu-lien A. Vice President, Taiwan Dr. Sandy Yu Lan Yeh President Taipei Women’s Rescue Foundation Thailand Dr. Suchit Bumbongkarn Professor Emeritus os the Social Science Department Chulalongkorn University Hon. Ong Ard Klampaiboon Spokesperson, Democrat Party of Thailand M.R. Sukhumbhand Paribatra Former MP and Deputy Foreign Minister of Thailand Amb. Kasit Piromya Democratic Party of Thailand Hon. Alongkorn Ponlaboot Deputy Leader, Democrat Party of Thailand Dr. Buranaj Smuthraks Deputy Spokesperson, Democrat Party of Thailand Hon. Pusadee Tamthai, MP Democratic Party of Thailand Hon. Abhisit Vejjajiva Leader, Democrat Party of Thailand Mr. Hubertus von Welck Regional Director for East and Southeast Asia Friedrich Naumann Foundation

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EUROPE Germany Mr. Stefan Kapferer Head of the Representative Office of the State of Lower Saxony, Berlin Macedonia Hon. Andrej Zernovski, MP Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democratic Party Russia Ms. Galina Michaleva Director of Political Department and Gender Issues

AFRICA

Spain

Mr. Roger Mancienne Secretary General of Seychelles National Party African Liberal Network

Mrs. Silvia Flury Liechti Deputy Assistant and Acting Treasurer International Network of Liberal Women Sweden

Speakers Speakers

Hon. Tina Acketoft, MP Folkpartiet liberalerna

Hon. Johan Pehrson, MP Swedish Parliament and Chairman of the Committee of Justice United Kingdom Lord John Thomas Alderdice President, Liberal International

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Kishwer Baroness Falkner of Margravine Spokesperson for Justice and Home Affairs Liberal Democrat Peer, House of Lords

Lord Russell Johnston Honorable President, ALDE Group in the Parliamentary Assembly of Council of Europe

Mr. Joseph Soler Treasurer Liberal International

Seychelles

Tanzania Mr. Ismail Jussa Spokesperson Civil United Front, Tanzania

SOUTH AMERICA Colombia Ms. Marcela Prieto Botero Executive Director Political Science Institute of Colombia RELIAL Representative

FULL MEMBER PARTIES Democrat Party of Thailand

CALD

The Democrat Party has the longest history of all political parties in Thailand and has built a record of commitment to democracy. Founded in 1946, it spent many years after that as a major opposition party, playing a key role in building a democratic consciousness in the late ‘40s and into the ‘50s.

Thailand plunged into dictatorship from 1958-68; thereafter, in the interim between dictatorships, the Democrat Party shifted between being the major opposition and being the ruling party. Throughout the 1980s, the Democrat Party grew stronger in tandem with Thai democracy. When Thailand’s most recent military coup occurred in 1992, the Democrat Party was a crucial part of the “People Power” movement.

Address: 67 Setsiri Road, Samsen, Phyathai, Bangkok, 10400 Thailand Tel: +662-2700036 Fax: +662-2796086 Email: public@democrat.or.th Website: http://www.democrat.or.th

Democratic Progressive Party of Taiwan The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was founded on 28 September 1986. Defying martial law and the Kuomintang (KMT) one-party authoritarian state, the DPP initiated a new era of rapid democratic change. Founded mainly by family members and defense lawyers of political prisoners, the DPP initially consisted of dissidents who risked their freedom and their lives to transform Taiwan’s political landscape.

Address: 10/F No. 30, Pei-ping East Road, Taipei, Taiwan Tel: +886-2-23929989 Fax: +886-2-23930342 Email: foreign@dpp.org.tw Website: http://www.dpp.org.tw

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CALD

Liberal Party of the Philippines The second oldest political party in the Philippines, the Liberal Party (LP) is considered an institution in the country’s sociopolitical life. Formed after World War II by President Manuel A. Roxas, it has consistently provided the nation with strong leadership, especially in times of crisis. The LP’s history is filled with sacrifice; its members and leaders have been known to give their very lives just to see freedom and liberty reign in the Philippines. During moments of moral ambiguity in Philippine politics, government officials and the media often look toward where the LP will go as an indication on what may be the right decision or stand on an issue.

Address: 2F Matrinco Bldg., Chino Roces Ave., 1231 Makati City, Philippines Tel: +632-8937483; 8936304 Telefax: +632-8930218 Email: dgliberalparty@yahoo.com.ph Website: http://www.liberalparty.ph Liberal Party of Sri Lanka The Liberal Party began as a think-tank called the ‘Council for Liberal Democracy,’ the first institution to criticize the all-embracing statism of the colonial and immediate postcolonial periods. In espousing free economic policies together with wide-ranging political freedoms, the Council, and then the Liberal Party, opposed both the authoritarian crony capitalism of the United National Party and the socialism of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party. Both major parties are now in theory in favor of wide freedoms, but to ensure that these are understood and entrenched there is still need of coherent liberal activism.

