Africa Liberal Network media statement by
Stevens Mokgalapa (MP)
Africa Liberal Network Vice President (Southern Africa)
ALN condemns pre-election violence in South Africa
27 October 2015
Release: immediate
The Africa Liberal Network (ALN), the largest political network on the continent consisting of 44 political parties in 30 states, expresses grave concern over reports that our South African member party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), has faced intimidation and violent attacks against its supporters, members and staff in the country’s capital.
We condemn any actions by the ruling party involving alleged theft and destruction of property. It has come to our attention that the African National Congress (ANC) organised attacks against DA supporters during the preparation of the DA’s campaign launch in Tshwane (Pretoria).
The ALN is especially concerned that anti-DA forces physically attacked the party’s members, throwing bricks and rocks at them. We are aware of an incident in which a group of ANC supporters sprayed a fire extinguisher in a kiosk in which DA activists were hiding.
As per our resolution taken at Ouagadougou (2014), the ALN is also committed to the peaceful, democratic transition of power as well as an environment conducive to free and fair elections. To this end, the ALN affirms its support and solidarity with the Democratic Alliance. Additionally, we encourage the DA in its efforts to take the appropriate legal steps and actions with the Independent Electoral Commission and other relevant South African authorities.
Our thoughts are with the innocent DA activists who were injured. We call on the governing authorities to follow due procedure and the South African Constitution. The ALN will continue to monitor the situation and gather support through our international networks if necessary.
 
Media enquiries:
Stevens Mokgalapa (MP)
Africa Liberal Network Vice President (Southern Africa Africa region)
+27 83 275 1779
Luke Akal
+27 81 481 3754
ALN Coordinator
 
 

Africa Liberal Network media statement by Medard Mulangala Africa Liberal Network Vice President (Central Africa)
ALN expresses concern over election and government crises in DRC and the Republic of Congo
 
12 October 2015
Release: immediate
The Africa Liberal Network (ALN), the largest political network on the continent consisting of 44 political parties in 30 states, expresses its concern over the current situation in both the DRC and the Republic of Congo. The ALN is in support of free and fair elections that follow democratic processes according to constitutionalism.
The ALN declared at its 2011 General Assembly (Kinshasa) to condemn and reject in principle any attempts by incumbent political leaders to modify a state’s Constitution in order to further their own interests and retain power beyond recognised term limits. The ALN believes such unconstitutional actions are against the will of the people and can do potential damage to economic and social development. As per our resolution taken at Ouagadougou (2014), the ALN is also committed to the peaceful, democratic transition of power and the limit of presidential terms to two.
Two ALN members, Mr Parfait Kolelas of MCDDI in the Republic of Congo and Mr. Olivier Kamitatu of ARC in the Democratic Republic of Congo, have been removed from their state’s respective governments for refusing to engage themselves and their political parties in these political manoeuvres.
The ALN condemns these practices which go against the republican and democratic values enshrined in its Constitution and which it believes Africa needs for peace, stability and the economic development of the continent.
In the DRC, we condemn the actions taken by President Joseph Kabila to remove the Alliance pour le Renouveau du Congo’s (ARC) Olivier Kamitatu from the government as Minister of Planning. We also condemn any tactics to delay elections in the DRC beyond what is constitutional.
The ALN strongly denounces all forms of intimidation and pressure by governing powers to undermine democracy, freedom and due process. We extend our support to Mr Olivier Kamitatu, President of the ALN, and salute his courage to continue to stand for liberal values and defence of constitutionalism.
In the Republic of Congo, the ALN expresses concern over the referendum which aims at modifying the constitution to allow for President Sassou Nguesso to remain in power. We condemn all steps to undermine the choice of individuals to elect their public representatives in free, fair and constitutional elections. We therefore extend our support to Dr Brice Parfait Kolelas of the MCDDI for his support of democratic values.
In both DRC and Congo Brazzaville, the ALN calls for peaceful, free and fair elections. We urge that all processes are held without harassment or intimidation of opposition, and that credibility and transparency be followed.
Note to editors: The Africa Liberal Network is made up of 44 political parties and organisations from 30 African countries, and is an associated organisation of Liberal International, the political family to which liberal democratic parties belong. It is the largest political network in Africa. The members of the network are bound by a policy stating that they exist to ensure the freedom and dignity of all people through establishing political and civil rights, ensuring basic freedoms, the rule of law, democratic government based on free and fair elections with peaceful transition, ensuring religious, gender, and minority rights, fighting corruption, and establishing free market economies. For more information visit: www.africaliberalnetwork.org.
Media enquiries: Medard Mulangala
Africa Liberal Network Vice President (Central Africa region)
+243849903224

