http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/10/AR2009061003697.html
Singapore's Treatment of Terrorists
Thursday, June 11, 2009
In his May 23 letter, "Don't Follow Singapore's Lead," Chee Soon Juan of the Singapore Democratic Party asserted that rehabilitation of terrorists detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) in Singapore entails beatings and torture. He also said that there have been deaths of detainees in their cells and that there is no mechanism for looking into detainees' well-being. These assertions are false.
Terrorist detainees in Singapore undergo a program incorporating psychological, social and religious rehabilitation. The religious counseling program is driven by volunteer leaders from Singapore's Muslim community. There are no beatings or torture. There have been no deaths. Two-thirds of the terrorists arrested since 2001 have been released and have reintegrated into society. None has strayed back into terrorism so far. Singapore's program is often cited by international experts, including William J. Dobson of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, as a model for the detention and rehabilitation of terrorists.
The ISA was enacted to protect Singapore from national security threats that cannot be dealt with under general criminal laws. The act has built-in due-process safeguards, including yearly reviews by a panel headed by a Supreme Court judge. The panel has the powers and immunities of a court of law. It can subpoena witnesses and examine documents, including classified intelligence. While the government decides on detentions, the president has the right to overrule the government's decisions.
In the face of terrorist violence, a government's priority must always be to protect the lives of its people.
CHAN HENG CHEE
Ambassador
Embassy of Singapore
Washington
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Singapore's Treatment of Terrorists
Thursday, June 11, 2009
In his May 23 letter, "Don't Follow Singapore's Lead," Chee Soon Juan of the Singapore Democratic Party asserted that rehabilitation of terrorists detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) in Singapore entails beatings and torture. He also said that there have been deaths of detainees in their cells and that there is no mechanism for looking into detainees' well-being. These assertions are false.
Terrorist detainees in Singapore undergo a program incorporating psychological, social and religious rehabilitation. The religious counseling program is driven by volunteer leaders from Singapore's Muslim community. There are no beatings or torture. There have been no deaths. Two-thirds of the terrorists arrested since 2001 have been released and have reintegrated into society. None has strayed back into terrorism so far. Singapore's program is often cited by international experts, including William J. Dobson of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, as a model for the detention and rehabilitation of terrorists.
The ISA was enacted to protect Singapore from national security threats that cannot be dealt with under general criminal laws. The act has built-in due-process safeguards, including yearly reviews by a panel headed by a Supreme Court judge. The panel has the powers and immunities of a court of law. It can subpoena witnesses and examine documents, including classified intelligence. While the government decides on detentions, the president has the right to overrule the government's decisions.
In the face of terrorist violence, a government's priority must always be to protect the lives of its people.
CHAN HENG CHEE
Ambassador
Embassy of Singapore
Washington
------------------------
More at Singapore News Alternative:
1. HK court asked to step in on Lehman minibonds probe
2. Dr Chan Heng Chee Defends Singapore's Treatment of Terrorists
3. DBS Bank India opens its 10th branch in India at Salem
4. SIA Plane Disaster Averted In India
5. Analysts expect deeper recession for Singapore
6. Singapore's meagre real-estate quarter
7. Spore & other foreign govts pay for Pentagon staff trip in exchange for contract
8. S'pore ranks 2nd with Taiwan in global hiring outlook survey
9. Citigroup sets exchange, giving US big stake, GIC's stake affected
.
