CALD General Assembly here

Ishara JAYAWARDANE

In recognition of the importance of populism- democracy nexus, the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats (CALD) in cooperation with the Liberal Party of Sri Lanka (LPSL), chose 'The Populist Challenge to Liberal Democracy' as the theme of its 2012 General Assembly which was launched in Colombo yesterday.

The sessions will take place in Colombo until March 12.

"I'm glad we can have the CALD General Assembly 2012 in Sri Lanka. We must have constitutional safeguards that prevent legislation that allows the state to be hi-jacked by political interest groups or unscrupulous groups trying to trammel the democratic process.. We need a strong but sensitive judiciary to ensure the rule of law," said Leader of the Liberal Party of Sri Lanka, Rajiva Wijesinha MP.

Populism is an elusive concept. Its meaning varies from context to context and from author to author. Populism can be democratic or authoritarian, left- wing or right- wing, pro status quo or anti establishment.

The objectives of the Joint General Assembly are :

To analyze the relationship between populism and democracy, the rise of neo- populism in various regions , and the connection of media and policy making to populist politics;

To trace the connection between populism and leadership, particularly how populism enhances or undermines the capacity of political leaders;

To enhance the leadership skills of CALD Youth Members, particularly on those aspects dealing with political and social mobilization;

To further strengthen relations between and among CALD and CALD youth, other liberal parties and regional networks and to uphold CALDs leading role in forwarding the principle of liberalism and democracy at both regional and global levels and

To discuss and sort all administrative matters concerning

"We are living in an Era where we see ample testimony in different trouble spots in the world where populist movements are bringing in sweeping changes. Therefore providing a platform for popular views is important." said Justice Minister and Sri Lanka Muslim Congress leader Rauff Hakeem.