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If you think the Netherlands is still the 'liberal paradise', you may be disappointed to hear the most recent policy proposal of the current government. Consisting of the christian democrats, the social democrats and the left-wing Christian Union, it has moved to ban the legal sale of crazy (hallucinating) mushrooms. Admittedly, there have been some incidents with people who have hurt themselves badly, but to prohibit such in itself innocent stuff is an extreme measure which doesn't benefit anyone. The paternalizing government is back in town.
Among the many reasons for allowing crazy mushrooms, is for example that there is actually some social control in the way they have to be used in order to avoid problems. The owners of the shops who sell them are professionals who have as one of their main interests to avoid that their customers will get into trouble, so advice about their use is part and parcel of the commerce. Moreover, in a legalized trade, the government can at least set some health standards as to the content of the mushrooms. For example, dried crazy mushrooms have been prohibited because they contain a certain amount of the hallucinating matter which can be considered dangerous for people's health, and (perhaps) rightfully so. As a consequence, only fresh mushrooms are now being sold and consumers are thus kept away from the dried versions. Once both versions go underground - as they will naturally do - there is no such distinction for the consumer. Finally, and probably most importantly, the state's 'raison d'etre' is certainly not to tell people what to use and what not to use for their private enjoyment ...
Last weekend (26th and 27th of April), me and my fellow liberal-democratic Young Democrats (Jonge Democraten - JD) convened for the semiannual congress of our organization. As the ban on crazy mushrooms is just one example of the paternalizing policies of the current government, much discussion was devoted to it (and how to counter it!). President of the hosting JD Amsterdam branch, Ferry Nagel, put it - jokingly but correctly - at his opening speech: "Welcome to Amsterdam, also known as the previously most tolerant city of the world... the association with 'sex, drugs and rock 'n roll' nowadays only remains in the head of the senior ex-junkie who has become a bike mechanic out of despair". JD's National President, Floris Kreiken, described later on at his presidential speech the government's approach: "There is a complicated problem, like the ageing of society or excessive drinking among youngsters, and the government tries to solve this by shifting the responsibility elsewhere or by targeting only the symptoms. (...) These are all populist proposals without any considerations of functionality."
Luckily enough there is still hope: elections in about two years (and hopefully earlier)!
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Four times a year does the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) convene, and IFLRY is traditionally present in order to support the Assembly of Liberals and Democrats in Europe (ALDE). From the 13th to the 16th of April another PACE meeting took place in Strasbourg (France). IFLRY was represented by Jan van Run, one of the IFLRY auditors and International Officer of JOVD. Find below his blog post: Two weeks before the April session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the council of Europe I received an e-mail asking whether I’d like to go there to help out the ALDE group for a bit and hang around the meetings afterwards.
Being a political junky, the hanging around part sounded quite appealing especially when one realizes that Gasparovic, Merkel and Timochenko would be giving speeches at noon on the three days I’d be there. So the decision was taken in a split second and off we were, by ICE to Strasbourg.
I arrived on Sunday evening and met up with my roommate, drank some beer and went to bed. On Monday morning I had to be present in the palais de l’europe at 0815, of course this seems early…. And indeed it is! The meeting started in time and was finished in time as well!
The meeting was quite interesting, especially the debates were great. People were actually debating in a way one rarely sees, then again there were over 20 countries present in the meeting and as we know at IFLRY, liberalism can have very different meanings in different countries. Especially when you put together national politicians as is done in PACE.
At noon I got to listen to a rather poor speech by mister Gasparovic, a real let-down unfortunately. The rest of the afternoon we had lunch and coffee and at 1700 we had the second group meeting of the day after which we took a bus to Germany for the traditional asparagus dinner which was very nice.
Tuesday was a free day but since Angela Merkel would be delivering her speech this day, I decided to go in in time which was a good decision, the entire hemicycle was filled, both the members and the guests showed up in drones. Merkel didn’t disappoint at all, her vision was clear and strong. But could of course be more liberal. Afterwards I went on to walk through the beautiful city of Strasbourg.
On Wednesday we had one more short meeting with the group after which I had time to listen to a fairly interesting speech by miss Timochenko, it is of course interesting that the Russians are present in the CoE as well. As one might imagine they had some questions prepared but unfortunately I had to catch my train and couldn’t stay for most of the questions.
For more information on IFLRY's involvement in the Council of Europe, please contact the IFLRY Office: office@iflry.org .
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Until the 4th of April, IFLRY Vice President Aicha Camara and me are present in the proximity of Johannesburg, South Africa, at the IFLRY/FNF seminar on African liberal youth cooperation. About 25 young African liberals from 12 different liberal youth organizations have convened here to discuss their bilateral, subregional and pan-African cooperation. Active IFLRY member organizations like UJTL (Senegal), RJR (Cote d'Ivoire) and NPP-Y (Ghana) are naturally present, but also liberal youth organizations that have only been affiliated to the Organization of African Liberal Youth (OALY) or are completely new at all. It is the first time in several years that IFLRY is organizing a seminar in Africa again and so far it seems to become a very good start for further international liberal involvement in Africa.
