Young Liberals from Moldova at IFLRY EC & GA in St. Petersburg.

From 1 to 8 August, Liberal Party Youth Organization from Moldova represented by its International Officer, Anna Cernomaz, attended the meetings of the Executive Committee and General Assembly of the International Federation of Liberal Youth (IFLRY). The event was held in St. Petersburg, Russian Federation.

The event gathered over 80 participants, representatives of liberal movements from around 15 countries. The Executive Committee session was opened by Bart Woord, the president of IFLRY.

Jens Kristian Lutken, president of SILBA expressed his point of view on democracy in Russia: “We notice more authoritarian rules in Russia. We should criticize Russia and we should open the doors and help Moldova and Ukraine to become part of the European Union. It is very important to spend money on forming strong political parties.”

Sasha Tamm, the director of FNF from Moscow, strongly believes that the West should openly criticize Russia: “Most of the Russian society is not interested in politics and less than half participated in elections. Institutes who defend human rights are mostly an illusion, but it doesn’t mean that every Russian citizen is under threat, that he can’t speak openly. But if he crosses the line criticizing the government, there is no freedom anymore.”

The most important part of the General Assembly was the election of the new Vice-President and Treasure of IFLRY. In this regard on behalf of the Liberal Youth we congratulate Mateusz Trybowski and Joao Victor Guedes as newly elected VP and Treasure of IFLRY.

The seminar “You(th) are part of the discussion” preceded the Executive Committee. Young liberals discussed about how to fight against exclusion and how to motivate and involve youngsters who a part of the minorities into civic and political life. The participants also had some free time for sightseeing.

The event was hosted by the youth organization of “Yabloko” and financially supported by Friedrich Naumann Foundation, National Democratic Institute and Council of Europe.

Liberal Party Youth Organization from Moldova became candidate members of IFLRY in November 2009.