Kamal Nissanka was elected as the Liberal Party’s secretary general in 2007.

Address: 88/1, Rosmead Place, Colombo 7, Sri Lanka.

Tel: +94-11-2691589 Website: http://www.liberalparty-srilanka.org

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National Council of the Union of Burma The National Council of the Union of Burma (NCUB) works on democratic principles to achieve a democratic federal system in Burma. Equality for all can be achieved only through transparent and inclusive participation.

Address: P.O Box (40), Mae Sot, Tak, 63110, Thailand Tel: +66 55 542 089 Email: ncub@ncub.org Website: http://www.ncub.org Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia Since its founding in 1968, the Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia (PGRM) has seen growth and strength despite external constraints and internal problems.

Through sincere leadership, pragmatic strategies, and non-communal approaches, PGRM obtained mass support to strive for an egalitarian united Malaysia characterized by racial harmony, social justice, economic equality, political democracy, and cultural liberalism. PGRM’s receptivity to people’s criticisms and advices and its sensitivity to their needs and aspirations are two major factors that contribute in making it a dynamic and resilient political force in Malaysia.

Address: Level 5, Menara PGRM, No. 8 Jalan Pudu, Cheras, 56100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Tel: +60-3-92876868 Fax: +60-3-92878866 Email: gerakan@gerakan.org.my Website: http://www.gerakan.org.my Sam Rainsy Party Cambodia’s main opposition party is a political organization with a vision and commitment dedicated toward genuine reform. The Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) is fully committed to building roads for a peaceful transition toward a liberalized democracy in the Kingdom of Cambodia.

Address: 71 Sothearos Blvd., Phnom Penh, Cambodia Telefax: +855-23-217452 Email: srpcabinet@online.com.kh Website: http://www.samrainsyparty.org 67

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Singapore Democratic Party The liberal Singapore Democratic Party was constituted in 1980. It is the first opposition party in Singapore to have a youth wing (Young Democrats) and to deploy podcast among its media tools. It uses blogging, political videos, and Internet forums to reach out to the people.

Email: sdp2000@pacific.net.sg Website: http://www.singaporedemocrat.org/

ASSOCIATE MEMBER PARTY Liberal Forum Pakistan Liberal Forum Pakistan is a civil organization and society initiative to create political awareness and provide the people a political training for the active participation in government and other political activities at the national level. It has employed many innovative methods to increase citizens’ trust in democratic institutions and serve as a watchdog to monitor developments in the political sphere. To catalyze our struggle to create liberalism and democratic culture in our circle of action, we have taken Pakistan founder Quid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s 11 August 1947 speech as a life of action, which may also be said as the Magna Carta of Pakistan. We are struggling for the Quid’s vision and trying our best for this and his words to become guiding principles for the state and Pakistan’s people.

Address: House 446, Street 89, Sector G-11/3, Islamabad, Pakistan Tel: +92-51-2214880 Fax: +92-51-2214879 Email: lfp@liberalforumpakistan.org; liberalforum@gmail.com Website: http://www.liberalforumpakistan.org

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INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS Martin Lee Martin C.M. Lee (Lee Chu Ming) is the founding chairman (1994 - 2002) of the Democratic Party, which is one of the largest and most popular political parties in Hong Kong. Prior to the founding of the Democratic Party in October 1994, Lee was chairman of the United Democrats of Hong Kong — Hong Kong’s first political party that won the first-ever democratic elections to the territory’s Legislative Council in 1991. Since its incorporation in 1994, the Democratic Party has done well in every set of elections held in Hong Kong and has received wide public support for its stance that Hong Kong must develop democratic institutions and preserve freedom, human rights and the rule of law if the territory is to continue to prosper as part of China.

Address: 704A, Admiralty Centre, Tower I, 18 Harcourt Road, Central, Hong Kong.

Tel: +852-25290864 Fax: +852-28642829 Email: oml@martinlee.org.hk Website: http://www.martinlee.org.hk Sin Chung-kai Sin Chung-kai has served as a Member of Legislative Council since 1995. He is well-known as a strong advocate for transforming Hong Kong into a leading digital city that enjoys human rights, rule of law, fair competition, free flow of information, democracy, and economic prosperity.

Address: Room 410, 4/F., West Wing, Central Government Offices, 11 Ice House Street, Central, Hong Kong Tel: +852-25093211 Fax: +852-25371469 Email: cksin@sinchungkai.org.hk Website: http://www.sinchungkai.org.hk

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CALD

OBSERVERS Democratic Party of Japan The Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) was created in 1998, when reform-minded politicians from a number of opposition parties came together with the aim of establishing a genuine opposition force capable of taking power from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). Former Prime Minister Tsutomu Hata, and former party Presidents Yukio Hatoyama and Naoto Kan were among those instrumental in establishing the new party. Since then the DPJ has grown in size at successive elections.

