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Singapore warns Myanmar activists to stop protests
Saturday 23rd August, 2008
Singapore's home ministry warned political activists from Myanmar in the city state not to ignore repeated police orders to stop illegal public protests and anti-Myanmar activities, the The Strait Times newspaper said Saturday.
A spokesman of the Overseas Burmese Patriots (OBP), a group of Myanmar activists, said the Singapore government has not renewed immigration passes for five of its members who had participated in a public protest in November.
'We do have suspicion that the rationale for the rejections might be because of the protests and our activities,' Myanmarese activist Myo Myint Maung said.
A ministry spokesperson said 'the right of a foreign national to work or stay in Singapore is not a matter of entitlement or a right to be secured by political demand and public pressure' and that activists repeatedly ignored requests from government officials to meet to discuss the group's conduct.
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Chasing them out of Singapore "may put them into physical danger of the violence that the Singapore government condemned [last year]," said Myo Myint Maung.
When asked if they regretted their actions, Mr Myo said, "If we ever regretted what we did, we would be sitting quietly at home repenting rather than going public with our difficulties."
He said all that the Burmese community in Singapore, numbering 100,000, wants to know the rationale for the harsh actions by the Singapore government against the activists for expressing their "frustration and discontent of the Burmese people in Singapore at the outrageous atrocities committed by the Burmese military junta".
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Should we treat them equally with us?
Remember that we benefit from FT presence.
Without them locals would not have such challenging competitors for uni/poly places.
Our excess money can be better used to sponsor their education while our aunties pick cans from coffeeshop tables.
But its money well spent as we bond them to work in singapore. Why hire expensive sinkie when cheap burmese will do.
Saturday 23rd August, 2008
Singapore's home ministry warned political activists from Myanmar in the city state not to ignore repeated police orders to stop illegal public protests and anti-Myanmar activities, the The Strait Times newspaper said Saturday.
A spokesman of the Overseas Burmese Patriots (OBP), a group of Myanmar activists, said the Singapore government has not renewed immigration passes for five of its members who had participated in a public protest in November.
'We do have suspicion that the rationale for the rejections might be because of the protests and our activities,' Myanmarese activist Myo Myint Maung said.
A ministry spokesperson said 'the right of a foreign national to work or stay in Singapore is not a matter of entitlement or a right to be secured by political demand and public pressure' and that activists repeatedly ignored requests from government officials to meet to discuss the group's conduct.
-----------------------------
Chasing them out of Singapore "may put them into physical danger of the violence that the Singapore government condemned [last year]," said Myo Myint Maung.
When asked if they regretted their actions, Mr Myo said, "If we ever regretted what we did, we would be sitting quietly at home repenting rather than going public with our difficulties."
He said all that the Burmese community in Singapore, numbering 100,000, wants to know the rationale for the harsh actions by the Singapore government against the activists for expressing their "frustration and discontent of the Burmese people in Singapore at the outrageous atrocities committed by the Burmese military junta".
-----------------------------
Should we treat them equally with us?
Remember that we benefit from FT presence.
Without them locals would not have such challenging competitors for uni/poly places.
Our excess money can be better used to sponsor their education while our aunties pick cans from coffeeshop tables.
But its money well spent as we bond them to work in singapore. Why hire expensive sinkie when cheap burmese will do.