Singabloodypore

YANGON, Myanmar - Myanmar's junta seized U.N. aid shipments Friday meant for a multitude of hungry and homeless survivors of last week's devastating cyclone, forcing the world body to suspend further help.

The aid included 38 tons of high-energy biscuits and arrived in Myanmar on Friday on two flights from Bangladesh and the United Arab Emirates.

"All of the food aid and equipment that we managed to get in has been confiscated," U.N. World Food Program spokesman Risley said.

"For the time being, we have no choice but to end further efforts to bring critical needed food aid into Myanmar at this time," he said.

At least 62,000 people are dead or missing in Myanmar, entire villages are submerged in the Irrawaddy delta and aid groups warned that the area is on the verge of a medical disaster.

The U.N. has grown increasingly critical of Myanmar's military rulers' refusal to let foreign aid workers into the country while the junta appeared overwhelmed and more than 1 million homeless people waited for food, medicine and shelter.

"The frustration caused by what appears to be a paperwork delay is unprecedented in modern humanitarian relief efforts," Risley said. "It's astonishing."

Before and After Sat Image...

9 May 2008

On 8 May 2008, the Straits Times reported that Chan Mun Chiong was charged with committing an act of gross indecency, i.e. under Section 377A of the Penal Code.

His offence, to which he apparently intends to plead guilty, was to have oral sex with a 16-year-old boy when he knew he was HIV-positive. For that, Chan was also charged under the Infectious Diseases Act for endangering the health and the life of his partner.

People Like Us fully support prosecuting anyone, such as Chan, who acts so recklessly in spreading HIV.

But, however culpable Chan was in this regard, he should not have been discriminated against for having another male person as his sexual partner and should not have faced the additional charge under Section 377A.

If an HIV-positive man had sex with a 16-year-old female, there would be no comparable charge for the sex act itself, since a 16-year-old female is considered by law to be capable of giving consent. Neither would it be so if an HIV-positive woman had sex with a 16-year-old boy, for here too, the sex act would be legal.

The Prime Minister, last October 23rd, said in Parliament that the authorities would not "proactively enforce Section 377A." In effect, he was assuring gay citizens that they could consider Section 377A as no threat and not fear discriminatory treatment under the law.

This case of Chan Mun Chiong contradicts this assurance. By having to face an additional charge where heterosexual couples would not, he was being discriminated against. Guilty though he might have been of putting a young life at risk through concealing his HIV status, he still deserved to be treated fairly with respect to his choice of sexual partner.

The assurance by the Prime Minister is clearly revealed by this case to be insufficient and underlines again the need to bring clarity to the law, by repealing Section 377A.

(The online version of this media statement can be found at http://www.plu.sg/society/?p=108 )

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL Canada

May 8, 2008
Defamation suit threatens shut-down of opposition party

Amnesty International has on numerous occasions expressed its concern about the continuing use of restrictive laws and civil defamation suits to muzzle critics and opposition party members. Laws allowing the authorities to impose restrictions on freedom of expression and assembly violate international standards. Such laws, combined with a pattern of politically motivated defamation suits, have served to maintain a climate of political intimidation and self-censorship in Singapore.

In the most recent development, leaders of the small opposition Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) fear that a defamation suit won by Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew and his son, Prime MInister Lee Hsieng Loong, may result in their party being made bankrupt. On Monday, May 12, the court will determine the amount to be paid in damages to the Lee plaintiffs by the SDP and two prominent SDP members, Dr Chee Soon Juan (Secretary-General) and Ms Chee Siok Chin (Central Executive member). The amount may be assessed at over US$500,000, which would result in bankruptcy and possible de-registration of the party.

