Moscow mayor permits Libertarian Party protest

Moscow mayor's office approves Libertarian Party's permit request for June 23 protest to support Ivan Golunov — Meduza - Interfax:

June 14, 2019 - "A protest in support of Meduza correspondent Ivan Golunov, this one organized by Russia’s Libertarian Party and the Union of Journalists, has received a government permit to take place June 23 on Moscow’s Sakharov Prospect, Interfax reported.

"Organizers petitioned for the permit on June 10, when Golunov was still under house arrest on fabricated charges of attempted drug distribution. They estimated that 20,000 people might attend. Reports had previously emerged that City Hall turned down the petition.

"This protest will likely be the third event planned during Golunov’s arrest to take place after his release. On June 12, more than 500 people were arrested during an unsanctioned march in Moscow. On June 16, a government-approved protest organized by two journalists from state-aligned publications will take place on Sakharov Prospect. That protest was approved even though its petition for a permit was submitted outside the legally required 10-day notice period."

Read more: https://meduza.io/en/news/2019/06/14/moscow-mayor-s-office-approves-libertarian-party-s-permit-request-for-june-23-protest-to-support-ivan-golunov
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Russian Libertarian Party leader assaulted again

Russian Libertarian Party Leader Hit With Feces In Kazan - Mikhail Svertov, RFE/RL:

May 19, 2019 - "The head of Russia's libertarians has had feces dumped on him in the Tatar capital, Kazan, before a scheduled talk on May 19.

"Mikhail Svetov, head of the Libertarian Party of Russia, was met by the attackers as he exited a car in front of the Amaks Hotel, where he was to give a lecture on how the Russian education system 'deprives children of opportunities.' At least two people dumped feces on Svetov as he approached the hotel and then ran away, Svetov aides told RFE/RL.

"Svetov said in a tweet after the incident that he had been 'splashed in the face with some crap,' but added that the lecture would still take place. After a 20-minute delay, Svetov appeared in the lecture hall inside the hotel and was greeted with applause.

"He said hotel security cameras would be checked to try to determine the identity of those who attacked him. Svetov, who said he has been attacked several times before, said after the lecture that those who attacked him must have been 'hired.'

"In April 2018, Svetov said he was accosted and beaten after arriving at the Kemerovo airport, where he was going to give a lecture titled 'Why you should not trust the government.' After the attack he was immediately put on a return flight to Moscow."

Read more: https://www.rferl.org/a/russian-libertarian-party-leader-hit-with-feces-in-kazan/29951075.html
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15,000 protest Russian online Iron Curtain

'Point of No Return': Russia's Libertarians Lead Protest Against 'Sovereign Internet' - Evan Gurschkovich, Moscow Times:

March 10, 2019 - "Mikhail Svetov was buzzing with nervous energy. Just 24 hours later, the member of Russia’s Libertarian Party would be leading a protest against a draft bill aimed at creating a so-called sovereign internet....

"Last May, when communications watchdog Roskomnadzor moved to block the popular messaging app Telegram, some 12,000 Russians turned out to a protest Svetov organized — which, he is eager to point out, was last year’s largest street demonstration....

"But last month, a draft bill passed the first of three readings in the State Duma that would require Russian internet traffic to go mostly through domestic routers and exchanges. Critics like Svetov say the bill could give the government the sweeping ability to censor online content and, going forward, actually be able to block apps like Telegram. Svetov believes the new law was written to target opposition leaders like Alexei Navalny who have found success on YouTube....

"With the state quashing independent media in recent years, YouTube has become an increasingly popular tool among opposition activists seeking out audiences. The platform is now viewed by 82 percent of the Russian population aged 18-44, as The Economist reported last week. In spring 2017, ... Navalny took authorities by surprise by using his YouTube channel to inspire thousands into the streets for the first mass protests against the Kremlin since 2012. While Navalny on Saturday afternoon tweeted that he couldn’t attend Sunday’s protest ... he 'urgently' called for the public to attend.

