Public assembly ban: Beware the con
26 Oct 06
The Government's explanation of why protests cannot be allowed in
Singapore is meretricious. Singaporeans must beware the con.
In the first place the Constitution, the supreme law of the land,
does not give the Government power to ban protests. Public assembly
is the right of each and every citizen, not some privilege accorded
by the Government.
The exception is made only when national security is threatened,
for example, in times of war, in an outbreak of insurgency, or
during natural disasters. Even then the declared period of
emergency is temporary, not last for half a century.
This is where the Judiciary needs to check the powers of the PAP
Executive. Unfortunately, our Courts have failed the people and
failed us miserably.
The lie
The PAP pretends that the threat of violence is the reason why
outdoor demonstrations are banned.
If that's the case why did it allow the NTUC to stage a protest
against the US embassy in 1998, PAP women MPs to march in 2005,
CASE to stage a consumer rights demonstration in 2007, and the
Central CDC to conduct a mass walk in 2007?
Why does the Government organise Swing Singapore and permit other
outdoor parties where tens of thousands of people gather and where
liquor, the main cause of rowdy behaviour, is allowed?
Is there no potential of violence at these public activities?
If there are disturbances at any outdoor gathering, political or
otherwise, there are laws and law enforcers to deal with unruly
individuals.
But to decree a blanket ban on an activity just because the
Government thinks that a few individuals can't behave themselves is
incomprehensible and, to repeat, unconstitutional.
Would the authorities ban football matches just because a rowdy few
cause trouble in the stands? Should driving be banned just because
a few irresponsible drivers speed or drive drunk?
Similarly, should the right of the overwhelming majority of
peace-loving citizens be denied of their right to peaceful assembly
just because a few mischief-makers (or perchance agent
provocateurs) have other ideas?
Or is the PAP suggesting that the majority of Singaporeans are a
riotous lot and that a ban on public protests is the only way to
keep their violent impulse in check?
When the Government cannot answer questions with logic and reason
(see letter below), and resorts to intellectual and political
dishonesty, its authority takes a beating.
The reality
Witness the recent massive street protests in Hong Kong, Taipei,
London, etc. where workers and executives, students and teachers,
and even grandmas and grandpas take part in peaceful
demonstrations.
They were a sight to behold. These people showed that protests are
nothing to be afraid of. If they have the maturity to conduct such
events, why haven't Singaporeans?
Such mass participation does something to society; it gives the
people a sense of belongingness, a sense of patriotism that no
jingle or slogan chanted during the month of August can ever hope
to achieve.
A politically engaged citizenry is a motivated citizenry. Such
politicization creates the "buzz" that the Singaporean society
and economy so badly needs.
Most of all, public demonstrations empower the people. They give
citizens a voice to which a government must listen.
It is this empowerment that the PAP fears, not some baloney about
the potential of violence.
The ruling clique knows that its illegal hold on power is possible
only because it keeps the people isolated from one another.
Political power, as demonstrated by the courageous monks in Burma,
when flexed by the people is a force that despotic regimes are only
too aware of and fear.
Is it any coincidence why Singapore remains one of the very few
places together with the likes of Vietnam, Cuba. and North Korea
that prohibits public assemblies?
Even countries like China, Malaysia and Iran do not forbid their
peoples from protesting in public.
The truth
There are two ways that the public can make its voice heard
through the ballot box and by conducting public protests.
The PAP knows that that while it can manipulate the former, there
is little it can do to control the voice of the people in mass
demonstrations.
Singaporeans must realize that the election system, in its present
form and under present management, will not allow the electorate a
genuine say in who it wants in parliament and, by extension, what
policies it supports or rejects.
By controlling the Elections Department through the PMO, changing
the election process through the GRC system, intimidating voters
through HDB upgrading, buying votes through the Progress Package,
and crippling the opposition through defamation suits the PAP
invariably gets the total control it demands.
Think about it. Despite the discontent over the withholding of CPF
savings from retirees, the proposed annuity scheme, the fat
ministerial salaries, the GST and fee hikes, the incoming
disparity, etc. representation in Parliament doesn't change. It
hasn't since Independence
Until and unless Government relinquishes its arm-lock on the
election system and the media, Singapore will continue to live
under the tyranny of the PAP few.
But how are we going to compel it to make system open and
democratic?
Imagine if Singaporeans were to conduct a sit-in outside the
Elections Department at Prinsep Street until the Government agrees
to an independent elections commission.
Imagine if we were to protest outside Parliament House until the
Government agrees to stop its control of the local media and
liberalise the industry.
Imagine if Singaporeans were to walk to the Istana demanding that
the PAP stops behaving like it owned Singapore.
Now imagine the ruling clique cornered and forced to institute
reforms.
And there you have the real answer as to why the Government bans
public assemblies...
http://www.singaporedemocrat.org/articlefreedomassembly.html
