Radical Party’s 50th anniversary: the 2006 membership campaign 2006 has started. The first Mps who joined.

December 11th, 2005 – Fifty years ago in Rome, the Radical Party was born. In the late 80’s – when a new Statute was adopted – it became transnational and trans-party not running for elections anywhere. The Party adopted Gandhi’s face as its symbol, and subsequently was awarded a consultative status with the UN ECOSOC, which it used providing a platform to speak freely for dissidents and representatives of oppressed peoples from all over the world. Being an “initiative-driven” organization – it gathers members on specific issues and not according to an ideological affiliation – the TRP is now in the process to re-launch itself, with a membership campaign targeting citizens all over the world and involving dozens of MPs of different nationalities and different political groups. MPs how join will constitute an assembly that will elect 25 out the 50 components of TRP’s General Council. Should the campaign be successful and the Council be convened, Marco Pannella – President of the “Senate” of the Party – will propose to adopt the new name of “Nonviolent Radical Party”.

To join click here

To see the list of non-Italian prominent members click here

BALKANS: three former Prime Ministers join TRP

Balkans, December 2005 – Twenty political activists from Albania, Croatia, Macedonia and Kosovo joined the TRP during Former MEP Gianfranco Dell’Alba’s (No Peace Without Justice’s Secretary) mission to the Balkans. Among them: from Kosovo, Minister of Industry and Commerce Bujar Dugolli and two former PMs Bajram Rexhepi and Ramush Haradinaj; from Albania, former PM Pandeli Majko and former Minister Ermelinda Meksi; moreover: Vesna Skulic (Croatia), Iljaz Halimi and Ruzhdi Matoshi (Macedonia), Gijymaze Syla, Naim Jerliu, Edita Tahiri and Fatmir Sejdiu (Kosovo), Gaqo Apostoli and Engjell Bejtaj (Albania). The Balkan Mps – besides being committed to the campaign for a “World Organization of Democracies and for Democracy” and to the campaign for freedom of scientific research, are also engaged in the definition of a “status” for Kosovo to meet the aspirations of its people and open the negotiation process with the EU.

ASIA: several members of the Cambodian opposition, lead by MP Son Chay join.

Cambodia, December 2005 – 12 MPs from the Sam Rainsy Party – the sole opposition party in Cambodia – joined the TRP for 2006 thanks, in particular to MP Son Chay, a TRP member since 2002. Cambodian opposition members are suffering harsh restrictions in their political actions due to a Governmental crackdown. Since many months, opposition leader Sam Rainsy is living in exile in France, as the Phnom Penh’s court released an arrest warrant after a libel action issued by PM Hun Sen. Another opposition MP, Mr. Cheam Channy, has been sentenced to seven years in prison by a military court in Cambodia after a libel action in a trial that lacked any standard requirements of fundamental rights, according to all independent observers. Independent journalist Mam Sonando, and a trade union representative, have also been arrested by Cambodian authorities after being accused of defamation. The TRP has denounced these abuses during the November 23rd session at the European Parliament, through written questions by MEPs Marco Pannella and Emma Bonino, which content has been included in a resolution adopted by the European Parliament on December 1st 2005.

AFRICA: new members in 4 countries, particularly involved against the death penalty

Africa, December 2005 – A considerable number of new TRP members come from the Africa. Nigeria: Abdlu Oroh, Ms. Yumoke Okoya Thomas, Wale Okediran, Ade O. Adegbanjo, Uche Onyeagucha; Kenya: Nijeru Ghitae; Mali: Demba Traoré and Zambia: Norman Chibamba. All joined the TRP to promote a “World Organization of Democracies and for Democracy” and to support a world moratorium on capital punishment. This last campaign is also the reason why Spanish MP Jordi Xuclà renewed his TRP membership. After Xuclà’s action, Madrid Parliament approved a paper committing the Zapatero administration to support the pro-moratorium initiative at the UN, next fall.

Internet: radical hunger strike to support Tunisian dissidents and for freedom of access to the Net

Tunis, December 16th/18th, 2005 – During the UN’s World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), some 90 TRP members fasted in support of 8 Tunisian dissidents who were on hunger strike since October 10th.
During the WSIS sessions, the TRP held a round table on “E-Democracy, Digital Rights and P2P”, and Marco Cappato and Marco Perduca urged to democratic countries to find common solutions for the management of the Net and for the future of the Internauts of the Tunisian village of Zarzis.

Death penalty: Hands Off Cain appeals to Governor Schwarzenegger for Tookie Williams

Rome, December 2nd, 2005 – Hands Off Cain addressed an appeal to California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed by 19 of the 20 governors of Italian Regions. More than 100 Italian MPs from all political groups and numerous actors and movie directors including Bernardo Bertolucci, Monica Bellucci, Claudia Cardinale, Giuliano Montaldo, Ferzan Ozpetek, Lina Wermuller, Dario Argento and Liliana Cavani supported the initiative. The appeal asked clemency for Stanley Tookie Williams founder of the ‘Crips’ street gang in the early 1970’s and sentenced to death in 1981, at 27, for the killing of four people during two robberies. Mr. Williams was executed on December 13th.

