| Greetings
from FNF South Asia |
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| Welcome to the third
edition of the FNF South Asia eNewsletter for 2009! |
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Dear Friends of FNF
South Asia,
2009 has turned out to be a good year for
German liberals. Despite the blame game that held liberals responsible
for the global financial and economic crisis, the Free Democratic
Party (FDP) has gained almost 15 percent in the national elections and
has received its best result in party-history. The FDP has formed a
coalition government with the CDU/CSU, with Angela Merkel staying
Federal Chancellor and Guido Westerwelle as Vice Chancellor and Foreign
Minister. The FDP will soon also be part of eight out of 16 state
governments in Germany, which gives the liberals altogether a strong
voice in national politics.
2009 also marks a dual anniversary—60
years of the German Basic Law and 20 years of the fall of the Berlin
Wall. Both events reinforce the importance of a functional
liberal democracy and the people’s will to live their life in freedom
without state repressions all over the world. To commemorate these two
occasions, FNF South Asia plans events and a special eNewsletter in the
coming days and months.
For updates and recent
news, please also do visit our homepage at www.southasia.fnst.org,
and the Foundation's German homepage at www.freiheit.org.
-
Dr. René Klaff, Regional Director, FNF South Asia |
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| FNF News Flash
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| Recent Events |
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Overcoming
the Financial and Economic Crises: The Rule of Law as the Key to
Economic Freedom
The 2009 annual international conference of the Economic Freedom
Network Asia was held at Siem Reap, the ancient and exciting city of
Angkor Wat in Cambodia. Over a 100 participants representing academia,
think-tanks, industry, policy-makers, youth and others from almost 20
countries came Read more |
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Call
to resume talks at 11th Intra-Kashmir Dialogue
The three-day
Intra-Kashmir Conference “Kashmir: Opportunities and Challenges Ahead”
organised by the Centre for Dialogue and Reconciliation (CDR) with
support of the Foundation concluded with the call for resumption of
dialogue between India and Pakistan and putting an end to restrictions
on trade across the Line of Control (LoC). Read more |
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Aiming
at equivalent living conditions
It is not only
prescribed in the constitution but it seen as an overall national
interest: the establishment of equivalent living conditions throughout
the federal territory or the maintenance of legal or economic unity
renders federal regulation necessary in the national interest.
Read more |
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Trade
Facilitation: Issues and Constraints in South Asia
Dr. René Klaff,
Regional Director, FNF South Asia, and a high-ranking delegation of the
Foundation's partner organization SAARC Chamber of Commerce and
Industry (SCCI) met with the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, Hon’ble
Ratnasiri Wickremanayake, who was invited to inaugurate the upcoming
3rd SAARC Business Leaders' Conclave later this year in Colombo. Read more |
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5
to 12 for Police Reforms: CHRI launches report
“You see, the watch
is frozen at 5 to 12”, said columnist and chairman of the Commonwealth
Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) BG Verghese, pointing at the cover of
CHRI’s new report on Police Reforms “Feudal Forces: Reform Delayed -
Moving from Force to Service in South Asian Policing”. The report was
officially launched in New Delhi. Read more |
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Political
Triumph for the Liberal Youth Guilds
Buddhika Pathirana,
the National President of the Liberal Youth Guilds (LYGs) Sri Lanka,
Executive Committee Member YLDA has been elected as the Leader of
Opposition in the Southern Provincial Council. He is the youngest
member ever to hold this responsibility. This is also a great
achievement for the Sri Lankan Liberal Youth Guilds. Read more |
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Liberty,
Social Pluralism and Political Constitutionalism
On 16 October 2009,
yet another liberal stalwart joined the long line of erudite speakers
to deliver the Dudley Senanayake Memorial Lecture. Dato Seri Anwar
Ibrahim, the Leader of Opposition, and People’s Justice Party, Malaysia
delivered the 12th Dudley Senanayake Memorial Lecture, titled, “The
Role of the Opposition in a Liberal Democracy”. Read more |
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BDS
crosses a significant milestone
FNF Partner, Business Development Services Consultancy
(BDS) created history in the education sphere of Sri Lanka, when they
were invited by the University Authorities to conduct their signature
programme “Stand on your own two feet” to the undergraduates of the
Arts Faculty in the Colombo University. Read more |
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Empowering
India: making democracy meaningful
Active citizenship is central to democratic governance. While freedom
to vote is fundamental, on average only about 50% of those eligible
actually cast their vote. However, freedom to vote also includes the
freedom to exercise the right not to vote. Empowering India, a
web-based initiative Read more |
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LYF
marks its presence in seven campuses across India
Towards the long term goal to have young liberals in politics, the
liberal youth activists of FNF partner-LYF have formally launched in
seven campuses to reach out directly to more than 400 students in the
past few months. LYF team is working to scan the political environment
in 3 other major campuses in India. Read more |
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Handbook
to help citizens demand accountability!
An informed citizenry is vital for
maintaining a vibrant and dynamic liberal democracy. Studying,
understanding and reforming the institutions of democracy are essential
for its survival and growth. This requires constant and concerted
efforts on the part of citizens, civil society organisations, and
governments.
