The 181st Executive Committee meeting of Liberal International will be held in conjunction with the 15th Anniversary of the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats (CALD – LI Cooperating Organisation). The Executive Committee and the CALD Conference will be hosted by the Democrat Party (LI full-member) in Bangkok, Thailand from 12-14 December 2008.
Liberalism is threatened by rising populist tendencies in various corners of the world. The similarity of the anti-democratic patterns require adequate liberal answers, be it in Bolivia, the Russian Federation, Singapore, Thailand, Venezuela, or Zimbabwe. Gathered under the theme “Strengthening Democratic Reform and the Rule of Law: Constraints and Continuing Challenges in Asia and Beyond”, participants will be offered a Conference that will address issues including democratic transition of societies, liberal answers to authoritarian tendencies and regimes, and protection of human rights and freedoms as universal values through strong, functional and open institutions. Particular emphasis at the Conference will be given to Asia, with a comparative approach with other world regions.
Prior to the Executive Committee meeting, from 11-12 December 2008, Liberal International and CALD offer an optional “Burma Fact-Finding Mission” to the Thai-Burmese border. The programme of the mission includes a visit to the Maela Refugee Camp in Mae-Sot, Thailand, and meetings with several exiled Burmese Members of Parliament elected in the 1991 elections, human rights-democracy advocates, and representatives of international humanitarian agencies that continue to provide assistance and education to the refugees. This visit, open to all Liberal International member parties, aims to give LI members a better insight into the grave situation that the Burmese citizens face in the aftermath of the decades of a brutal military regime, Cyclon Nargis and the crack-down of the pro-democracy movement led by the National League for Democracy of LI Prize for Freedom laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and CALD’s member the National Council of the Union of Burma (NCUB)