Media Release: A peaceful protest abruptly stopped

Singapore Democrats
15 Mar 08

Today is the World Consumer Rights Day. The Consumer Association of Singapore (CASE) is organising a special event tomorrow (16 March 2008, Sunday) to "promote the basic rights of all consumers", and to "raise the profile of the consumer rights movement in Singapore".

True to the cause championed by CASE, the SDP also organised a peaceful "Tak Boleh Tahan!" protest today, similarly fashioned to last year's CASE event during which crowd wearing specially designed T-shirts congregated in front the Parliament House, holding various placards in their hands, then walked around the Singapore River, etc.

There were about 20 odd people participating in today's event, wearing the red T-shirts with the words "Tak Boleh Tahan" in white. In addition, there was a contingent of children holding red balloons, walking side by side with the grown-ups or being pushed along in their baby strollers.

In front of the Parliament House, the group also highlighted the recent price hikes by displaying an array of consumer goods which included a loaf of "no-frilled" bread, a pack of rice, a tin of Milo, instant noodles, biscuits, condense milk and cooking oil, etc.

The atmosphere was pleasant and joyful until the police showed up to gave the protesters their warnings, and asked them to disperse or risked being arrested.

Apparently uneasy with those images and messages prominently featured on the placards, the police tried to seize them from the protesters. As the group proceeded towards the Funan Centre, plain-clothes police surrounded the protesters and started making their arrests.

While the protesters locked their arms together to safeguard their properties, the police picked the first protester, forcefully pulled him out from the tightly inter-locked group, and swiftly dragged him to one of the police vans parked nearby. Then they went back to work on their 2nd victim. Making their arrests one by one, it took the police several rounds of spectacles in front of a big crowd of onlookers gathered around to finish their most important job of the day.

Finally, about 15 protesters, including Ms Chee Siok Chin were bundled into the police vans and sent to the Cantonment Police headquarters. Later on, when some family members of protesters went to the police HQ and tried to find out more about the list of people getting arrested and their charges, the police refused to give any information.

Meanwhile, lawyer M Ravi is representing the group when the protesters continued to be held up for holding a peaceful protest until they were abruptly stopped by the police by force.
   
http://www.singaporedemocrat.org/articleWCRDprotest13.html

PHOTOS: Singapore Police Manhandle & Drag Away Peaceful Protesters

http://pseudonymity.wordpress.com/2008/03/15/photos-singapore-police-manhandle-drag-away-peaceful-protesters/

A personal account of a peaceful protestor before Parliament House, Singapore, March 15, 2008, to commemorate World Human Rights Day.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

As you are aware, approximately 20 peaceful protesters had gathered in front of Parliament House Singapore on March 15, 2008 to protest against the government's consumer goods price hikes and lack of human rights. Despite the fact that the Constitution specifically allows for peaceful assembly, the government had denied their request for a permit to conduct it, and had used force to disperse and arrest these peaceful men and women in circumstances no different than that of Nazi Germany.

The following account of the incident is that of Mr. Chia Ti Lik, a lawyer whose address and contact is as follows, Chia Ngee Thuang & Co, 24 Peck Seah Street #05-09/11 Nehsons Building, S(079314); Tel:62259983; Fax:62237856; Email: mailto:62237856ngeethuangc@hotmail.com

Mr. Chia is one of the growing number of Singaporeans, a true patriot, who sees the need for democratic change for him and his family; a realization that business as normal according to the terms of Lee Kuan Yew will not do; and he is prepared as one true citizen to say his piece because it his his right to do it.

I had been honored to meet Mr. Chia Ti Lik, Attorney at Law, personally in Singapore during my last trip there in November 2006.

I was deeply moved to read his account and so I post it here. Mr. Chia, I admire you and with your courage, I truly believe that others will see the need for action and with increased speed, we will see a true Singapore; a Singapore that my father believed in as well as I.

Thank you.

Gopalan Nair

A personal account of Mr. Chia Ti Lik, Attorney at Law:

My thoughts at this moment at 2341hrs on the events of the day.

I had started out feeling enthusiastic about the protest which i was about to take part today. Early awakening in the morning and thereafter straight for a breakfast with a couple of friends.

