LI leader supports calls on IBA to press Singapore Government on Rule of Law
London 4, October 2007
LI President, Lord Alderdice, has thrown his support behind a resolution to the 60th Anniversary International Bar Association Conference in Singapore, calling on the IBA to press the Singapore Government on their persecution of freedom advocates in the country. Lord Alderdice, who has previously spoken out on this issue and also raised the issue through the House of Lords, said:
'I welcome the decision of the the International Bar Association to have their conference in Singapore because it will give this prestigious and powerful body of lawyers from around the world an unparalleled opportunity to raise with the Singapore authorities the injustice of the policy of using the courts and the legal system, not to protect but to oppress their own people and close down all freedom in the country. The Singapore Government's policies have impacted brutally on opposition politicians, attempting to intimidate into silence all criticism of an increasingly authoritarian government. The Government has done all possible to prevent freedom advocates from communicating actively with colleagues around the world.
The IBA is bringing the legal world to Singapore, and I trust that they will use their influence to prise open the windows of freedom of speech, which is of course in the long-term interests, not only of our colleagues in Singapore, but of the country itself.'
The Resolution
THIS RESOLUTION calls on the IBA which is holding its prestigious annual
conference in Singapore from October 14-19, 2007, to take an unequivocal
stand on the human rights violations and curtailment of democratic
development in Singapore. Such a stand is consistent with principles outlined
in the IBA's 2005 Resolution on the Rule of Law adopted in Prague.
Appreciative of the effort made by the IBA to hold the Rule of Law Symposium
during its annual conference and opening the attendance to members of the
public in Singapore;
Concerned that there are several outstanding cases of criminal prosecution and
police investigation against democracy activists for speaking in public and
for holding public gatherings in Singapore;
Aware of the on-going defamation suits against the Singapore Democratic Party
(SDP) and the Far Eastern Economic Review by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong
and Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew as well as numerous past cases of defamation
suits brought on by ruling People's Action Party leaders and officials
against members of opposition parties;
Vexed by the continued ban on SDP Secretary-General Chee Soon Juan's travel
overseas as well as the disbarment of his standing for elections as a result
of his bankruptcy from repeated defamation suits;
Alarmed at the award of summary judgments to the PAP plaintiffs in defamation
lawsuits in 2001 and 2006 involving Chee Soon Juan, Chee Siok Chin and the
SDP, and the con-sistent and repeated awarding of cases to the Singapore
Government and the PAP in court cases by the Judiciary;
Noting the use of detention without trial on political dissidents and the
intimidation of released political prisoners;
Wary that there is no independent election commission and that elections are
conducted by the Elections Department which is supervised by the Prime
Minister's Office;
Saddened by the control of the media through state-owned companies like
MediaCorp and the Singapore Press Holdings as well as the ban on political
films and videos;
Observing that Singapore has yet to ratify the United Nation's International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR);
Regretting that one of the objectives of the IBA's Rule of Law Symposium on 19
October 2007 is to give participants 'a clear understanding of the Asian
perspective of the Rule of Law.'
NOW THEREFORE THAT WE, the undersigned, call on the IBA to:
Express its concern at the abuse of human rights by the Singapore government
and the lack of respect for the rule of law in Singapore;
Urge the Singapore government to practice the rule of law and not the rule by
law by signing and ratifying the ICCPR;
Call on the Singapore government to respect the universality of human rights
as en-shrined in the UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Meet with Singaporean dissidents and victims of the Singapore Government's
human rights violations and invite them to speak at the Rule of Law
Symposium.
Reject the notion of the 'Asian perspective' of the Rule of Law and reaffirm
its commitment to the universal concept of the Rule of Law.
Inform its members of the human rights situation in Singapore by posting this
resolution on its website.
