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New Labour And Tony Blair’s Historic Third Term In The British General Elections With A Sharply Reduced Majority Should Augur A Return To Renewed Emphasis Of Social Democracy Focusing On Freedom, Peace And Social Justice.
Press Statement (Petaling Jaya, Saturday): As a sister party with British Labour Party in the Socialist International, DAP wishes to congratulate Labour and Tony Blair’s victory in the British general elections. Tony Blair’s achievement of winning a historic third term for Labour with a sharply reduced majority should augur a return to renewed emphasis of social democracy focusing on the values of freedom, peace, equality and social justice. These basic values reflect social democracy’s goals of achieving world peace and allow individuals the right to elect their leaders and live in a community of their own choosing with dignity, respect and compassion. Freedom allows a person the right to be free of political coercion. Justice means the end of discrimination against individuals, and the equality of rights and opportunities. Equality is the expression of the free development of the human personality and social progress. Peace is the expression of common humanity and the sense of solidarity and compassion with all victims of injustices. Tony Blair’s reduced majority is a reminder of the distrust engendered by the Iraq war. There is a need to heal the wounds not only in Britain but also in Iraq to end the suffering, loss of life amongst ordinary Iraqis or British soldiers and restore self-determination. DAP believes that focusing again on the values of social democracy can not only heal the wounds of war but also restore trust and harmony amongst Muslim and non-Muslim. * |