Chairman Chung Eui-yong

Secretary-General, ICAPP

Seoul, Korea 

Dear Chairman Chung, 

        I just arrived in Manila after a 4 day trip to Libya, where I attended the Council of Trustees meeting of the Gaddafi Charity and Development Foundation.  Afterwards, I conferred with the political leaders and wish to inform you and the Members of the Standing Committee of ICAPP and COPPPAL that the proposed meeting of the African political parties and the trilateral meeting between ICAPP, COPPPAL and the Executive Committee of the African political parties will be postponed perhaps to April or June, 2010 because in an extraordinary meeting, Col. Muammar Gaddafi, who is Leader of Libya and President of the African Union, called for elections in Libya this coming January 2010 for some 400 seats in the Libyan Parliament.

         I welcome the postponement because January 18, 19, 20, 2010 gives us very little time at ICAPP and COPPPAL and for the Libyan organizers as well to access more than 150 political parties from 54 counties in Africa, more countries than Asia (46) and Latin America (42). 

        I said that we in ICAPP and COPPPAL certainly welcome the Libyan elections with the expected largescale participation as part of their movement towards genuine democracy. 

        You will note that in my last letter to H.E. Suleiman Al-Shahoumi last December 9, 2009. we urged Col. Gaddafi to consider organizing a Political Movement for Direct Democracy as a prelude to Libya¡¯s eventually establishing its own political parties. 

        The Libyans have now suggested that our January 18-20 meeting be moved to April or June in Tripoli subject to our own consultations as they also need time to organize their new parliamentary assembly.  Meanwhile I fully support convening our ICAPP Standing Committee in late February in Nepal and/or meeting in Karachi as earlier proposed by Senator Mushahid. 

I am expecting a formal letter from the Libyan government in the next few days to confirm the postponement and upon receipt I will transmit it to the Standing Committees of ICAPP and COPPPAL. 

Meanwhile, please accept my best wishes for the Christmas season and the New Year holidays and thank each and everyone of you, Chairman Chung, Sen. Mushahid, Chairman Cafiero, and co-Chairman Carvajal-Moreno and the distinguished members of our Standing Committees for the many achievements of our organizations in 2008 and throughout 2009, as we expect more gains for our parties and our peoples in 2010 and in the years to come.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

                        JOSE DE VENECIA, JR.

                             ICAPP Founding Chairman and

                               Co-Chairman, ICAPP Standing Committee