LI Prize for Freedom

The Belarusian opposition politician Aleksander Milinkevich was last night awarded the Liberal International´s annual Prize for Freedom at a reception in the sumptuous surroundings of Hamburg´s City Hall. Last year, he fought a brave campaign against the totalitarian incumbent president in Minsk and became the focal point for Belarus´s civic forces, many of whom I met in Minsk a couple of months ago. The prize will help turn the spotlight back on Belarus as preparations go ahead for parliamentary elections in which opposition candidates will be contesting seats, even if they fear results may be rigged to stop any of them winning.

Earlier in the day, we had had the Liberal International Executive, a major agenda item being requests for observer membership (a stepping-stone for full membershihp) from a wide range of new parties not only in Europe but also in Africa and Asia — even Mongolia. Emil Kirjas, the new Macedonian Secretary General of LI (who organised my visit to Skopje when I was there two years ago, and he was in the Foreign Ministry), was formally introduced and it was confirmed that the 2008 LI Congress will be in Belfast next May. That will be my first visit to Northern Ireland, bizarrely, despite my having roamed most of the globe.