"Many obliged. According to White Counter, an NGO that tallies up participants at rallies using metal detector frames, 15,300 people on Sunday came out to the rally. Interior Ministry estimates cited by Interfax put the number of participants at 6,500.... Despite the protest having been allowed by the authorities, as many as 30 people were detained according to the OVD-Info police-monitoring website. At least three were minors, including one who had to be taken to the hospital....

"On the eve of the protest, political analyst Yekaterina Schulmann said that if organizers could get more than 15,000 to attend, the authorities would pay attention when adopting corrections later this month before the bill’s second reading."

"Even if the law is adopted without changes, however, Russian internet experts doubt that Russia could create anything similar to China’s Great Firewall.... Karen Kazaryan, chief analyst of the Russian Association of Electronic Communications, ... predicts the plan to create a way to cut Russia’s internet off from the rest of the world’s will likewise fall through.

"'They’ll mess around for a long time and they’ll spend a lot of money on it,' Kazaryan said. 'But in the end it won’t work. Russia is not China. It’s very complex and expensive to build a system like this and we simply don’t have the engineers to realize this project.'”

Read more: https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2019/03/10/point-of-no-return-russias-libertarians-lead-protest-against-sovereign-internet-a64758
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Ex-UKIP MEP joins UK Libertarian Party

Bill Etheridge joins Libertarian Party days after UKIP exit | Express & Star - Annabel Bagdi:

October 8, 2018 - "West Midlands MEP Bill Etheridge has joined the Libertarian Party just days after quitting UKIP. He has joined as deputy chairman after claiming he could no longer serve under the leadership of UKIP's Gerard Batten.

"His move comes amid his desire to support a system with less government interference, lower taxes and individual empowerment, the party said.

"Mr Etheridge said: 'I have always campaigned on libertarian values. UKIP has turned its back on those values, but I never will. I am excited to get to work with a truly libertarian party and hopefully introduce libertarian ideas to the great debates of our time especially Brexit.'

"The politician brought an end to his seven years with UKIP last week, citing his 'despair' at the extremist direction of the leadership. In his resignation letter to Mr Batten, he claimed the leader had 'changed the party beyond all recognition'....

"[UK Libertarian] Party leader Adam Brown said: 'We are delighted to have Bill join us. We often speak to members of other parties who consider themselves Libertarian and have become increasingly dissatisfied with politics within these parties.... It is great to be able to give this Libertarian a voice in our party and we welcome those from other parties, who consider themselves Libertarians, to do the same'....

"Party chairman Andrew Withers said: 'I see this move as a sea change in our profile and welcome Bill’s campaigning expertise and also thank him for his hospitality in Brussels last month.

"'The Libertarian Party advocate a written constitution similar to that of Switzerland, where state control ends and the rights and responsibilities of citizens begin.'"

Read more: https://www.expressandstar.com/news/politics/2018/10/08/bill-etheridge-joins-libertarian-party-days-after-ukip-exit/
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Russians rally for internet freedom

Russians Protest Ban On Telegram App During Traditional May Day Parade - Radio Free Europe::

May 1, 2018 - "Thousands of demonstrators have taken to the streets of Moscow and St. Petersburg to protest against government attempts to curtail Internet freedom -- marching defiantly while more than 100,000 other Russians took part in the traditional May Day parade....

"The May Day parade has become a highly orchestrated show of power by Russian authorities and the ruling United Russia party in recent years, with demonstrators refraining from criticizing the government. "But demonstrators this year marched through the streets to protest the government's ban on the popular messaging app Telegram.

"About 10,000 people rallied in Moscow on April 30 to protest the blocking of Telegram, chanting that Russian President Vladimir Putin 'is a thief!'

"The event was organized by the Libertarian Party of Russia, which has called the attempts to block Telegram 'a national shame.' Opposition politician Aleksei Navalny ... has scheduled another demonstration for May 5."

