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Human
Rights Now!
Singapore
Democrats
18 Nov 07
As ASEAN opened its 13th Summit at
the Shangri La, about 130 people attended a forum organized by
Sg Human Rights held at a local hotel this afternoon. Most
attendees wore red to demonstrate solidarity with the people of
Burma.
The organizers had anticipated a larger turnout,
especially from the Burmese nationals. However, some Burmese
attendees reported that the police had earlier approached them
to dissuade them from attending the forum, and even offered them
a paid party at Sentosa as an alternative.
One of the
purposes of the forum is to gather signatures for two petitions,
which will be delivered afterward, via the ASEAN Secretariat, to
the Singapore and Burma member states respectively.
The
first petition called on the Singapore Government, among other
things, to respect the rights of Singaporeans, and to sign and
ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
(ICCPR).
The other, in the form of a giant greeting card
with the image of Ms Aung Sung Suu Kyi, allowed signatories to
scribble messages as they pleased.
In between speeches,
several letters of support from around the world for the efforts
of Sg Human Rights were read.
Senders included the
Member of the European Parliament for South West England and
Gibraltar and Leader of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats
for Europe in the European Parliament, Mr Graham Watson; the
Coordinator of the Alternative ASEAN Network on Burma, Ms Debbie
Stothard; the Chairman and Secretary-General of the Swedish
International Liberal Centre, Mr Lennart Nordfors and Ms Gunilla
Davidsson, respectively; the Secretary of International Society
for Human Rights (Australia), Mr John Launder; and the Minister
of Security of Tibet, Mr Pema C Khangtetsang.
According
to the organizers, more than a hundred letters had poured in
over the last one week.
Speakers at the forum included
last year's general election candidate Mr Chia Ti Lik, civil
rights activist and blogger, Mr. Ng E-Jay, human rights lawyer,
Mr M. Ravi, and the Secretary-general of SDP, Dr Chee Soon Juan.
Moderator and speaker Mr Chia decried the Government’s
influence in the hampering of human rights development in
Singapore. Noting the already dismal human rights record of
Singapore, Mr Chia asked if Singaporeans wished to wait till our
situation degenerated to that of Burma before we regretted not
having insisted on the restoration of our fundamental
liberties.
Touching on fundamental rights such the
freedom of expression and the freedom of assembly, Mr Ng,
stressed the importance for Singaporeans to take ownership of
such rights, and not be distracted by economic want or progress.
He lamented the vagueness of the ASEAN Charter on human rights
issues and processes, and called on ASEAN to cease making empty
promises and to take concrete measures in promoting democracy.
Dr Chee Soon Juan urged audience to do their part, no
matter how small, in getting ASEAN to take genuine action toward
forcing the Burmese military junta to resolve the Burmese
tragedy.
He recounted his conversation with Daw Aung
Sung Suu Kyi a few years ago and remembered her parting request
to never forget Burma.
The lively Q&A time saw a
barrage of questions and comments from the floor. (See
below for a summary of the issues brought up and the general
view from both the audience and the speakers.) The forum ended
with a Burmese song of democracy and the release of 10 red
balloons symbolizing the 10 member states of ASEAN.
Summary
of issues raised during Q&A
On whether
sanction against Burma will work.
The consensus was
that if every country plays its part, sanction would work.
However, the current situation is that countries such as China,
India and Singapore are continuing to ignore calls for sanction.
Someone observed that as Singaporeans, while there is little we
can do in regards to China and India, we can certainly pressure
the Singapore Government to heed the international calls for
sanction instead of offering lame excuses such as selling only
"arms that cannot be used against citizens."
On
how Singaporeans can help Burmese who are intimidated by the
police
Revealing the identity of the intimidating
officers and their questions through blogging, and sharing such
information with Singaporeans can discourage the police from
stepping out of line and clarify for the Burmese nationals what
is acceptable and what is “over-reacting” (à
la Ho Peng Kee) on the part of the police. Consulting legal
advice and initiating legal challenges were among the
suggestions as well.
On students’ participation
in politics
During a previous attempt by NUS students
to show solidarity with the Burmese people, university officials
told them that participation in politics is not a university
culture. Students now raised questions at the forum whether the
culture of a university should be created and cultivated by
students or the government. Comments included the fact that it
hasn’t been that way all along. In the past, even in
Singapore, the universities had been the bedrock of political
activism until the Lee government began to dictate what
activities can or cannot be engaged in.
On the
cooperation of civil society organizations (CSOs)
A
member of the audience called for unity among CSOs and for them
to include both non-government organizations (NGOs) and
government organized non-government organizations (GONGOs).
Members of Sg Human Rights replied that they would be happy to
work with GONGOs so long as they (the GONGOs) do not insist on
who should or should not be represented and what issues should
or should not be raised. Unfortunately, that has not been their
experience with GONGOs.
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