The defamation suit was launched by MM Lee and PM Lee in 2006 following publication in the SDP newsletter of an article comparing the running of Singapore with a scandal involving lavish spending by the head of Singapore's charitable National Kidney Foundation. The assessment to be made on May 12 follows a court process whose fairness has been questioned by critics. The case was decided against the defendants in a summary judgment (i.e. in the judge's chambers rather than in open court). The SDP defendants were not allowed to call witnesses or cross-examine Lee Kuan Yew or Lee Hsien Loong. And the judge continued to hear the plaintiffs' testimony, despite the absence of the defendants' lawyer, who was ill.

Both Dr Chee and Ms Chee (his sister) are recognised internationally for their commitment to human rights and democracy through non-violence. Ms Chee, already made bankrupt, continues to speak at high-level international meetings. Dr Chee, also made bankrupt, is barred from seeking election, has been heavily fined, repeatedly imprisoned, sacked from his university position, and is not allowed to travel abroad without permission (which has repeatedly been denied). A recipient of the Defender of Democracy award by Parliamentarians for Global Action, he is a leading member of a number of international human rights and democracy bodies and is the author of several books on related matters.

Despite continuing moves against critics, the government has repeatedly claimed that it is building an " open society". Amnesty International remains gravely concerned that restrictive laws and civil defamation suits continue to be used in Singapore to stifle criticism and debate -- in clear violation of international law.

08.05.08 07:06

The Singapore government is considering a lighter touch in regulating the internet after 13 bloggers called for freedom to discuss political issues and views, the group said on Thursday.

The bloggers also proposed that any regulation of online content should not be at the administrative discretion of officials, but through moderation by a consultative body of citizens.

"To keep up with the fast-evolving new media landscape, we have been reviewing our light-touch approach and are considering how we could take a lighter-touch approach," The Straits Times quoted K Bhavani, press secretary at the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts (MICA), as saying.

"Our intent was to foster the growth of the internet and to enable us to exploit its vast potential while safeguarding our society from its undesirable aspects," she said.

The views of the bloggers plus feedback from others would be considered in the ministry's review of new media, she said in the published remarks.

The bloggers included a 19-year-old national serviceman and a 55-year-old businessman.

They e-mailed their suggestions to MICA minister Lee Boon Yang.

Law student Choo Zheng Xi said the group focused on the regulatory process and online political content, sex and violence.

"We remain very hopeful that they will incorporate some of our ideas," Alex Au, who operates the Yawning Bread website, told the newspaper.

SINGAPORE (AFP) — Singapore is sending two military construction engineering teams to Afghanistan, the defence ministry said Monday.

In the tiny city-state's latest military contribution to the area, 12 team members will be deployed in two groups over about six months in central Bamiyan province, the ministry said.

They are to supervise construction of a regional health training centre and will be part of the New Zealand Defence Force provincial reconstruction team, it said.

"This deployment is part of Singapore's overall contribution to the international humanitarian assistance and reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan," the defence ministry said in a statement.

Singapore last year sent a five-man medical team to Bamiyan, and a Singapore Air Force refuelling aircraft left last month for the Gulf where it will support multi-national forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, the ministry said earlier.

Singapore, which US President George W. Bush visited in 2006, has been an unwavering US ally.

Talk about newspeak - international humanitarian assistance - there was me thinking it was a war.

"If I didn't come here to eat, I would have starved to death," she said.

SINGAPORE (AFP) — Singapore may be one of Asia's wealthiest nations but soaring food prices have hit its poor hard, as can be seen by the queues at the Singapore Buddhist Lodge, which serves daily free vegetarian meals.

For Tay Soon Kin, a cleaner, the meals dished up by temple volunteers have been a much-needed helping hand as soaring food prices hit Singapore's poor.

Singapore's per capita is 28,730 US dollars, but Tay earns far less than that, just 700 Singapore dollars (515 US) a month.

He says it is barely enough to feed his family of five.

For the last few months Tay has been walking to the temple at least three times a week, he says, from the nearby office building where he works. Eating the temple's free food helps him save whatever he can for his family, which includes three children.

"I earn only 700 dollars and it is not enough. Every cent that I can save from my lunch helps a lot," he told AFP after finishing a simple meal of rice, stir-fried vegetables and watermelon for dessert.