We found ourselves under cloudy weather when we arrived near the venue. After a while of speaking around, we proceeded towards Parliament House. There were probably about 25 to 30 of us. Excluding the children that were brought by their parents.

Straightaway, the seasoned eye of an activist spots a total of about 8 plain clothes policemen lurking around to do surveillance. The police and the administration were clearly rattled by the intention to protest in front of parliament house.

To me this was a symbolic gesture. As Parliament has failed Singapore in failing to keep the Cabinet in check, a protest by people from all walks of life in Singapore would bring them down a peg or two and for them to start listening to the people. I prided myself for being able to pluck up the courage to join in this protest.

After photos and interviews were taken by the local and foreign press on the paraphernalia and purpose of the protest, placards included. ASP William Goh, fearful of being identified as a police officer, failed to appear in his uniform. ASP William Goh made a hasty introduction of himself and asked for us to disperse from the the Parliament House. Dr. Chee Soon Juan and Gandhi Ambalam agreed and started walking across the road towards Funan Centre.

There in front of Funan Centre, we were accosted again by a sweaty and panicky ASP William Goh who now demanded that the placards to be surrendered and if the placards were not surrendered, arrests would be made.

Uncle Yap challenged the police to state which law the protesters broke and why was it that they had to hand over the placards. Uncle Yap was covering the event with a camera of his. Kaixiong and Dr. Chee tried to reason with the ASP and was getting nowhere. The ASP began uttering gibberish - about something about the Parliament being gazetted as a protected area and about the placards which must be surrendered. The police officers blocked our way for a good 10 minutes or so ironically preventing us from dispersing from the vicinity of the Parliament.

I asked the ASP to see reason as the protest was an entirely peaceful one and that there were many Singaporeans affected by price hikes which the ruling party has indirectly and directly caused and that it was totally unremorseful about. I told the ASP that given the number of reporters around, it would be a public relations debacle for the Government Administration if Mas Selamat Kastari remained on the loose and Police resources were freely used to stifle dissenting voices for the benefit of the ruling PAP. This argument won no ground.

After a couple of minutes more, when the police reinforcements arrived, they acted. ASP William Goh ignored our pleas that the protest was a peaceful one and that it was concerned with the welfare of all Singaporeans. ASP William Goh ordered the arrest of Uncle Yap. Uncle Yap passed his camera to me. The Police tried to grab it and i passed it to someone else. We locked arms. One by one using police officers, they tried to pry as apart. The regime has in fact resorted to softening its hardline approach by using non uniformed police officers and non uniformed women to do the dirty job of arresting protesters. None of them were in uniform.

From the corner of my eye, i saw that the police vans were ready to take us away. Our grip became tighter. So were the number of hands and arms on us pulling our grip apart.

I had probably 4 or 5 female officers pulling my arms apart from I think was SDP’s Ghandi. I ended up facing away from Dr. Chee but yet locked arms with him. I was on Dr. Chee’s left. John Tan was on his right. Soon we were overpowered. I was led to one van only to find Siok Chin being manhandled into the van. For some reason or the other then they then decided to put me in another van. I ended up being trussed by two policewomen into a police van with Dr. Chee, Kaixiong, Sylvester, Seelan. It was only inside the van that the officers were uniformed. There were 3 officers, all Staff Sergeants - seasoned men. Seelan was dragged all the way in, dragged face down onto the van floor. The debacle was seen by hundreds of onlookers. This was happening in Singapore.

Inside the van, i sat opposite an officer. He forbade me from using my phone be it to call or to receive calls. The reporters were still outside the van, there were many people watching. There was also a traffic police on a motorbike who had stopped the traffic. It was a real spectacle. Amidst all these, i found tears welling in my eyes.

I was surprised, was it the humiliation? Was there any shame? For a lawyer to be trussed up into a police van watched by hundreds and with cameras rolling? I searched myself. Yes it was shame. But it was not mine.

The shame i felt was Singapore’s shame. Of a situation and plight where people can no longer speak and assemble freely in their own country. How has our island whom we are taught to live love and die for become a place where the citizens who are expected to carry the burden are treated lesser than the foreigners who come in and who are deemed to have no reason to be speaking up against their own government?

