| Excerpts: "In April this year, South Africa will celebrate its first decade of democracy and freedom. This is therefore a time for us to take stock of achievements to date and reflect on setbacks and challenges for the next decade. Allow me to be so immodest and suggest that outsiders and friends from abroad can indeed learn something from South Africa and South Africa's experience - both the good and the bad. Indeed, the purpose of the World Movement, I should remind you, is to provide the spark that can help ignite, inform, and inspire those that carry out the noble work of democracy promotion in their respective regions and countries." |  Christopher Landsberg, Director of the Centre for Policy Studies |
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Excerpts: "The Province and the Government of KwaZulu-Natal are delighted and privileged in welcoming the participants in the Third Assembly of the World Movement for Democracy. We feel that our Province is greatly enriched by your presence. We look forward to the success of this event. In fact, we are convinced that your deliberations will be of great assistance in the consolidation of our fledgling and still uncertain democracy. The consolidation of democracy is a long process which is not finalized, but just begins with the holding of a democratic election. I am delighted that your conference is correctly placing emphasis on the need to promote democracy by strengthening the opinions, voices and roles of genuine democrats. In order to survive and grow, a democracy needs genuine democrats at its stewardship. |
 Dr. L.P.H.M.Mtshali |
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Genuine democrats are those who understand what democracy needs to grow and prosper and are willing to become instruments of such a process, even if that means risking unpopularity or diminishing the amount of power and influence which one may otherwise gather in one's own hands. Democracy needs friends especially within the circles of government, where they often lack. For me, democracy is a system which is aimed at controlling conflicts and transforming their energy into positive forces which may move society forward. Democracy should not be about eliminating conflict by silencing dissent or forcing political correctness or uniformity. Wherever the existence of potentially beneficial conflict has been eliminated by absolute power, and consensus is enforced by the fear of dissent, one does not have democracy but democratic stagnation."  read more...
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Excerpts: "On behalf of the African National Congress, I am delighted to extend a warm welcome to all delegates to the Third Assembly of the World Movement for Democracy in Durban.
You have correctly chosen to host this conference in Durban, South Africa, during this historic year of the 10th anniversary of our democracy and our liberation from apartheid. This year is also the 92nd year of the African National Congress, Africa's oldest liberation movement. The ANC has declared this year as the year of renewal of the democratic mandate to advance our second decade of liberation. |
 Vasu Gounden of ACCORD reads a message from the Secretary General of the ANC. |
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As you are aware, South Africa is Africa's youngest republic. In this respect, your conference has given us the opportunity to reaffirm the strong bond of solidarity and friendship that exists between our countries and peoples. We can never thank the people of the world enough for their support and solidarity, which made our democratic advances possible.
I am very pleased that this conference includes a number of democratic activists who are engaged in meaningful projects and partnerships with Africans. This is consistent with your concern to support our continent to meet our political, economic, and social goals centered on the strengthening of democracy and the defeat of poverty and underdevelopment and represented by the African Union and the New Partnership for Peace and Development (NEPAD)." read more...
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Excerpts: "I gladly accepted to speak here in South Africa because it would be an opportunity for me to be here personally and to be able to share experiences with our South African brothers and sisters. We have watched South Africa's transition from a distance; in fact, for some of us, too much of a distance, but we have given our moral support. I myself, as an activist many, many years before in Delhi, worked very closely with South African colleagues who were then in India seeking support from Indians and from us. So it is my hope that this great nation, these great people of South Africa, having succeeded, will also take a leadership role and not shy away from taking responsibility. Because all that sacrifice that they went through must in the end be more than just for themselves."read more...  view more...
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 Lodi Gyari, Special Envoy of His Holiness the Dalai Lama (Tibet) delivers keynote address. |
| Excerpts: "The role of democratic leadership in Africa has been barren for a long time now. Our first generation of leaders governed through their sheer strength and personality. The second generation of leaders, who were younger, less educated, less sophisticated, and less nationalistic, mastered power politics, but little else. They silenced all opposing voices but those of the party line and succeeded to plunder our continent's abundant resources. What we need now are democratically elected men and women with reasoned voices and clear visions to rebuild our badly battered continent. |
 Zainab Bangura, National Accountability Group (Sierra Leone) delivers keynote address. |
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My African brothers and sisters here today, I am saying to you without any hesitation that if our continent is to develop and join the global world, our present leaders in Africa must examine their consciences and understand and accept the unique and proud history and circumstances of the African people. They must realize and understand that our first generation of African leaders did not fight for independence to be less free instead of more free, poorer instead of better off, more illiterate instead of educated, permanent refugees, having generations of their children grow up in refugee camps, instead of the stable and prosperous lives they so rightfully deserve, dying of HIV instead of living to a ripe old age and telling their grandchildren about their exploits as youngsters."read more... view more
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Excerpts: "In a certain way my short speech is very much inspired by the London Underground. I don't know if you've ever noticed this, but any time the doors of the train are opening in the London Underground, there is a prophetic voice telling you, 'mind the gap.' And I do believe this is extremely important because what we learned in Eastern Europe for the last decade is that maybe we have not been aware of minding the gap. So you have successful democracies now in our parts of the world, and to be honest democracy does not have an alternative; it is obvious for everyone. But in a certain way I don't know what is worse: to have strong enemies or to have suspicious friends. And this is part of the problem with democracy these days, because I do believe that we are living in a time when many countries and many regimes simply want to be called democracies, but perceived through the eyes of their own citizens they are not providing more freedom, and democracy is about freedom."read more... view more...
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 Ivan Krastev, Center for Liberal Strategies (Bulgaria) delivers keynote address. |
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