|
|
|
SDP
proposes session on Singapore to IBA
14 Mar
07
14
March 2007
Mark Ellis
Executive
Director
International Bar Association
Dear Mr
Ellis,
Thank you for your reply. (see below)
It
seems that the IBA cannot be persuaded to change its mind about
holding its annual conference in Singapore. As much as I disagree
with the decision I recognise that it is your prerogative to
choose where you want to stage your conferences.
I am
encouraged that you "intend to provide the opportunity, in
Singapore rather than remotely, for robust discussions among our
large and influential membership and all other delegates and
media, on the rule of law as well as on many other aspects of
international and cross-border legal practice."
However,
it is unclear whether a session will be specifically put aside to
discuss the situation in Singapore. To avoid any
misunderstanding, may I propose that:
One, given the
seriousness of the abuse of human rights in Singapore, the
program on the Rule of Law Day include a session solely dedicated
to discussing the situation in the city-state. I note that in
your 2006 Annual Conference in Chicago, you had a session
entitled Guantanamo
Bay – where rights end? where
you specifically addressed "interrogation techniques;
detention conditions; restrictions on access to lawyers and
families; and the exclusion of the detainees from regular
judicial and legal processes" of Guantanamo prisoners
detained by the US Government. The session also considered "the
impact of US Court rulings and the imperatives of national
security." Could a similar session be done on Singapore at
the conference in October?
Two, victims of the Singapore
Government's persecution be invited to speak so that your
participants can hear first-hand the goings-on that have been
occurring in Singapore.
Three, this particular session be
open to the Singaporean public as discussions of this nature
hardly ever takes place here. This will be a precious public
education service for Singaporeans.
Four, more than just
a discussion on the problems of the rule of law in Singapore may
I also suggest that be some time put aside to consider concrete
proposals to improve the rule of law situation here.
I
hope you will address these four proposals in your next
letter.
I also hope that at some point in the lead up to
the conference, the IBA will make clear its position vis-à-vis
Singapore. Given the preponderance of human rights violations in
this country, an unequivocal statement calling on the Singapore
Government to respect the rule of law and stop its persecution of
dissidents would not be out of place. In this regard, I am
reminded of what Desmond Tutu said: "If you are neutral in
situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the
oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and
you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your
neutrality."
I believe that numerous NGOs and friends
of the IBA from the international community have urged you to
take a stronger stance on this matter. To this end, I repeat my
invitation to you to send a fact-finding mission to Singapore to
verify all that I have written in my letters. This will certainly
help the IBA acquire a comprehensive and in-depth picture of the
human rights situation of the country in which it stages its
prestigious annual conference. The Internet also contains in
ready abundance information that will aid in your research on the
matters I have raised.
Lastly, you had requested that your
letters to me be displayed more prominently on the SDP website.
You are right. In fact, I will do better than that. I will create
a section that will display my letters and your replies with
equal prominence (see www.singaporedemocrat.org).
May we ask that the favour be reciprocated?
Thank
you.
Sincerely,
Chee Soon Juan
Secretary-General
Singapore
Democratic Party
IBA's
reply to SDP II
9
March 2007
Dear
Dr Chee Soon Juan
On
behalf of the IBA Officers, I am writing in response to your
letter dated 28, February.
Thank
you for your letter. We have read carefully your remarks and
appreciate the heartfelt manner in which they were written. We
intend to provide the opportunity, in Singapore rather than
remotely, for robust discussions among our large and influential
membership and all other delegates and media, on the rule of law
as well as on many other aspects of international and
cross-border legal practice. This will give attendees the
opportunity to meet with and absorb the range of Singaporean, and
all other views. We believe it would not be right to presume that
such delegates would be swayed as one body by any single view
they might encounter. The opportunity is for them to network,
discuss and debate, and we know from experience the merits of
this approach.
Although
we understand your urging of us to take a different approach, we
ask that you recognize our position. We would also like to
request that you publish our earlier detailed letter on your
website in the way that you published your own. I am sure we all
agree on the proposition that it is good for people to have the
opportunity to hear both sides of a debate.
Sincerely
Mark
Ellis
Executive Director
International Bar Association
|
|
