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Coffeeshop Chit Chat - Crisis-hit Singapore tightens grip</TD><TD id=msgunetc noWrap align=right>
Subscribe </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE class=msgtable cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="96%"><TBODY><TR><TD class=msg vAlign=top><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgbfr1 width="1%"> </TD><TD><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgF width="1%" noWrap align=right>From: </TD><TD class=msgFname width="68%" noWrap>You Only Live Once, Vote Wisely (SangKancil) <NOBR></NOBR> </TD><TD class=msgDate width="30%" noWrap align=right>3:38 am </TD></TR><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgT height=20 width="1%" noWrap align=right>To: </TD><TD class=msgTname width="68%" noWrap>ALL <NOBR></NOBR></TD><TD class=msgNum noWrap align=right> (1 of 4) </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgleft rowSpan=4 width="1%"> </TD><TD class=wintiny noWrap align=right>19058.1 </TD></TR><TR><TD height=8></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgtxt>By Tony Sitathan
Jun 13, 2009
SINGAPORE - New legislation passed by parliament in the name of combating terrorism has raised concerns that discretionary powers could be used by authorities to further silence political opposition and suppress public dissent when the island nation is facing its worst economic crisis since achieving independence.
The Public Order Act (POA), which was rapidly drafted and passed without much fanfare in April, represents the latest legislation to boost the discretionary powers of the People's Action Party-led government, which has ruled the city state uninterrupted since 1959, in the name of upholding national security.
The new law will primarily extend the draconian Public Entertainment and Meeting Act, which bars gatherings of more than five people without a government-granted permit. Under the POA, now even one person with a "cause-related" intention in public will also apparently need a permit. According to opposition politicians, the new act effectively bans any outdoor activity deemed by the state as political in nature.
It also represents a blow to already limited press freedoms, as it contains a new ban on the filming of security force operations and actions. That, some say, will limit the ability of citizen journalists and bloggers, who have offered an important counterpoint in recent years to the state-controlled media, to check the government's actions. Yet another repressive provision of the POA empowers the police, under a so-called "move on" order, to force anyone to leave public areas if their actions are considered "disorderly".
This provision would appear to run contrary to Article 13 of the constitution, which states that Singaporean citizens have the right to move freely throughout Singapore subject to any law relating to security, public order, or public health. Although there have not been any demonstrations related to the island state's spectacular economic downturn, some believe the POA's passage was designed specifically to forestall possible anti-government rallies or assemblies.
The export-oriented economy contracted 10.1% year-on-year in the first quarter, shaking the PAP's traditional claim to legitimacy through its management of fast economic growth. The government has said it needs the POA's enhanced powers to create a more transparent and coherent framework for managing public order and security, including when it hosts the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in November which various world leaders are scheduled to attend.
According to a Hong Kong-based risk consultant who requested anonymity, the government was motivated by the recent destabilizing public street protests seen in Thailand and the terrorist attacks on a tourist hotel in Mumbai, India. He noted that deputy prime minister and home affairs minister Wong Kan Seng has said that the APEC summit may attract "terrorists" or "anarchists" bent on stirring violence.
The political opposition, a group of parties that won 33% of the votes at the 2006 election but through gerrymandering command only two seats in Singapore's 84-seat parliament, have strongly criticized the POA, claiming it could be used to suppress further their political activities. Chee Soon Juan, leader of the opposition Singapore Democratic Party (SDP), claimed in an interview that the POA's passage violates Singapore's constitution and specifically undermines Article 14, which guarantees freedom of rights, association and speech.
"The constitution states that any law that runs contrary to the constitution will be void. This is something that needs to be brought up internationally," he said. Chee is an embattled opposition figure, who has on several occasions been detained for his political activities and was recently rendered bankrupt by a court ruling after crossing swords with several ministers in the PAP government's cabinet. Chee is currently banned from traveling outside of Singapore on order of that ruling.
Chee's resistance in the name of democracy promotion has in recent years earned him significant international support, namely from Liberal International, a world federation of liberal political parties. His SDP, along with three other pro-democracy political parties, including Myanmar's National League for Democracy (Liberated Areas), was granted observer status to Liberal International at its annual general meeting in May held in Vancouver, Canada.