Read more |
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First liberal portal in Hindi
“We got our political freedom in 1947 but
there is still a long way to go before we as the people of the nation
can enjoy complete economic and personal freedom. Read more |
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LYF launches website
Following the recent 62nd anniversary of
India’s independence, the liberal movement in India reached an
important milestone today. The Liberal Youth Forum launched its
web-portal Read more |
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Federalism means respect for diversity
“Diversity is difference— pluralism is
accommodation of diversity while recognition and respect for diversity
is called Federalism”, says Dr. Rasul Bukhsh Raees summing up the
FreedomGate Pakistan (FGP) seminar on Federalism in Islamabad. Read more |
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| Liberal Readings |
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Austrians! The Indian Market Beckons
by Sauvik
Chakraverti |
| India today is a nation where everyone can see and feel
the benefits of private enterprise, including multinational companies;
and, at the same time, everyone can see state failure writ large in
each and every area where this socialist state is active. Read on |
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The Challenge of Building a National Liberal
Political Alternative
by Sanjeev
Sabhlok |
| Indian political liberalism has been blossoming in the
last few years but is still very fragile. The demand for freedom is
still largely confined to the fringe of India’s mainstream political
debates. The mantra of socialism refuses to die out despite the success
of economic liberalisation. Indeed, India’s politicians continue to
preach socialism as they practice their ugly mix of statism, crony
capitalism and corruption. Read on |
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| The Role of the Opposition in a Liberal
Democracy |
| Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim's speech at the 12th Dudley
Senanayake Memorial Lecture. Mr. Abrahim is the Leader of
Opposition from the People’s Justice Party. Download speech |
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| Avoiding and Resolving Financial Crises: The
Rule of Law or the Rule of Central Bankers? |
Lawrence H. White's keynote address at the 2009 Economic
Freedom Network Asia International Conference, Siem Reap, Cambodia,
9 October 2009. Mr. White is Professor of Economics, George
Mason University, USA.
Download address |
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| Upcoming Events |
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“Celebrating
Freedom: 20 Years After the Fall of the Berlin Wall ” Discussion and
Film-screening, FNF, New Delhi, Nov 2009
“RTI Workshop," Institute for Democracy
& Leadership (IDL) and CHRI, Colombo, Nov 2009
“Globalisation: The Future of Asia” Workshop,
Liberal Youth South Asia (LYSA)-Young Liberal Democrats of Asia (YLDA),
Kathmandu, Nov 2009
“Third SAARC Business Leaders' Conclave”, SAARC
Chambers of Commerce & Industry (SCCI), Colombo, Nov 2009
“Certificate Course on Public Policy for Hindi
Journalists”, Centre for Civil Society, Delhi, Nov 2009
“Policy Roundtables with Parliamentarians,"
Centre for Civil Society, Delhi, Nov-Dec 2009
“Communicating Liberalism” Online
Conference and National Workshop, Future Youth Group, Islamabad, Nov
2009
“Freedom of Information” Workshop, Liberal
Forum Pakistan and Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives,
Islamabad, Nov 2009
“Political Communication
in the IT Age” Training for FNF partners, FreedomGate Pakistan,
Larkana, Nov 2009
“Seventh Alumni Meeting”, FreedomGate
Pakistan, Islamabad, Nov 2009
"SAARC SME Conference", TANSTIA FNF Service
Centre, Chennai, Dec 2009
"Seminar on Rule of Law", Rajiv Gandhi
Institute for Contemporary Studies, Delhi, Dec 2009
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| Publications |
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State
of Governance: Delhi Citizen Handbook 2009
Centre for Civil Society has launched the third in a series of State of
Governance: Citizen Handbooks published since 2003. Read more |
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Pragati - The Road to Freedom & Progress
Pragati (meaning progress in Hindi), is an
apt name for this increasingly popular monthly online liberal
magazine, published by The Indian National Interest. Read More |
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Breaking Free of Nehru
This book highlights India’s expensive but
disastrous experiment with socialism. Read more |
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The
American Dream - Job Migration Into The United States, Thomas
Cieslik, 2009
The United States remains an attractive
destination for millons of migrants yearning for freedom and
prosperity, especially from Mexiko. But illegal immigrants has stirred
up controversy in both of the neighbour nations: the US and Mexico.
The following essay outlines the contemporary debate over immigration in
Mexico and the United States. Read on |
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Migration
Matters - How Germany and the World can Benefit from a Free Movement
of People,
Philippe Legrain, 2009
Immigration divides our globalising world
like no other issue. No government would dream of trying to ban the
movement of goods and services across borders. But even within the EU,
for which the free movement of labour is supposedly a fundamental
principle, restrictions still exist. For P. Legrain
such controls are morally wrong, economically stupid and politically
harmful. Read on |
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Addressing
Climate Change in the Context of Other Problems?
A Plea for Realism over Ideology, Indur
M. Goklany,
2009
Some governmental leaders, scientists and
media outlets have claimed that climate change is the world's most
important environmental problem. The World Health Organization
indicates that a dozen other environmental, food and nutritional risk
factors contribute more to global mortality and burden of disease
than climate change. Read on |
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