One of the hopeful outcomes of this event is the revitalization of OALY. African liberal youth face many common challenges and a pan-African organization can help all these organizations to learn from each other, exchange best-practices and ultimately improve their domestic work and voice their concerns and ideas on an international level. Also with the help of former IFLRY VP and Senegalese Member of Parliament Tafsir Thioye, steps are being taken to get OALY back on track. However, it will not be easy. Resources are scarce, and there is still officially a Bureau in place (but which hasn't convened in many years and of which only one - Aicha - is present).
On Friday there will be the final session on the future plans for OALY. We'll keep you updated on the outcome! ps. obviously, the results of the Zimbabwean elections are being very closely followed here...
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The Young Liberals for Belarus Network has launched its own web page; find it here: http://www.liberalsforbelarus.com . The Young Liberals for Belarus is a network that brings together various liberal youth organizations which are committed to - and engaged in - supporting liberalism and democracy in Belarus. This Network was established in Vilnius, August 2007, and met for a second time in Stockholm, December 2007. Our aims are to assist our liberal partners in Belarus in a comprehensive and effective manner and to raise awareness on the situation of democracy and human rights in Belarus among Europeans and around the world. If you and/or your organization wants to become part of the Network, please send an email to ylb(@)iflry.org .
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As a recently elected Bureau of the International Federation of Liberal Youth, we are currently developing our working plan for the next two years and would like to seek input from our Member Organizations and other fellow liberals. In order to achieve this, we designed a questionnaire to receive constructive feedback and to learn about your expectations.
It is in our and your interest to fill in the form as honestly and extensively as possible.
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For the last week Bart and I have been in Armenia for a joint seminar with Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Liberty and the VVD, but also to witness the presidential elections. Together with participants from the Armenian National Movement, the Georgian Young Republicans and representatives from Abkhazia we discussed different aspects of election observing. As a part of that seminar, I held a lecture about the many varieties of election fraud and how to prevent them. I ended the lecture with the conclusion that there are many different effective and efficient ways to prevent election fraud, but most of them need to be backed and introduced by the government. After the seminar we unfortunately had to find out that the governing regime in Armenia apparently not only has low incentives to work against election fraud, but rather uses the various gaps in the current system for its own purposes. On election day, we heard several reports about election fraud and numerous irregularities, so the “official” result of the elections - the overwhelming victory of the government candidate Serzh Sargsyan - did not come as a surprise to us. However, after having seen the vast support that the main opposition candidate Levon Ter-Petrossian received during his rallies it is very hard to believe that the results given by the election commission are even anywhere close to reality. Personally I was very disappointed also by the international media coverage of the election result especially in European print media. Most journalists apparently did not even care to read the OSCE Election Observation Mission's report, that stated numerous observed flaws and irregularities - but concluded right away that the elections "mostly" had been fair. I had expected that even an average journalist would be able to see the clearly listed facts in the report even though the OSCE naturally used the usual rather diplomatic terms to describe the situation (actually the report and the press conference where very explicit when you compare them to the standard the OSCE normally uses). However, I unfortunately was wrong. Overall the elections where a big disappointment to all of us who had hoped for free and fair processes but I am convinced and I hope that the democratic forces in Armenia will continue their struggle - we will support them wherever we can.
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By: Jelena Spasovic, IFLRY Vice President
Serbia's ultra-nationalist Radical Party (SRS) leader Nikolić finished the first round of elections with a lead over the Democratic Party (DS) leader and presidential incumbent, Boris Tadic. Even on CNN this is one of top news and all people that are doing political analysis talk about influence of process about Kosovo and this results, while also they are trying to guess what will happen with Serbia if Nikolic (SRS) wins this second round. CNN's European political editor Robin Oakley believes that the runoff will be a pivotal moment in the Balkan nation's history. "February 3 therefore becomes a crucial choice not just for Serbians but for many across the Balkans who fear a further decade of instability and economic stagnation," Oakley said. Analyzes of possible results of the runoff already started and all researchers expect that votes of SPS candidate Mr. Mrkonjić (6%) go, for the most part, to Nikolić. LDP (Jovanović) supporters (5,6%) are expected to back Tadić. The big question is who Velimir Ilić's votes will go to. Mr. Ilic gets 7.6 % of votes and everyone expect that this vote will decide where Serbia will go in future. As Mr. Ilic was candidate of party of Prime Minister Kostunica now it is time to see what he is going to chose as direction, EU or Russia.
