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The
wayang must go on
5 Nov
07
The
line between propaganda and comedy is very fine.
Case in
point: Former Iraqi information minister, Muhammed Saeed. Dubbed
Comical Ali (an allusion to Saddam Hussein’s half-brother
Chemical Ali Hassan) Muhammed Saeed earned his nickname because
he kept telling everyone that his army was pushing the invading
troops “back into the swamp” even as bombs were
exploding all over Baghdad and American soldiers were closing on
the Iraqi regime.
If Foreign Minister George Yeo is not
careful, he could very well become a contender for Comical Ali’s
title with his latest bizarre statement. Mr Yeo had said that
Pakistan’s declaration of emergency is “a step back
from the democratic process.” (No joke, see report below).
This is like Kim Jong Il criticizing Than Shwe for his
brutality against the Burmese.
In case our Foreign
Minister hasn’t been informed he is not even invited to the
Ministerial Meeting of the Community of Democracies, a global
organization of democratic states.
This is because
Singapore has been downgraded from being an observer in 2005 to a
non-invitee in 2007.
Even Malaysia, our closest neighbour,
has been invited as a full member to this year’s meeting in
Bamako, Mali later this month.
But why does the Singapore
Government try to keep up appearances when clearly no one sees it
as a democracy?
Because it knows that as the world
globalizes, there is increasing pressure for governments to
democratize and to respect the rights of their citizens.
Otherwise, one begins to look more and more backward.
But
to really move ahead in terms of democratic development, the PAP
must do more than making statements about Pakistan, which frankly
do no more than make the Government look silly.
Pakistan
situation a step back from democratic process: Singapore
AFP
5
Nov 07
Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf's declaration
of emergency rule is "very troubling" and is a step
back from the democratic process, Singapore's foreign minister
said.
Foreign
Minister George Yeo said however the situation is very
complicated and hoped a compromise will be reached. His comments,
made to reporters Sunday, were released by the foreign ministry
on Monday.
"The
declaration of state of emergency is very troubling. It is a step
back from the democratic process, which the Pakistanis were
getting back onto," Yeo said.
"But
it is a very complicated situation, not just within Pakistan, but
in Pakistan's relations with Afghanistan and in Pakistan's
relations with India. We hope that good sense will prevail and
that some kind of compromise will be achieved within Pakistan
itself."
Musharraf
imposed the state of emergency late Saturday, suspending the
constitution, sacking the country's chief justice and imposing
strict media curbs. Hundreds of critics have been arrested.
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