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Students
defy Myanmar protest ban at ASEAN summit
Koh
Gui Qing
Reuters
19 Nov
07
http://uk.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUKSP3564320071119
A
small group of international students at Singapore universities
defied a ban on protest in the city-state on Monday with a
short-lived march, calling for democracy in Myanmar at a summit
of Southeast Asian nations.
Singapore has banned all
outdoor protest at the summit of the Association of South East
Nations and rejected an opposition party's request to stage a
Myanmar protest.
The students dispersed at the summit
venue, designated as a "protected area" that gave
police the authority to search or detain anyone in the area,
after police told them to turn around.
"We wish ASEAN
would take more pro-active steps to promote human rights within
the region. It's not our intention to break the law," said
Dylan Bird, a student from New Zealand at the National University
of Singapore.
Myanmar prime minister Thein Sein is due to
arrive in Singapore on Monday afternoon, in the first appearance
of a top junta member at an international forum since the
regime's bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protests in
September.
Thein Sein is set to brief leaders of the
10-member Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) at a
dinner on Monday and will also meet Chinese Premier Wen
Jiabao.
"I am calling on the military regime to ease
its repression and to release Aung San Suu Kyi," said Pia
Muzaffar, a British student at the National University of
Singapore. The students had moved around the city-state in groups
smaller than four in other to get around police restrictions.
Under Singapore laws, any public gathering of more than four
people requires a police permit.
Muzaffar and two fellow
students had walked hand-in-hand down Singapore's main shopping
street Orchard Road, wearing red T-shirts saying "We pursue
peace, justice and democracy for Burma."
Another band
of three students made their way to the summit venue via another
road, outnumbered by media and videotaped by Singapore
plainclothes police.
On Tuesday ASEAN nations will adopt a
charter that advocates democracy and human rights.
Security
around the summit venue was tight, with 2,500 police officers
mobilised, roadblocks set up in the streets and police searches
of anyone going into the area.
Protest
Singapore style: 3 marchers, 19 media, 1,000 police
Stephanie
Phang
Bloomberg
19 Nov
07
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=aHKiTH1ny.7Q&refer=asia
A
planned protest in Singapore against Asian leaders' "tacit''
approval of Myanmar's fatal crackdown on demonstrations fizzled
today when only three students braved the city-state's tough laws
against marches.
The three protesters were followed by 19
reporters and photographers in an area of the city surrounded by
1,000 armed police and soldiers. The protest was planned to
coincide with a meeting of leaders from the 10-member Association
of Southeast Asian Nations, including Myanmar.
Singapore,
where a protest gathering of more than four people needs to be
approved by police, is hosting the 13th Asean leaders' summit.
City authorities have banned protests against Mynamar.
"A
lot of people wanted to come, but they were afraid of the
repercussions,'' said Daniel Babiak, a student from the National
University of Singapore. The university also called them to warn
them about Singapore's laws, he said.
The three students,
wearing red T-shirts and holding candles, were protesting against
Asean's lack of response against the Myanmar junta's September
crackdown on its largest anti-government demonstrations, which
killed more than 100 people, according to the United Nations.
Asean leaders have rebuffed calls for sanctions against
Myanmar over the violence.
Singapore, which has
restricted public assembly since communal violence killed 36
people in the 1960s, said it can't make exceptions for overseas
visitors protesting at the meetings.
Tough Penalties
Singapore metes out fines for petty crimes such as
littering and has a reputation for tough punishments.
Demonstrators can be jailed.
More than a decade ago,
Singapore's caning of American teenager Michael Fay on vandalism
charges strained relations with then U.S. President Bill
Clinton.
The three students, who were heading toward the
Shangri-La hotel, where the leaders are meeting, were stopped by
security officials and warned before they could reach the venue.
The three held a candlelight vigil at a corner near the hotel
instead.
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