Once again Serbia is in the place where it needs to chose which road will be taken and that is why February 3rd will be very important for country. According to researchers 70% of Serbian people support integration to EU; we hope they will realize that this is also fight for European path and that is why this situation is more serious and they need to decide to go and vote.
I am not expecting anything because on this point I am not an optimist but I still hope that Kostunica will realize what his propaganda for rising nationalism does to Serbia. Only Radicals benefit from it and that he will take responsibility for his moves and finally support democratic candidate in runoff. I also hope that people before voting will think about message that LDP try to send "100% of people are more important then 15% of territory" and decide to vote for their future and not for Kosovo.
I think that Serbia is at a point where we need a new reunion of democratic parties, this time not against Milosevic but against Nikolic and his party that has never been closer to 50% of votes then now.
They all need to forget their differences and to see that priority for this moment is to back Serbia on path to EU and to finally say NO to the past: authoritarian politics, ultra-nationalists, wars, isolations and all things that we saw in '90 during regime of Milosevic.
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By Ahissata Camara, IFLRY Vice President Today, the 5th January 2008, the Ivorian opposition-friendly newspaper “le Patriote” has published an article about the General Assembly in Sarajevo, which is the result of a telephone interview I made just after the GA.
The article is in French and talks about the bureau elections, mentioning that IFLRY has elected its first African woman to a leading position and that IFLRY has as objective to “promote liberalism on a planetary scale”.
The direct link to the article is:
http://www.lepatriote.net/lire/e1b07bd4-2cae-4261-a7c3-60ae645f31f8.aspx
I hope that this article will make more people in Ivory Coast aware of IFLRY and interested in the organisation. It is also good to show that young people in Africa that are not part of a corrupt ruling party can access important international positions.
In the future I hope to be the origin of more articles in other African countries that are less about me and more about specific political issues faced by those countries.
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Exactly one year ago, russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya from Novaja Gazeta, got shot to death in the elevator of her apartment building. She was one of the too few Russian journalist that dares to write about topics of sensitive character to the Kreml and president Putin, such as the war in Chechnya.
The reasons for the Kreml's tighter grip on media and politics can be discussed. I strongly believe that one of the main reasons for the current situation in Russia is the lack of democratic history and therefore the lack of positive experiences of freedom amongst Russian voters. Moreover, the most free period in Russian history is tied to economic decay.
Russians are again less free. Despite the fact that the economy is in considerably better shape than during perestroika and glasnost during the late eighties and even better than during the relatively democratic nineties under Jeltsin, Russian people today lack political basic rights that characterize any contemporary democracy.
Many Russians feel marginalised and forcely detached of their superpower status after the emerge of a new system. A large part of the population believe that the so called freedom and democracy has not brought what it promised with regards to food on the table. Russian politicians and authorities are still corrupt and the US is now alone the single superpower, which can be seen as a failure for Russia.
Figures such as Anna Politkovskaya that challenge the army and the image of Russia as a superpower and, moreover, challenge the country's great leader Putin are not always popular amongst contemporary Russians.
Unfortunately, Politkovskaja is one of the twelve Russian journalists that has been murdered or mysteriously vanished during the latest years. Freedom of speech in Russia is continiuously diminishing day by day.
This lack of positive images of democracy and freedom also concern the leaders of Russia. They have learnt how to run the government and institutions during the Soviet era. Now, with a romantic old memory of the superpower that they were as the Soviet Union, they lack methods for the implementation of a democratic leadership. The population might have been quite poor then, as many people still are today, but they were still important.
However, Russian history will grant her a proper legacy just as Putin is already being exposed as an undemocratic and megalomaniac leader. The more journalists’ and activists’ blood he spills the worse the judgement of him will be. In order to support a proper development towards democracy in Russia, it is of great importance to support the opposition, journalist and activists that commit themselves to accomplish a change. It is also important to condemn any crime or violation of human rights. Despite Putin's power or method we Hill support the legacy of Anna Politkovskaya and other journalists that offered their lives in the name of freedom and democracy. / Daniel W
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Yesterday I wrote a statement
for IFLRY on the current situation in Burma. I know that there is some
controversy over whether to refer to Burma or Myanmar, but as I know
that many pro-democracy NGOs in the West are still using Burma (for
example the Burma centers), I'm just following their precedent.
Now that the situation is getting grimmer and grimmer, it is
questionable whether one of the calls in the statement (to avoid the
bloodshed) will hold much longer. In one of the several Facebook groups
set up on the issue, there is growing concern (in particular among
Burmese students abroad) that a same sort of scenario is unfolding as a
little less than 20 years ago.
The big question is always what to do as an outsider (as many of us
are) in order to help these brave protestors. While many often simply
do not have the illusion they can do anything at all, some
others may even put into perspective the very complicated history of
Myanmar with for example its huge ethnic diversity (as was just
outlined to me by a Swiss friend of mine who's currently studying in Singapore), and the need for a strong government to keep those forces in control.