Signed,
Mr Carl Gershman
President
National Endowment for Democracy
www.ned.org
Ms Ayo Obe
Member (Nigeria) and Chair, Steering Committee
World Movement for Democracy
www.wmd.org
Mr Richard Rowson
President
Council for Community of Democracies
www.ccd21.org
Lord John Alderdice
President
Liberal International
www.liberal-international.org
Mr Ted Piccone
Executive Director
Democracy Coalition Project
www.demcoalition.org
Mr Sean Carroll
Program Director
Club of Madrid
www.clubmadrid.org
Mr Vincent Brossel
Head of the Asia Desk
Reporters Without Borders
www.rsf.org
Mr Graham Watson
Member
European Parliament
www.grahamwatsonmep.org
Mr. Neric Acosta
Secretary General
Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats
www.cald.org
Ms Emily Lau
Member, Legislative Council
Frontier Party, Hong Kong
www.emilylau.org.hk
Mr Sam Rainsy
Opposition Leader
Member of Parliament
Sam Rainsy Party, Cambodia
www.samrainsyparty.org
Ms Tioulong Saumura
Member of Parliament
Sam Rainsy Party, Cambodia
www.samrainsyparty.org
Mr. Wang Dan
Leader, Tiananmen Square Protest
Member, Steering Committee
Alliance for Reform and Democracy in Asia
www.asiademocracy.org
Mr. Larry Diamond
Board Member
National Endowment for Democracy
www.ned.org
Ms Cecilia Wigstrom
Member of Parliament
Liberal Party, Sweden
www.riksdagen.se
Dr. Herta Däubler-Gmelin
Chairperson
Committee of Human Rights and Humanitarian Aid
German Parliament
http://www.bundestag.de
Mr. Basil Fernando
Executive Director of the Asian Human Rights Commission
and the Asian Legal Resource Cetnre
www.ahrchk.net
Mr. Bo Tedards
Co-ordinator
World Movement for Democracy in Asia
www.wfda.net
Ms May-sing Yang
Vice president
Taiwan Foundation for Democracy
www.tfd.org
Mr. Gus Miclat
Executive Director
Initiatives for international Dialogue
www.iidnet.org
Mr. Timothy Cooper
Executive Director
Worldrights
www.world-rights.org
Mr. Fred Lubang
Regional Representative
Nonviolence International
www.nonviolenceinternational.net
Ambassador Julio A. Jeldres
Chairman of the Khmer Institute of Democracy www.bigpond.com.kh/
Mr. Matteo Mecacci
Vice-President of the Senate, UN Representative
Nonviolent Radical Party, Transnational and Transparty www.radicalparty.org
Mr. Sivarasa Rasiah
Vice President
Parti Kaedilan Rakyat, Malaysia
www.keadilanrakyat.org
Mr. Chua Tian Chang
Chief Information Officer
Parti Kaedilan Rakyat, Malaysia
www.keadilanrakyat.org
Mr. Law Yuk Kai
Executive Director
Hong Kong Human Rights Monitor
www.hkhrm.org.hk
Mr. Roby Alamplay
Executive Director
Southeast Asian Press Alliance
www.seapabkk.org
Dr Richard A. Deck
Richard A. Deck, Chair, Political and Collaboration Committee, and Co-Chair, By-laws Committee Burmese American Democratic Alliance www.badasf.org
Dr Vo Van Ai
President,
Quê Me: Action for Democracy in Vietnam
www.queme.net
Ms Penelope Faulkner
Vice-President,
Vietnam Committee on Human Rights
www.queme.net
Mr Princewill Akpakpan
Head
Legal/ Litigation Unit
Civil Liberties Organisation, Nigeria
www.africaaction.org
Mr. David Matas
Chair
Canadian Helsinki Watch Group
www.ihf-hr.org
Mike Mitchell
Orion Strategies
Washington, D. C.
http://www.manta.com/coms2/dnbcompany_754jc
Dr. Paul Scott
Member, Steering Committee
Alliance for Reform and Democracy in Asia
www.asiademocracy.org
Mr. Ramon Casiple
Executive Director
Institute for Political and Electoral Reform (IPER)
Philippines
www.iper.org.ph
IBA resolution