The world celebrates on the 10th December 2013, the 65th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, signed by the United Nations General Assembly on the 10th December 1948 in Paris, Palais de Chaillot, also known as Trocadero.
Composed of thirty articles, this important document drafted by former prisoners of war, handicapped soldiers, relatives of those who died during the WWII, lawyers, liberal thinkers, religious leaders and civic movement representatives, has become a key tool in the international humanitarian law.
Liberals have been at forefront of the campaign for the adoption of human rights as stated in the Oxford Manifesto approved in 1947.
The ALN, as representative of liberals in Africa, has advocated, since its foundation, the need to celebrate the human rights declaration, not as an event but as a permanent way of living and doing politics on our continent.
As such, the ALN congratulates those countries who have embedded in their political constitutions the principles of the universal declaration of human rights.
Despite the evolution in many countries regarding the constitutional adoption of the universal declaration of human rights, the praxis shows that much more must be done.
As we celebrate the 65th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the ALN urges all liberal parties to make a real commitment to integrate human rights as part of the political agenda in their countries.
The ALN leads the human rights agenda in Africa, and especially in this United Nations year of Education for Peace, invites liberal parties across the African Continent to promote and encourage any initiative aiming to disseminate the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Peace means in recent days truth, equality, justice, freedom, inclusion, tolerance, participation and solidarity – all core values of human rights and of liberalism.
Indeed, Peace is the other name for Sustainable Development.

The ALN condemns the use of violence during the peaceful demonstrations organised in September 2013, leaving 200 people dead and hundreds injured among the demonstrators.
The ALN calls on the Sudanese government to assume its responsibilities and avoid giving any impunity to those responsible for the violence. They must be arrested, taken to court and punished.
The ALN lends its support to the Sudanese people and to the political parties who have chosen to fight for freedom and democracy. The Network is pleased to announce the arrival of the Truth Federal Party, joining the LDP as a new observer member of ALN. We encourage them to continue their fight to fulfil the aspirations of the Sudanese people and will be sending a delegation to Sudan to study the current situation in the country.

After the Bamako resolution, condemning the State of Senegal for violating human rights and not respecting the decisions of the ECOWAS Court of justice, the political situation in the country remains troubling. The latest political developments do not do much to reassure us either.

 In light of these facts, the ALN condemns:

 -the creation of a special tribunal in complete violation of the constitution;

 -the violation of the ECOWAS Stability Pact, which forbids any changes to electoral codes from six months before the elections;

-the non-adherence to the decisions of the ECOWAS Court of Justice on the freedom of people to come and go as they please, and the presumption of innocence.

 The ALN demands the unconditional liberation of all political prisoners.

The ALN condemns the brutal repression by the armed forces on the “Ghost town” day organised by the Guinean opposition on the 25th of November. The violence left many people injured, led to arbitrary arrests and the deaths of two young civilians aged 19 and 13. The member parties of the Network would like to offer their condolences to the grieving families and express their deep concern regarding the on-going violence against activists of the opposition for nearly 3 years now.
The ALN congratulates and encourages the strengthening of the Alliance between the Guinean parties that are members of the network. This electoral Alliance helped the parties involved to win 41% of the seats in the future parliament, despite multiple cases of fraud being witnessed.
The African Liberal Network is appealing to Guinea’s technical and financial partners, especially the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the African Union, the French-speaking community and the European Union to demand that the Guinean authorities do everything in their power to ensure that the agreement of 3 July 2013, to which they were signatories and guarantors, be respected. Of particular importance is the decision in the agreement to recruit a new electoral body for the presidential elections in 2015.
Under current conditions, the Africa Liberal Network is convinced that future elections, especially the very important presidential elections in 2015, will not be free or democratic, and that they could lead to violence, which could endanger the stability and unity of the country.
The Africa Liberal Network will work with all its member parties and Liberal International in order raise support for the establishment of a consensual framework for dialogue, such as the one demanded by the Republican opposition.
The ALN appeals to the Guinean authorities to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms and to ensure that all those who committed or ordered crimes to be committed against peaceful demonstrators be brought to book and punished in accordance with the law.

The ALN followed the political dialogue that took place in March 2013 with the assistance of the United Nations Office in Burundi (Bureau des Nations Unies au Burundi – BNUBe). It is pleased with the resolutions contained in the road map and encourages the government to maintain its commitment to scrupulously respecting the 42 points in said road map. However, the ALN notes with regret that the government refuses to consult with the other partners, as was proposed in the road map, the constitution and the Arusha Accord, in examining the amendments to the constitution.
The ALN supports the three parliamentary groups that protested against this solitary approach by the party in power. The network also supports the point of order raised by the opposition party of the ADC-IKIBIRI coalition, demanding that the road map be respected.
The ALN therefore calls on the government to be more discerning and to immediately and directly open up the debate to all concerned parties in order to prevent any risk of derailment. The network rejects any temptation by the law enforcement agencies to turn to intimidation and violence when faced with those claiming their legitimate right to be consulted in drawing up a document as fundamental at the constitution.