"Prices have gone up, including food. How to survive on my salary alone?" he said with a rueful smile.

With inflation at a 26-year high, charities say more people are joining queues for free meals.

Click here for photo gallery of our messages marking World Press Freedom Day 2008 in Singapore.

WORLD PRESS FREEDOM DAY 2008
Today is World Press Freedom Day: an opportunity to reflect upon the principles of press freedom. Press freedom must be championed and protected as it comprises the fundamental Freedom of Expression (Article 19, Universal Declaration of Human Rights). UNESCO's 2008 themes for this day are Access to Information and Empowerment.

In resonance with this, we as independent activists marked World Press Freedom Day 2008 this morning, with a series of messages to share our thoughts on the state of press freedom in Singapore.

CENSORED NEWS IS NO NEWS
It's no big secret that Singapore, though proudly claiming to be a 'First-World' country, is ranked 141 out of 167 in 2007's World Press Freedom Index (Reporters Without Borders). 142 is Afghanistan. For the same year, Singapore is ranked 157 out of 195 countries in the Freedom of the Press World Ranking (Freedom House). 158 is Iraq.

Freedom House clearly establishes Singapore's status as "Not free". Not free. Shackled. Clipped. Censored? A common criterion to these indices is an evaluation of the level of censorship. Though news in Singapore may not be overtly censored, the problem is self-censorship.

FREE PRESS, FREE MINDS
A freer press empowers people as it gives them pluralism in sources of information as well as access to diverse points of view. All of us have the right to form and express our opinions and respect should be accorded to this right through freedom to access information.

NEWSPAPERS AND PRINTING PRESSES ACT = REPRESSION
The Newspapers and Printing Presses Act was introduced in 1975. In effect, the Act enables the State to impose such restrictions as:
• Permits (to be renewed every year) granted on a discretionary basis for locally published newspapers. In addition, these permits may be granted with conditions such as the State's specification on the language in which the newspaper may be published.
• Permits required for the sale and distribution of foreign newspapers. In addition, individuals will need to comply with this permissibility for any papers brought in which may be for personal consumption. Complementary provision for powers of examination of packages and articles is included.

Other incidents of repressive media management include lawsuits against foreign newspapers such as the Asian Wall Street Journal and the Far Eastern Economic Review (FEER), a publication currently banned in Singapore. Yet let us not forget one of the most glaring examples: persecution of journalists. Most notable was the 17-year detention under the Internal Security Act of Said Zahari, editor of then-locally published Utusan Melayu.

NO TO MEDIA MONOPOLY
Today, the press in Singapore is monopolised by the Singapore Press Holdings. It publishes all but one of the dailies (the exception is TODAY published by Mediacorp) – a far cry from a lively press and publishing history in Singapore (pre-1975). There were several papers published in Malay, Indian and Chinese languages as compared to just these main non-English newspapers: Berita Harian, Tamil Murasu, Lianhe Zaobao (& Wanbao) and Shin Min Daily respectively.

GET ALTERNATIVES, GET ONLINE
Though press freedom in the professional arena should be safeguarded, individuals can overcome a restrictive and biased press through citizen journalism. Through the new medium of the Internet, citizen journalism, which increases participation in the exchange of news and information, is on the rise. Alternative sources are available on the internet on web portals and blogs that allow individuals to express themselves and engage with others in open discussion.

Open discussions and dialogue on all human issues are vital for us to engage with each other in an environment of respect and dignity. The role of a free and pluralistic press as such a forum enshrines the fundamental freedom of expression for everyone.

To continue this dialogue on press freedom and efforts to promote it in Singapore, email Noora at noorazul@gmail.com


An effort by Singapore activists,
Chong Kai Xiong
Ho Choon Hiong
Isrizal
Noora Zul
Seelan Palay
Shafiie

The Trap What Happened to Our Dreams of Freedom 3 of 3 - Adam Curtis


We will force you to be free...