World Bank : Singapore Should Waive Ban on Outdoor Protests

last SG · 2006-08-23T16:14:11+00:00

throw in protest goodie bags.....contain inflatable clapper, metal water bottles, gas masks and pebbles. or yah....plus a bottle of kerosense and a lippo lig...

LazerLordz SG

World Bank Says Singapore Should Waive Ban on Outdoor Protests

By Linus Chua

Aug. 22 (Bloomberg) -- The World Bank says Singapore should allow outdoor protests at its joint meetings with the International Monetary Fund next month, after the city said it would only permit demonstrations at a designated, indoor area.

``The bank's preference is that civil society groups should be able to peacefully express their views outside of the conference facility in a way that doesn't cause disruption,'' World Bank Singapore representative Peter Stephens said in an interview. ``We have our preference and Singapore has its laws, so we're trying to find an area that's acceptable to all.''

Singapore forbids the public assembly of more than four people without police permits and is unused to the mass rallies associated with global trade and finance summits. At the 2005 World Trade Organization meeting in Hong Kong, police used tear gas to quell crowds and arrested more than 1,000 people, while 600 were injured during IMF meetings in Prague in 2000 after cobblestones were pulled from the streets and flung at police.

``We have made maximum effort to facilitate the involvement of civil society organizations, within the framework of our laws,'' the Singapore government's committee organizing the meetings said in an e-mailed response to questions.

``We are unable to waive the current rules which prohibit outdoor demonstrations and processions, so as not to compromise the high level of security that will be in place during the conference,'' it said.

Terror Risk

Singapore police last month said groups accredited by the World Bank and IMF would be allowed to hold demonstrations in a designated area of the downtown convention center hosting the Sept. 12-20 meetings. All other protests will need police permission.

``Being held indoors means the number of people would be restricted,'' said Ruki Fernando, a spokesman for the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development, a Bangkok-based human rights group. ``There can't be activities such as cultural dances, street theater, which require big spaces.''

Under Singapore law, permission must be sought for public assemblies and speeches. The government says the rules help maintain harmony in the city, where 36 people were killed in 1964 race riots between the Chinese and Malay communities.

Still, the government said it may work with the IMF and World Bank on protests during the meetings, expected to be attended by European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet and more than 16,000 other officials.

``The World Bank has suggested some alternatives for consideration and we will examine the practicality of these,'' according to the statement from the S2006 Organising Committee. ``Any alternative with a realistic prospect of being adopted must be within the framework of our laws and must not compromise security, which remains our foremost priority.''

Unions, NGOs

The meetings have already attracted significant interest from lobby groups. As of Aug. 17, about 200 representatives of ``civil society organizations,'' or CSOs, had been accredited to participate in the meetings, and a further 200 had submitted applications, the World Bank said in an Aug. 18 e-mail.

That would represent a record in terms of participation by CSOs, which include non-governmental organizations, community and religious groups, and labor unions. ``We're still in discussions with the authorities regarding logistical issues,'' William Murray, the IMF's spokesman in Washington, said in an earlier e-mailed response to questions about Singapore's decision on outdoor protests.

Showcase

For Singapore, the meetings are an opportunity to showcase the city as a financial center and base for doing business in Asia. Singapore is ranked second, after Hong Kong, in terms of economic freedom by the Heritage Foundation, and was named the best place in the world for Asians to live in a survey released in April by human resource consultancy ECA International.

Still, the city also has a reputation for being rule-bound and punitive, meting out penalties for misdemeanors ranging from spitting to littering. Amnesty International says the government curbs freedom of expression and in a 2005 report on human rights in the city, the U.S. Department of State cited ``restriction of freedom of assembly and freedom of association'' as a problem.

``It is a good opportunity for the Singapore government to show the international community that Singapore is in line with international laws in this aspect, not just in their infrastructure and economy,'' Fernando said.

Both the IMF and World Bank said Singapore's law on public assembly wasn't a factor in choosing the city-state as a venue for the meetings, which will be held at Suntec Singapore International Convention & Exhibition Centre.

The indoor protests will be restricted to part of the lobby area, the police said last month.
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http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=aMkOdFoLdFGc

dragg SG

not bad.

singaporeans can only protest online.

Evil or Very Mad

ditzy SG

Singapore is first in everything, even limiting protesters indoors. Laughing Do the protesters need to register themselves or buy a day pass or something? Got season pass? How about buy 4 get 1 free?

charlize SG

By golly, you may have something here.

Is the Feedback Unit listening? Laughing

Wind6 SG

demo indoor might as well dun demo

foomwee88 SG

Double std!!

We r really second class c, fruk to be a s'porean man!!!

fudgester SG

So.... those protestors cannot wear brown, rite? Laughing

ditzy SG

Frankly if I were a protester, I'll feel very stupid protesting indoors. Its like a lost cause. Laughing Its like holding a U2 concert at the public toilet of harbourfront food centre.

LazerLordz SG

Lelong!Lelong! Free brown t-shirts for those who sign up! Laughing

fudgester SG

Have you got any with white elephant pics on them? Laughing

Hellraiza SG

protest all they want, just please stay away from the hotels

oxford mushroom SG

Designate the exercise courtyard of Changi Prison as the site for outdoor potests lor Mr. Green

LazerLordz SG

Have leh, actually quite funky.

Comes with brown rubber wristbands too. Tees are the tight, glamourous sort. Twisted Evil

There is a ter kwa symbol on the front, and a little white elephant on the sleeve.

Laughing

Ito_^ SG

protest indoor might as well not protest. Rolling Eyes

anyone up for a white elephant party at indoor convention center? Laughing

LazerLordz SG

Can the floor take the weight? (pun alert). Embarassed

dragg SG

i bet we are the only country in the world that disallow protest.

are we really democratic?