It was further strengthened by a merger with the Liberal Party, led

by Ichiro Ozawa, in 2003. It is now the largest opposition party in Japan, with a total of 113 seats in the House of Representatives and 83 in the House of Councillors.

Address: 1-11-1 Nagata-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-0014 Japan Tel: +81-3-35959988 Fax: +81-3-35959922 Website: http://www.dpj.or.jp Nation Awakening Party PKB is short for Partai Kebangkitan Bangsa or the National Awakening Party. This party was established in Jakarta on 23 July 1998, by the party decelerators who are Abdurrahman Wahid (Gur Dur), Munasir Ali, Ilyas Ruchiyat, Muchit Muzadi, and Mustofa Bisri.

They are all famous Indonesian Islamic scholars from Nahdlatul Ulama, the biggest Islamic organization in Indonesia.

The party has a national, democratic, and open characteristic. It functions as a place to improve education and as an aspiration to materialize civil rights and political participation. PKB has taken part in two elections — in 1999 and in 2004. In both elections, PKB obtained more than 12 million votes and came third behind the Golkar Party and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle. PKB is also an aspiration for a few social organizations, such as Nahdlatul Ulama, IPPNU, PPKB, PMII, GP ANSHOR, MUSLIMAT and FATAYAT. Address: Jalan Kalibata Timur I No. 12, South Jakarta, DKI Jakarta, Indonesia 12740 Tel: +62-21-7974353 Fax: +62-21-7974263 Email: dpp@dpp-pkb.org Website: http://www.dpp-pkb.org

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Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle PDI Perjuangan (Partai Demokrasi Indonesia Perjuangan - Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle) ideology is based on 1 st June 1945 Pancasila (Five Principle), which is derived from the old indigenous Indonesian philosophy and way of life. Pancasila reflects Indonesian nationalism, humanity and internationalism, democracy, social justice, and belief in one God. PDI Perjuangan faces a constant challenge to become the uniting power of Indonesia and always in the forefront of supporting social diversity in Indonesia. Equality among citizens is the basic foundation of our diversity in the unity.

In the current Indonesian democracy, PDI Perjuangan plays it role to fulfill people and state sovereignty by strengthening democratic institutions, mechanisms, and political practices. It also aims for a self-sufficient economy in the globalization era to bring prosperity and social welfare to the people. A nationalist party, PDI Perjuangan maintains a political stand for pluralism, social welfare, and the sovereignty of the people.

Address: Jl. Raya Lenteng Agung No. 99, Jakarta Selatan, Indonesia Tel: +62-21-7806028; 7806032 Fax: +62-21-7814472 Website: http://www.pdi-perjuangan.or.id

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CALD

PARTNERS Liberal International Liberal International is the world federation of liberal political parties. Founded in 1947, it has become the pre-eminent network for promoting liberalism, strengthening liberal parties, and for the promotion of liberal democracy around the world. There are a number of common principles that unite all liberal parties from Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Europe: human rights, free and fair elections, multiparty democracy, social justice, tolerance, social market economy, free trade, environmental sustainability, and a strong sense of international solidarity. Naturally, there is diversity among liberal parties owing to the application of these principles in different national circumstances. But all LI members adhere to the organization’s manifesto.

Address: 1 Whitehall Place, London, SW1A 2HD Tel: +44-20-78395905 Fax: +44-20-79252685 Email: all@liberal-international.org Website: www.liberal-international.org Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) in the European Parliament brings together MEPs from liberal and democratic parties across the European Union.

We share the common values and promote an open-minded and forward-looking approach to European Union politics. We stand for individual liberty, a free and dynamic business culture, economic and social solidarity, sustainability in taking actions, protection of the environment and respect, and tolerance for cultural, religious and linguistic diversity.

Address: European Parliament, Rue Wiertz, B- 1047 Brussels, Belgium Tel: +32-2-2842111 Fax: +32-2-2302485 Email: aldegroup@europarl.eu.int Website: www.alde.eu Friedrich Naumann Foundation

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The Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung fĂźr die Freiheit (FNF) is an independent, nonprofit, nongovernmental foundation committed to promoting the value of freedom in dignity worldwide. FNF seeks to promote this core liberal value by working to strengthen: human rights and the rule of law, liberal participatory democracy and a free market economy.

Funded by the German parliament, the Foundation supports a wide range of activities in 65 different countries. Its partners include parliaments, political parties, universities, think-tanks, research institutions, NGO’s, the media, business associations and community organizations. Its key tasks are civic education, policy dialogue and consultancy to help find liberal solutions for the problems facing our societies.

The Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung fĂźr die Freiheit has worked in partnership with the Council for Asian Liberals and Democrats (CALD) since 1993. They have collaborated to organize conferences, meetings, networking opportunities and publications designed to further policy dialogue and co-operation among like-minded Asian political parties.

Address: 26th Floor, SSP Tower, 555 Soi 63 Sukhumvit Road, Bangkok 10110, Thailand Tel: +662-3650570 Fax: +662-7114944 Email: contact@thailand.fnst.org Website: www.fnfasia.org National Democratic Institute for International Affairs The National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI) is a nonprofit organization working to strengthen and expand democracy worldwide.

Calling on a global network of volunteer experts, NDI provides practical assistance to civic and political leaders advancing democratic values, practices and institutions. NDI works with democrats in every region of the world to build political and civic organizations, safeguard elections, and to promote citizen participation, openness and accountability in government.

Address: 2030 M Street, NW, Fifth Floor, Washington, DC 20036-3306 Tel: +1-202-7285500 Fax: +1-202-7285520 Website: www.ndi.org 73

CALD

Alliance of Democrats CALD and several CALD member parties joined the Alliance of Democrats on December 2005 in Rome, Itlay in a conference sponsored by Italys La Margherita Party and the European Democratic Party. The alliance is a network of democratic parties worldwide with a permanent secretariat and staff and a common political agenda.

Address: Via Sant’Andrea delle Fratte 16, 00100 Rome, Italy Email: info@allianceofdemocrats.it Website: www.allianceofdemocrats.org

Young Liberals and Democrats of Asia W e ’ r e t h e Yo u n g L i b e r a l s a n d Democrats of Asia, more commonly known as YLDA. As our name suggests, we are a federation of liberal youth organizations and individuals in the Asian continent. Our membership is as diverse and dynamic as Asia itself. We are composed of youth wings or sectors of Asian liberal and democratic political parties, Asian youth organizations that adhere to liberal and democratic values, and individuals who freely commit to the goals and objectives on which the federation was founded.

Address: 7-B Amorsolo Street, San Lorenzo Village, Makati City 1223, Philippines Tel: +63-2-8403728/29 Fax: +63-2-8103189 Email: secretariat@yldasia.org Website: www.yldasia.org

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ABOUT CALD

The Council for Asian Liberals and Democrats (CALD) was inaugurated in Bangkok in 1993, with the support of then Thai Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai and South Korea’s Kim Dae-Jung. CALD, which offers a unique platform for dialogue and cooperation, is the only regional alliance of liberal and democratic political parties in Asia.

CALD

CALD was formed out of the recognition of leaders of like-minded political parties in Asia of the need for a dynamic forum in which trends and challenges affecting democracy in the region could be discussed.

The chair parties of CALD since its inception to the present have been the Democrat Party of Thailand (1993-1995; 2002-2004), the Democratic Progressive Party of Taiwan (1995-97, 2004-2005), the Liberal Party of the Philippines (1997-1999; 2005 to 2007), the Liberal Party of Sri-Lanka (1999-2000), and the Sam Rainsy Party of Cambodia (2000-2002).

The other members of CALD are the Malaysian People’s Movement Party (Gerakan), Singapore Democratic Party (SDP), and the National Council of the Union of Burma (NCUB). The Liberal Forum-Pakistan is an associate member while Hong Kong legislators Martin Lee and Sin Chung-kai are individual members. The observers of CALD include the Democratic Party of Japan, the Nation Awakening Party of Indonesia (PKB), and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).

Through CALD, political parties, groups, and individuals have a continuing discussion on the developments occurring in the various countries of the region. The aim is to assess the possibilities for liberal solutions to problems facing Asian democracies.

Accordingly, CALD organizes network meetings including those with its partners (Friedrich Naumann Foundation, Liberal International, Alliance for Liberals and Democrats for Europe, Alliance of Democrats, and the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs), international conferences on vital issues affecting the region, and regular workshops on communication, political management, and women in politics. It also sends missions for various advocacies, sponsors internship programs in its secretariat and in the European Parliament, as well as maintains a website and a bi-monthly electronic news letter.

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Hon. Senate President Franklin Drilon Chairman Hon. Dr. J.R. Nereus Acosta, MP Secretary General Mr. John Joseph S. Coronel Executive Director CALD Secretariat 7-B Amorsolo Street Makati City 1223 Philippines Tel +632 8113151; +632 7527557 Fax +632 810 1431 email: info@cald.org website: www.cald.org

CALD 2007 Annual Report COORDINATORS:

EDITOR:

LAY-OUT DESIGN:

PROJECT ASSISTANTS:

John Joseph S. Coronel

CC Balgos

Gerry R. Baclagon

Paolo Antonio A. Zamora

J. R. Nereus O. Acosta, PhD

Carlo Joseph F. Religioso Rosanna Regine Marie P. Ocampo

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2007

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