The SDP's nomination was championed by Dean Peroff, from the international law firm Amsterdam & Peroff. In passing the unanimous motion, Peroff maintained that Singapore's political order was authoritarian, autocratic, run by a one-man system and that SDP's new observer status to Liberal International would be an important first step towards reaching out to the broader international community for the cause of promoting basic human rights and freedom of expression in Singapore.
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Jun 13, 2009
SINGAPORE - New legislation passed by parliament in the name of combating terrorism has raised concerns that discretionary powers could be used by authorities to further silence political opposition and suppress public dissent when the island nation is facing its worst economic crisis since achieving independence.
The Public Order Act (POA), which was rapidly drafted and passed without much fanfare in April, represents the latest legislation to boost the discretionary powers of the People's Action Party-led government, which has ruled the city state uninterrupted since 1959, in the name of upholding national security.
The new law will primarily extend the draconian Public Entertainment and Meeting Act, which bars gatherings of more than five people without a government-granted permit. Under the POA, now even one person with a "cause-related" intention in public will also apparently need a permit. According to opposition politicians, the new act effectively bans any outdoor activity deemed by the state as political in nature.
It also represents a blow to already limited press freedoms, as it contains a new ban on the filming of security force operations and actions. That, some say, will limit the ability of citizen journalists and bloggers, who have offered an important counterpoint in recent years to the state-controlled media, to check the government's actions. Yet another repressive provision of the POA empowers the police, under a so-called "move on" order, to force anyone to leave public areas if their actions are considered "disorderly".
This provision would appear to run contrary to Article 13 of the constitution, which states that Singaporean citizens have the right to move freely throughout Singapore subject to any law relating to security, public order, or public health. Although there have not been any demonstrations related to the island state's spectacular economic downturn, some believe the POA's passage was designed specifically to forestall possible anti-government rallies or assemblies.
The export-oriented economy contracted 10.1% year-on-year in the first quarter, shaking the PAP's traditional claim to legitimacy through its management of fast economic growth. The government has said it needs the POA's enhanced powers to create a more transparent and coherent framework for managing public order and security, including when it hosts the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in November which various world leaders are scheduled to attend.
According to a Hong Kong-based risk consultant who requested anonymity, the government was motivated by the recent destabilizing public street protests seen in Thailand and the terrorist attacks on a tourist hotel in Mumbai, India. He noted that deputy prime minister and home affairs minister Wong Kan Seng has said that the APEC summit may attract "terrorists" or "anarchists" bent on stirring violence.
The political opposition, a group of parties that won 33% of the votes at the 2006 election but through gerrymandering command only two seats in Singapore's 84-seat parliament, have strongly criticized the POA, claiming it could be used to suppress further their political activities. Chee Soon Juan, leader of the opposition Singapore Democratic Party (SDP), claimed in an interview that the POA's passage violates Singapore's constitution and specifically undermines Article 14, which guarantees freedom of rights, association and speech.
"The constitution states that any law that runs contrary to the constitution will be void. This is something that needs to be brought up internationally," he said. Chee is an embattled opposition figure, who has on several occasions been detained for his political activities and was recently rendered bankrupt by a court ruling after crossing swords with several ministers in the PAP government's cabinet. Chee is currently banned from traveling outside of Singapore on order of that ruling.
Chee's resistance in the name of democracy promotion has in recent years earned him significant international support, namely from Liberal International, a world federation of liberal political parties. His SDP, along with three other pro-democracy political parties, including Myanmar's National League for Democracy (Liberated Areas), was granted observer status to Liberal International at its annual general meeting in May held in Vancouver, Canada.
The SDP's nomination was championed by Dean Peroff, from the international law firm Amsterdam & Peroff. In passing the unanimous motion, Peroff maintained that Singapore's political order was authoritarian, autocratic, run by a one-man system and that SDP's new observer status to Liberal International would be an important first step towards reaching out to the broader international community for the cause of promoting basic human rights and freedom of expression in Singapore.
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