Read more: https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-protest-ban-on-telegram-app-during-traditional-may-day-parade/29202739.html


Vera Kichanova, Boundless Liberty:

May 1, 2018: "More than 12,000 people ... rallied in Moscow to defend internet freedom today. The rally was organised by the Libertarian Party of Russia. Our largest event so far!...

"Two weeks ago the encrypted messaging app Telegram was blocked in Russia after Telegram had refused to hand over its encryption keys to the Russian secret service. The ban hit not just Telegram but over 15 million IP addresses used by Telegram in Russia including Google, Amazon, Spotify and many more. In a matter of days Russians were cut off from the global internet so that users couldn't even check their emails....

"On a positive side, when and where was the last time you've seen (any) Libertarian party getting over 10,000 people to the streets?"

Read more: https://www.facebook.com/BoundlessLiberty/posts/1491927464263890?notif_id=1525193333570803&notif_t=page_post_reaction&ref=notif
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UK Libertarian Party gets this landlord's vote (video)

Property118 | My Next Vote Goes To The Libertarian Party - Property118 - Mark Alexander:

November 23, 2017 - "When I emigrated to Malta I said I would never vote for a UK political party ever again, even though I am still entitled to do so. Well I have changed my mind, and if you watch this video you might understand why.....

"PS – I have also paid £45 to become an official party member https://libertarianpartyuk.com/membership-join/"

Read more: https://www.property118.com/next-vote-goes-libertarian-party/
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Libertarians run 4 candidates in UK

Hull's Libertarian candidate Will Taylor on what the party is all about | Hull Daily Mail - Angus Young:

June 6, 2017 - "First-time general election candidate Will Taylor is raising the profile of the fledgling Libertarian Party in his home city.

"He is one of only four party candidates standing across the country....

"He said: 'The Libertarian Party is all about live and let live as long as you are not doing any harm. "We don't think the government has any right to interfere with your life.

"'We have five basic principles that we want to see introduced.

"'We want to see the amount of tax we pay reduced as we currently pay around 37 per cent of our income in tax. To do that we have got to cut out a lot of wasteful government spending. 

"'In terms of immigration, we are very much pro-Brexit but we don't mind people coming into the country so long as they fit in and are prepared to work.

"'We would like to see businesses get on and allowed to be businesses. There is too much bureaucracy and red tape, I see and hear that all the time from local businesses in Hull. 

"'Finally, I want politicians to be made accountable. They spend far too much time down in London in their ivory towers.'"

Read more: http://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/hull-s-libertarian-candidate-will-taylor-on-what-the-party-is-all-about/story-30374191-detail/story.html
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Scottish Libertarian Party runs 8 for Holyrood

Pro-indy Scottish Libertarian party names first Holyrood election candidates | Politics | The National - Kathleen Nutt:

February 23, 2016 - "Scotland's newest pro-independence political party is planning to put forward candidates in all eight regions at May’s Holyrood elections.

"Property businessman Alan Findlay will stand in the west of Scotland for the Scottish Libertarian Party (SLP), while Derek Scott, who works for a sub-sea oil and gas contractor, has been named as its candidate in the north east. Tammy Edgar, a former retail manager and now a student, is their lead candidate for south of Scotland. The party will reveal the names of its candidates for the remaining regions over the coming weeks.

"Scott said his party offers 'a completely different agenda' from the existing mainstream parties.... Scott said the party will campaign against state subsidies to business and state involvement in family life. 'We want to end the scandal of the poor being taxed to increase the profits of private enterprises like T in the Park and Amazon,' he said.

"As well as being pro-independence, the SLP supports low taxation and public spending and low regulation for businesses. It is also strongly in favour of an EU exit.

"It was inspired by the work of US politician Ron Paul, a former Republican congressman and the Libertarian Party nominee in the 1988 US presidential election.