Freedom House Report “Nations in Transit 2005” presented in Rome

Rome, December 2nd – Freedom House report ["Come si Conquista la Libertà: dalla Resistenza Civica alla Democrazia" (video)] “Nations in Transit 2005” (video) was been presented at the TRP Headquarters by Peter Ackerman, Chairman of Freedom House and of the International Center for Nonviolent Conflict and Adrian Karatnycky, also from Freedom House. MEPs Emma Bonino and Marco Pannella also participated the discussion chaired by Matteo Mecacci, TRP UN representative. The report analyzes 67 different transitions to democracy occurred in the world since 1972, year that has been called the beginning of the “Third Wave” of a world democratizing process. To better understand how transitions to democracy succeeded, four key characteristics have been examined: the social forces who guided this process; the power of nonviolent civic resistance; the rank of violence within society and its origins. In the majority of cases, transitions led by civic nonviolent coalitions achieve better results in terms of freedom, rather than “octroyées” transitions, started up by elites. The report suggests that politicians support rising civic resistance movements in order to help democratic change.

FGM: Maputo protocol on the Rights of African Women comes into force

Rome, December 12th, 2005 – The Maputo protocol on the Rights of African Women (whose 5th article bans Female Genital Mutilations) came into force last week. On that occasion, the Italian Chamber of Deputies held a meeting sponsored by its President Pierferdinando Casini with the ambassadors of several African Union countries and with African women’s associations in Italy. The meeting, hosted by MEP Emma Bonino and No Peace Without Justice (which last year worked together with Aidos, Association of Italian Women for Development campaigned to promote the ratification of the protocol) was organized thanks to the support of the parliamentary group La Rosa nel Pugno (the Rose in the Fist).

List of non-Italian prominent members of TRP

NON-ITALIAN MPs AND OTHER MEMBERS OF TRANSNATIONAL RADICAL PARTY

CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE

ALBANIA (6)
Tahir MUHEDINI, President, Independent Democratic Party (minority of Giamaria)
Amos DOJAKA, Secretary General, Independent Democratic Party (minority of Giamaria)
Gaqo APOSTOLI, Deputy
Engjell BEJTAI, Deputy
Pandeli MAJKO, former Secretary
Ermelinda MEKSI, former Secretary

KOSOVO (7)
Bujar DUGOLLI, Deputy, Minister of Industry and Commerce
Ramush HARADINAJ, former Deputy and Prime Minister, President AAK (Alliance for Kosovo’s Future)
Bajram REXHEPI, former Prime Minister
Edita TAHIRI, former Deputy, President ADK (Kosovo Democratic Alternative)
Gijymaze SYLA, Deputy
Naim JERLIU, Deputy
Fatmir Sejdiu, Deputy

CROATIA (2)
Zdravko TOMAC, former Parliament Vice-President
Vesna SKULIC, Deputy

MACEDONIA (3)
Arber XHAFERI, President, Albanian Democratic Party of Macedonia, former Deputy
Iljaz HALIMI, Deputy
Ruzhdi MATOSHI, Deputy

EUROPEAN UNION
SPAIN (1)
Jordi XUCLÀ

SOUTH-EAST ASIA
CAMBODIA (12)
Kouy BUNROEUN
ChanCHENG
Son CHAY
Thak LANY
Mao MONYVANN
Sok PHENG
Chea POCH
Chrea SOCHENDA
Sok SOTY
Ngor SOVANN
Kieng VANG
Hon. VANN

AFRICA

NIGERIA (5)
Abdlu OROH
Yumoke OKOYA THOMAS
Wale OKEDIRAN
Ade O. ADEGBANJO
Uche ONYEAGUCHA

KENYA (1)
Njeru GHITAE

ZAMBIA (1)
Norman CHIBAMBA

MALI (1)
Demba TRAORE', Deputy

TRP General Council non-Italian members, elected at 38th Congress in Tirana, November 2002:
Dr. Umar KHANBIEV, Minister of Health, Chechnya
Kok KSOR, President, Montagnard Foundation (Vietnam - USA)
Wei JINGSHENG, President, Overseas Chinese Democracy Coalition and Honorary President of Forum Asia Democracy (China)
Nikolaj KHRAMOV, leader of Russian Radicals (Russia)
Vo VAN AI, President, Vietnam Committee for Human Rights; Vice-President, International Federation of Human Rights (Vietnam - France)
Vanida THEPHSOUVAN, President, Lao Movement for Human Rights (Laos - France)
Enver CAN, President, National East Turkestan Congress (East Turkestan - Germany)
Prof. Arnold Trebach, Founder of Drug Policy Foundation; President of the scientific committe, International Anti-prohibitionist League, Founder and President, Trebach Institute (USA)
Artur NURA, Journalist (Albania)
Penelope FAULKNER, Vice-president, Quê Me: Action for Democracy in Vietnam (France)
Joao DE MENEZ FERREIRA, President and Executive Director, ECO-SOROS; former Deputy at Portuguese Parliament (Portugal)
Zeynal IBRAHIMOV, Journalist (Azerbaijan)
Marc DAUGHERTY, Journalist, Lawyer (Israel)
Lev TIMOFEEV, Director, Center of Research for the Illegal Economic Activities, RGGU (Russia)
Khady KOITA, President, Network for the Prevention of FGM in Europe (Senegal)
Marina SZIKORA, Journalist, TRP Representative in Central and Eastern Europe (Croatia)