The Africa Liberal Network (ALN) warmly congratulates the hard and tireless work carried out by the International Criminal Court, since it’s entry into force in fulfilment of the Rome Statute to investigate and try all cases of severe human rights violations.
It is the first time in the history of the humankind that more than 160 nations across the world agreed to establish a court to fight against the impunity of those blamed of committing crimes of war, aggression and genocide against humanity.
For the voiceless and powerless of Africa, the establishment of the International Criminal Court is a unique opportunity to build a better world for all, in which justice and the rule of law prevail and the perpetrators of human rights violations such as slavery, ethnic cleansing, and other types of horrifying crimes, regardless the social and political status of the violators, are brought to the court.
With International Criminal Court, Africa has been a better place to live.
Therefore, the ALN regrets that the Africa Union Commission neglecting the suffering of millions of African citizens whose relatives have been subject of cruel and brutal deaths, mutilation, forcible displacement, destruction of goods and extreme intolerance, decided to challenge the authority and jurisdiction of ICC in an attempt to ensure impunity for the serving heads of state.
For the ALN, the decision of the African Union Commission to remove the support of the ICC is a denial of the history of liberation of Africa as well as the denial of the dreams of the founding fathers of the Organisation of African Unity in their fight for independence and against all forms of oppression, segregation and exploitation.
The ALN has the conviction that no citizen has the right to kill other citizens.
The ALN urges the AU and the African Union Commission to become the Champions of the fight against impunity in Africa.
Bearing in mind the common heritage of oppression, humiliation, slavery, segregation and exploitation, the ALN, calls for the full and unconditional cooperation of the African Union with the ICC for the well-being of all the people of Africa.

This year the African Liberal Network celebrates a decade of its existence.
Gathering in Johannesburg ten years ago, African political leaders decided to establish the ALN in order to bring hope and a new political strategy based on delivery rather than on dreams and empty promises to their fellow citizens.
Inspired by core liberal values and principles such as freedom, tolerance, rule of law, justice, social justice, free market economy and private ownership, the founding members of ALN changed the political landscape in Africa.
Starting with 12 member parties in 2003, the ALN grew to 34 member parties in 10 years and is now the leading network of like-minded political parties in Africa.
The road from Johannesburg to Zanzibar has not been an easy task. With the support of our partners, the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom, the Westminster Foundation for Democracy and Liberal Democrats, we have made significant progress.
During the last 10 years some African liberal parties went into power at national, provincial and local level. Meanwhile a number of other parties continue to work to take power.
This progress has been surrounded by challenges and setbacks.
It has been reported that in certain countries, opposition political party members are arrested, beaten, tortured and subject to political persecution and exclusion.
Rigging, fraud and other irregularities in the electoral process have prevented ALN members from competing in a political atmosphere in which freeness, fairness and equity are ensured.
Bearing in mind the progress achieved in the Republic of Cote d’Ivoire and in the Western Cape in South Africa;
Noting the efforts being carried out in Kenya, Burkina Faso, Tanzania (Zanzibar);
Taking into account the challenges in many countries, with emphasis on Senegal, Burundi and the Republic of Sudan;
The ALN General Assembly gathered in Zanzibar decides:
1)    To award the President of Cote d’Ivoire Allassane Dramane Ouattara and the Premier of the Western Cape, South Africa, Ms Helen Zille, the title of ALN Patrons;
2)    To acknowledge the role played by the 1st ALN patron, Maître Abdulaye Wade;
3)    To offer assistance to the member parties with training on electoral matters such as election campaigning techniques, election observation and strategies to curb fraud and rigging;
4)    To monitor and record all the cases of politically motivated human rights violations, and report to those competent bodies under the Principle of the Responsibility to Protect;
5)    To continue increasing the ALN membership;
6)    To facilitate the unifying process and alliances of Liberal parties within the same countries;
7)    To proceed with changes to the ALN Constitution;
8)    To disseminate information to the member parties;
9)    To fight against impunity and all abuses of human rights;
10)    To oppose unlawful changes to countries constitutions to extend political mandates;
11)    To fight against the establishment of a special tribunal for motivated purposes;
12)    To encourage full cooperation with ICC;
13)    To promote free trade that creates jobs, consolidates peace, and encourages an inclusive economy;
14)    To facilitate assistance with the implementation of programmes and projects for associate organizations of the ALN;
15)    Consolidate human rights, particularly for minorities.
The ALN has a vision of a prosperous and integrated Africa of flourishing democracies that are at peace with one another, in which every person has the right and opportunity to fulfil their potential and be what they want to be.