"The SLP is also in favour of the abolition of the Scottish Government’s scheme to give every child in Scotland a named 'guardian' to oversee their welfare.

"It is preparing to publish its manifesto which it says will offer cuts to corporation tax and a raft of promises on reforming criminal justice issues, including the decriminalisation of cannabis use and sex work. The party also supports scrapping Trident.

Findlay, who is the SLP’s leader, said: 'We need to stop punishing people for crimes where there is no victim. When there is no victim, there is no crime. We are the only party that genuinely wants to reduce the tax burden, promote enterprise and reduce welfare dependency. Freedom of speech and association are fundamental to a civilised society.'"

Read more: http://www.thenational.scot/politics/pro-indy-scottish-libertarian-party-names-first-holyrood-election-candidates.14118

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Scottish Libertarian Party launched

New Scottish Libertarian Party set to launch and call for independence | Politics | The National:

December 1, 2015 - "A fresh voice from the centre right will be added to the Yes movement when a new pro-independence political party formally launches later this week.

"The Scottish Libertarian Party (SLP) is led by businessman Alan Finlay and is planning to field candidates in all eight regions at next year’s Holyrood elections.

"As well as being pro-Scottish independence, the party has an agenda supporting further reform of the welfare state, low taxation and public spending and low regulation for businesses. It is also strongly in favour of an EU exit.... Other key policies include the decriminalisation of the use of cannabis, lifting legal restrictions on sex workers and combating the surveillance of individuals by the authorities.

"The party is holding a public launch event on Thursday evening at Strathclyde University when sex worker Charlotte Rose will put the case for decriminalising the sex industry and Dr Stephen Davies from the Institute of Economic Affairs will also speak.

"David Craig Ballantine, a Glasgow-based stockbroker and the party’s director of communications, said the SLP stands for the empowerment of the individual and is opposed to a large, centralising state. He denied the party was on the right of the political spectrum....

"'We are not a right-wing party, we cover the full shade of the political spectrum. We do believe in a small state, but we also believe in campaigning for changes in the law on social issues. We are in favour of decriminalising cannabis use, for instance, and are strongly in favour of freedom of speech and freedom of expression.'

"He added: 'The SLP is pro-independence, though we would advocate a very different independence to the pro-EU pseudo independence advocated by the SNP. The current welfare state doesn’t work. Since the early part of the 20th century, the creep of the state has intruded into the lives of those most vulnerable more than any other group....

"'The SLP propose to help the working poor by getting the state out of their lives, by eliminating income tax for the lowest paid, and improving flexibility in spending. The SLP plan to allow all local authorities to set whatever tax policy they wish and allow local authorities who have similar tax policies to combine with other local authorities and work together for tax collection and revenue policy. Local authorities will raise all their required taxation to cover their budget.'

"The party is also in favour of the reintroduction of the right-to-buy to allow those on low incomes to get on to the property ladder."

Read more: http://www.thenational.scot/politics/new-scottish-libertarian-party-set-to-launch-and-call-for-independence.10658
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Libertarian Party UK running at local level only

Election 2015: Meet the Libertarian Party UK, which wants to turn Britain into Switzerland - Shane Croucher, International Business Times:

April 29, 2015 - "Libertarianism is on the rise among young people in the UK. Luckily for them, there's a libertarian party standing in the May elections. As part of a series profiling minor parties, IBTimes UK speaks to the Libertarian Party UK....

"What is the Libertarian Party UK?
"A registered political party founded in 2008 that is classically liberal, small state, low tax.

"We are founder members of the IALP, the International Association of Libertarian Parties. The founding conference was held in Bournemouth, with members from American, Czech, French, German, Russian, Canadian, South African, Belgian, Dutch, Swiss, Italian and Spanish parties in attendance in March 2015.

"What are the party's top three priorities?
"A written constitution, electoral reform, reduction of the state.

