Nov 16 - Liberal International Backs Gibraltar's Self-Determination
The Congress of Liberal International meeting in Mexico City has declared that the future of Gibraltar must be freely and democratically decided by the people of Gibraltar.
Liberal International is the worldwide federation of Liberal political parties at a senior level, many of whom are in Government in different parts of the World. The reference to Gibraltar came about in the omnibus resolution called "The World Today".
The Liberal Party of Gibraltar has been attending meetings of the organisation since 1996 and was admitted as a full voting member four years later. The Executive Committee of Liberal International met in Gibraltar in 2002.
Liberal International has also called for a resumption of the Trilateral Forum for Dialogue and has declared its full support for the coming general elections.
Commenting on the matter, the Leader of the Liberal Party and Deputy Chief Minister Dr Joseph Garcia said:
"We are grateful to the Congress of Liberal International for its support of Gibraltar and for the Liberal Party. We have been working within the organisation for over a decade and welcome the view that the future of Gibraltar must be freely and democratically decided by its people. This is what democracy is all about."
The full Gibraltar extract reads as follows:
“Liberal International notes that there will be a general election in Gibraltar before the end of the year and fully supports its member party the Liberal Party of Gibraltar, which has been part of the Government of Gibraltar since December 2011. LI restates its view that the future of Gibraltar must be freely and democratically decided by the people of Gibraltar. Liberal International calls for a resumption of the Trilateral Forum for Dialogue, currently blocked by Spain, between the Governments of Gibraltar, Spain and the United Kingdom.”
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