Foreign NGOs can hold protests but not locals
The Straits Times
March 11, 2005
I AM surprised that the Government has allowed 300 accredited
foreign non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to hold peaceful
protests and demonstrations during the International Monetary Fund
and World Bank Summit to be held in the Republic next year.
This contrasts sharply with the ban that the police imposed on
attempts by ordinary Singaporeans to stage peaceful demonstrations,
particularly in the recent protests against the US war on
Iraq.
More recently, the application for women's groups to hold a walk in
support of the White Ribbon Campaign on violence against women was
also denied. In reply to a query by a foreign journalist recently,
Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong stated that Singapore is too small to
allow public protests and demonstrations which would have clogged
the streets.
While I am not against these NGOs, I am disappointed that the
Government is practising double standards by allowing foreigners to
stage demonstrations, a right rarely granted to Singaporeans.
Liew Kai Khiun
London, United Kingdom
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And we wonder why us locals feel so aggreived.This is clear
equivocation and a sham.