"How many candidates have you got standing and where?
"We have 15 candidates standing at local level from Tyneside to the south coast. We stood for parliament in 2010 but under first-past-the-post, this is a waste of time and funds."

"What sort of impact are you hoping to have at the election?
"We have had a number of councillors successfully elected and we would like to increase those numbers

Read more: http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/election-2015-meet-libertarian-party-uk-which-wants-turn-britain-into-switzerland-1498976
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Russian libertarian elected to Moscow council

Second-Ever Libertarian Elected in Russia - Hit & Run : Reason.com - Zenon Evans:

September 15, 2014 - "The people of Russia have spoken, and they have elected a libertarian.

"Or, at least, 662 individuals cast ballots for Russian Libertarian Party Chairman and independent candidate Andey Shalnev in the Moscow regional council race.

"That might not sound like much, but at 28.36 percent of the vote in the Pushkino District, he received the second-most votes, which earns him the seat as the deputy councilman of a district with over 100,000 constituents.

"Shalnev, who has been party chairman since 2010, is the second-ever Libertarian Party member to be elected to office in Russia. The first, Vera Kichanova ..., describes Shalnev as 'a principled politician' and his victory as 'huge for our team.'

"Getting here wasn't easy. Russia is already ranked by Freedom House as 'not free' (and getting worse) and Vladimir Putin is engaging in a major crackdown on Russia's political opposition, independent journalists, and social media activists. This almost certainly puts Shalnev in the crosshairs. The candidate claims there was 'in comparison with previous elections, an increased ... percentage of early voting' that he believes is the result of 'systematic vote-buying of alcoholics, local [hooligans] and needy pensioners.' People were paying these individuals 200 rubles (about $5.25) to vote for the candidate of Putin's United Russia Party."

Read more: http://reason.com/blog/2014/09/15/second-ever-libertarian-elected-in-russi 
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US Libertarian Party Chair Neale forges ties with European LPs

Libertarian Party Chair Neale forges ties with European counterparts | Westmoreland Times:

December 9, 2013 - "Libertarian Party Chair Geoffrey Neale made an historic trip in November to forge ties with emerging Libertarian Parties in Europe and Russia.

"Neale addressed audiences in Madrid and Moscow, well-attended by Libertarian leaders within each country as well as by representatives from the U.K., Italy, Germany, and the Netherlands.

"Neale’s trip coincided with the recent formation of a new pan-European party — the European Party for International Liberty (EPIL) — which aims to advance libertarian policy in the European Union.

"EPIL’s second official meeting took place at a conference where Neale was the featured speaker, hosted by the Individual Freedom Party (P-LIB), the Spanish equivalent of the U.S. Libertarian Party.

"'[Neale's] presentation was highly informative, educational, and inspirational,' said Guy Montrose, Chairman of the U.K. Libertarian Party (LPUK)."

Read more: http://westmorelandtimes.com/news/10621/12/09/02/libertarian-party-chair-neale-forges-ties-with-european-counterparts/
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Libertarian Party's Vera Kichanova wins municipal office in Russia

Vera Kichanova: Russia's Opposition Must Go Bold, Even In Starting Small - Richard Solash, Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty:

July 20, 2013 - "Meet Vera Kichanova, a young woman whose hipster garb belies her maturity, and whose fresh complexion has become one of the faces of the new generation of political opposition in Russia.

"Kichanova, a journalist for the liberal news website Slon, was elected as a municipal deputy in Moscow's Yuzhnoye Tushino district in March 2012. A member of Russia's tiny Libertarian Party, she had campaigned on a ticket of transparency and democratic principles.

"She concedes that her post is one that most Muscovites don't even know exists, but Russia observers and Kichanova alike say her election carries outsize importance. In a country where challenges to the establishment are routinely quashed and officials are usually installed, she says the opposition must be bold when it can – but must also focus on making small political inroads."

Read more: http://www.rferl.org/content/russia-opposition-vera-kichanova/25051900.html
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