Nevertheless, I personally do believe in the ability to be part of
some sort of change while being an 'outsider'. I know that there are
several solidarity actions taking place around the world, like for
example the one in London which takes place every day in front of the Burmese embassy (for Burmese embassies in other countries, check here).
It would be too long a discussion to go into all the pros and cons of
the potential added value of such actions, but in short: the news of
such actions taking place do reach the opposition movements in Burma (for sure those in exile), and
such shows of global solidarity (as opposed to apathy) are the corner
stone of a more universal morality in which our desire for freedom and
democracy do not stop at our borders but extend to all human beings, no
matter where they are.
I had never thought I would be saying this, but: go Monks!
From: http://bartwoord.wordpress.com .
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Youth, mainly the western Balkans, met in Mostar, Bosnia, this past weekend to discuss education and youth unemployment. The aim of the meeting was to create a constructive dialogue among western Balkan youth from different ideological camps. The meeting in Mostar led to several suggestions on how to improve the education systems and decrease youth unemployment. One of the reasons for holding the meeting in Mostar is that it is one of the cities in Bosnia that was most effected by the war. The scars of the war are much more visible in Mostar than in Sarajevo according to Edin Colic and Majda Zeherovic from Young Liberals of Bosnia. However, Mostar is a beautiful city that is well worth a visit. The nature around the city is very beautiful as well. Numerous constructive solutions were the end result of the meeting. These solutions will be the subject of a future meeting in the spring that will revisit the themes from this inaugural event. It is very important for the youth of the region to have forums to discuss issues that span over the political spectra. This was one first important step in that direction. / Daniel W
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Carta de apoyo de IFLRY para Ricardo López Murphy, líder del partido Recrear de Argentina en relación con su candidatura para la Presidencia de ese país. Las elecciones se llevarán a cabo el próximo 28 de octubre.
IFLRY's support letter to Ricardo López Murphy's, leader of Recrear party in Argentina on regards of his candidacy for President. Election is settled for next october 28th.
***See attached file***
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I asked an activist from Civil Forum if he wasn't thinking of leaving Belarus . His answer was that he would not leave until Lukasjenko was no longer in power. Such courage and fighting spirit is needed to fight the last dictatorship in Europe. This weekend IFLRY and LYMEC together with a couple member organizations met Civil Forum from Belarus in Vilnius, Lithuania, to discuss how we can help them the most. Belarusians really need the support of young people outside their country. Since the last presidential election Lukasjenko's repressive machine has unfortunately been very effective in diminishing the opposition. Students are afraid of getting involved in political organizations as they might get expelled. More and more people are leaving politics to continue living a more normal life. The Belarusian opposition therefore needs our support more than ever. It is important for the opposition to have continuous contact with the outside world and thus attend events outside Belarus. We therefore wish that Civil Forum could get the possibility to attend IFLRY's events more consequently. Meeting two activists from Civil Forum in Vilnius this weekend was instrumental in order to revitalize our contacts with the Belarusian opposition. The workshop was held together with LYMEC and a total of fifteen people from different organizations supporting the Belarusian opposition made us all draw some co In order to help Civil Forum, we need to both raise awareness of the country's situation in our own countries and help strengthen the liberal opposition within Belarus.
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Looking for the latest
t-shirt design? Or maybe a poster to put up on your blank wall??
BUDAPEST- During the seminar ‘Respect for religious
diversity: fighting Islamophobia' April 2007, participants from around the
world were asked to talk, discuss, and share individual, member organisation,
and country positions in regards to the growing issue of Islamophobia.
Participants developed
a set of material for member organisations to use in the promotion of the topic
of ‘fighting Islamophobia'.
Check out the material
and final reports in the Budapest
file at Document Centre.
*Please note that these files were developed by participants at the
IFLRY Seminar April 2007.
**They do not represent the views or opinions
of the IFLRY Bureau but are rather the creative expression of the
delegates from our Member Organisations. Sarah
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Today was a historic day for the International Federation of
Liberal Youth as it welcomed the Young Democrats of America as a full member
organization, following a very successful seminar organized by both organizations
and attended by close to 100 young liberals from over 30 countries on the challenges facing Liberalism. IFLRY’s member organizations present at its extraordinary
General Assembly in Dallas overwhelmingly voted in favor of welcoming the Young
Democrats as a voting member, following more than two years of very active
participation of YDA members in several IFLRY-sponsored seminars, statutory
events and committees. We would like to thank YDA President Chris Gallaway and International Officer Clinton Bench for spearheading their organization’s
involvement within our movement and helping us organize this terrific events. We are convinced that the Young Democrats will
become a leading member organization within the federation and that this partnership
will tremendously improve and expand the scope of IFLRY. Welcome, YDA!
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