Shocked Shocked Shocked

fudgester SG

They already cannot take the weight of Mr Brown's light-hearted satire.

You think leh? Laughing

oxford mushroom SG

They have to say the politically correct thing...but secretly glad that for once, their meeting will not be disrupted by protesters as with previous meetings of the WTO, IMF and the World Bank.

Don't be naive...there are plenty of anarchists mixed in with the protesters. In any case, the law of the nation must be fairly applied to both Singaporeans and foreigners. Since when can Singaporeans conduct a public demonstration?

oxford mushroom SG

The IMF/World Bank meetings in the past have often been marked by riotous and violent protests. The Singapore police should ban known troublemakers from even entering the country.

IMF - MEETING CLOSED EARLY
PRAGUE, Czech Republic 27.09.00

The weary captains of global capitalism said Wednesday they were finishing the annual summit of the IMF and World Bank one day early, but insisted their business was done and they had not been derailed by violent street protests.

Bank officials were reading final statements early Wednesday evening, saying their only business Thursday, the original closing day, would be to hold a
news conference.

''They moved more quickly than anticipated - they finished ahead of time,'' said David Hawley, a spokesman for the International Monetary Fund. ''It has
nothing to do with the protests.''

The mood Wednesday morning had been decidedly glum, but Hawley said the finance officials had not canceled any speeches or meetings before they got
to the close.

Delegates had filed past metal barriers and thousands of police, with some worried for their safety in the wake of raging street riots the day before that trashed the city center.

Martin G. Dlamini, central bank governor from Swaziland, said he had canceled a business meeting outside the massive convention center because he was told by authorities it was not safe.

''Whether these protesters will attack us - they may,'' Dlamini said. ''We from less developed countries understand some of the issues being raised. But
this does not give us strength.'' Still, like many of the 14,000 other delegates at the joint annual meeting of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, Dlamini hoped to use day two for tackling issues of debt relief and the war on poverty. Trouble in the streets broke out again early Wednesday when dozens of people scuffled with police outside a hotel where IMF and World Bank delegates were staying. Authorities quickly pushed the angry crowd away from the building, and police spokesman Jiri Suttner said about 100 activists were detained - raising the overall number of detentions to more than 500.

Later, about 300 or 400 protesters began marching from a town square toward the police station, but were stopped by anti-riot police. The activists
retreated to a town square, where they began cheering when they heard the meetings were closing early.

Protest leaders said they were caught off guard by the end of the meeting, but were quick to try to claim credit.

''If that is true I am really excited about it - that would be a real success,'' said Cyanne Loyle with the Initiative Against Economic Globalization, which had organized the mass demonstrations Tuesday intended to echo those at financial meetings in Seattle and Washington. Street protests raged a day earlier, with activists throwing Molotov cocktails and rocks at riot police, who responded with tear gas and water cannons. The fighting left more than 70 people injured, including 55 police officers.

Police said Wednesday they believed 12,000 protesters had been on hand, far more than the estimate of 5,000 they used Tuesday. Top IMF and World Bank officials insisted the demonstrators had it all wrong - that the agencies are not the enemies of the world's 2.8 billion poor but the biggest lenders to poor countries needing cash infusions. Representatives from the 182 assembled nations tried to give their own spin on the protests, saying images of hooded anarchists hurling rocks at black-clad riot police did not taint the image of the Washington-based lending groups.

That's despite the fact that turmoil trails their meetings, with anti-globalization activists wreaking havoc at the spring gathering in Washington.

''This has been an exception rather than the rule,'' IMF spokesman William Murray said early Wednesday. ''We found the actions Tuesday in Prague
deplorable.'' IMF and World Bank officials have been scrambling to refashion the annual program to place greater emphasis on poverty reduction, hoping to blunt claims that two giant bureaucracies exist mainly to do the bidding of the rich countries holding a majority of voting shares.

World Bank President James Wolfensohn and IMF Managing Director Horst Koehler insisted Tuesday their institutions have heeded the calls of responsible
critics for reform and more openness. But some delegates said that's not enough, and expressed sympathy for the protesters. ''It helps bring the cause to the forefront and helps public opinion in the countries where it matters,'' said Mawampanga Mwana Nanga, IMF governor from the Congo, a country buried in $18 billion in foreign debt. Nanga said it was especially important to be vocal in rich countries such as the United States, saying violence was sometimes needed to wake them from their slumber.

A delegate from tiny Papua New Guinea, watching the smoke drift across the city, said he felt the demonstrators had a point in trying to raise the awareness of poverty issues. ''We are hoping the developing world will be listened to,'' said Vele Iamo.

http://no-racism.net/old/s26/action/27_09_prag.htm

oxford mushroom SG

In case readers are not aware of the history of violence at such meetings, here's an article from the BBC:

"Protest and violence seem to have become a ritual at most of the recent international political or economic gatherings. BBC News Online looks back at the main incidents.

Seattle, December 1999:
The third World Trade Organisation ministerial talks collapsed after delegates failed to reach agreement on a new round of international trade agreements.

On the streets of Seattle, a wide range of protesters battled for three days with riot police, at times bringing the WTO talks to a standstill.

Damage: $3m, with business losses of more than $10m
Arrests: 500 people
Protests: More than 100,000 marched on the conference. Most demonstrations were peaceful, but there was a hardcore of anarchists seeking confrontation with police. The authorities dealt severely, even with peaceful protesters, who interfered with the running of the conference.
Security measures: A state of civil emergency was declared. A curfew ran for two nights, and plastic bullets, tears gas, pepper spray, truncheons, and water cannon were all used."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/1432012.stm