Tag Archives: san marino

Welcome to my day: 18 April 2022 – in search of serenity…

By Mark Valladares | Mon 18th April 2022 - 7:41 am

Liberal Democrat Voice comes to you today from what is claimed to be the world’s oldest extant sovereign state, the Most Serene Republic of San Marino. For those who might not know, San Marino is about one-three hundred and fortieth the size of Wales and sits about ten miles inland from Rimini, on Italy’s Adriatic coast.

But we’re still talking about Rwanda, aren’t we? I wrote about the emerging plans to send asylum seekers to the East African country on Thursday, and as the proposals become clearer, they get worse. The idea that we’re going to pay the Rwandan Government to accept legitimate asylum seekers so that we don’t have to is a stain upon our nation’s reputation. And, of course, the proposals do nothing to address the people smugglers and criminal gangs who will continue to prey on desperate people.

What I was reminded about by the debate which followed was that there are some who callously and deliberately conflate seekers of asylum with economic migrants, and others who either deliberately or through a lack of knowledge, exaggerate the number of refugees reaching our shores. So, here’s the definition of refugee, courtesy of the 1951 United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees;

Posted in News | Also tagged rwanda | 27 Comments

Welcome to my day: 27 September 2021 – it’s not going terribly well here, is it?

By Mark Valladares | Mon 27th September 2021 - 7:45 am

Good morning from Suffolk’s Gipping Valley where, in exciting news, I’m preparing to go to the office to work for the first time since last March. It’s going to be an odd sensation, as I’ve become a touch reclusive, but needs must, as they say.

Results from Germany indicate progress for our sister party in Germany, the Free Democrats, with the prospects of lengthy negotiations over the formation of a new administration. Will it be “Jamaica” – CDU/CSU, Greens and FDP – or “traffic light” – SPD, FDP and Greens – or is there another combination that can get across the line? At least the Alternative für Deutschland have been pushed into fifth place…

Elsewhere, San Marino has legalised abortion, albeit only up until the twelfth week of gestation, with a 77% vote in favour. And, on another brighter note, Swiss voters have decisively voted in favour of same-sex marriage in a nationwide referendum.