We have a place which can no longer be called a country. Singapore has been twisted into a macabre contortion by the People’s Action Party. To live life and pay up AND shut up. I held back the tears, there was no reason for the tears to fall in a regime’s police van for the word Police, its emblem and its uniforms no longer held any meaning. This was a police force which allows the PAP’s subsidiaries e.g. CASE conduct similar protests with impunity. This was a police force that showed restraint against protesting foreigners. This was the same police force that let Mas Selamat Kastari loose. This was the same police force that accosted and bundled up Singaporean activists into police vans.

My tears were too sacred for them to have contact with the defiling instruments of the regime . I held back my emotions. Dr. Chee joked abit as we backed out into Coleman Street before heading towards Police Cantonment Complex. Kaixiong broke into a song along the way.

I thought about the state of which this country was in and the position a citizen was in vis-a-vis a foreigner and the State. The verdict was depressing. We were mere digits. To be enslaved. To be taxed. To be bled. AND to be silenced.

The time is 0040hrs 16th March 2008. It has been a long day. I will recite the events at the Police Station in Part 2.

http://singaporedissident.blogspot.com/2008/03/personal-account-of-peaceful-protestor.html

Hurrah for human rights activists on March 15, 2008 2 pm in front of Parliament house Singapore. My admiration and congratulations go out to you.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Firstly my congratulations to the peaceful protestors of March 15, 2008 on World Consumer Rights day in front of Parliament House Singapore. An excellent job. Well done.

By your action, you have just caused Lee Kuan Yew and the government of his son even more problems than they already have.

In this war that goes on in Singapore, the forces of democracy are advancing bit by bit, moving ahead while the Lee family who run Singapore are losing day by day.

The state owned and controlled media, Channellnewsasia, just as all the other news media is owned and controlled by the Singapore government carried a story, "Chee Soon Juan and 20 others stage protest outside Parliament", 15th March 2008. This Singapore government newspaper whose principle activity is to disseminate propaganda favorable to the government reports that 20 persons including Dr. Chee Soon Juan of the Singapore Democratic Party staged a protest outside Parliament House on Saturday afternoon, March 15, 2008. At this point, we have to stop and correct the misinformation. It was not 20 people. It was 50! So you have got a lie right there for you!

The reporter for this state controlled newspaper Hasnita A Majid, who works for this newspaper as a purveyor of propaganda, perhaps because she can't find any other job, writes that Dr. Chee and others ignored repeated warnings to stop the "unlawful assembly".

Wait a minute. Another blatant lie. The assembly was not unlawful at all. The Constitution of Singapore specifically guarantees the right of assembly. It is the government trying to disperse it that is illegal. Not Dr. Chee and his friends who are in the legitimate exercise of their constitutional rights.

She writes that "police officers faced resistance from some of the members of the group who struggled and locked their arms together. Police equipment including a police radio set was damaged". I am not surprised at this at all. Surely these peaceful protestors are only exercising their rights to defend themselves against police brutality and illegal acts. The police should expect their equipment to be damaged since they can expect peaceful citizens to resist the illegal actions of this police force acting to protect Lee Kuan Yew and his illegal regime.

In fact, it is the government that should compensate these peaceful protestors for any damage they had suffered and Mr. M Ravi, Attorney at Law, who is reported to be legal counsel for these protestors; should take up the challenge and file a lawsuit for compensation for his clients.

This reporter or rather propaganda disseminator, for want of a better term, Hasnita A Majid reports that Miss Chee Siok Chin, a committee member of the Singapore Democratic Party and the sister of Dr. Chee "tried to bite a female officer when the latter tried to arrest her". Now tell me who wouldn’t when one is falsely being arrested and detained! A man would have hit the female officer. A woman bites. But the reaction is not only expected, it is also justified. I would have hit her, no doubt about it.

This reporter Majid goes on to say that Dr. Chee has held "unlawful demonstrations" in the past and that this is not the first time; whereas in this instance Dr. Chee and the others had escalated their defiance and had begun to use standard militant protest methods by locking arms. I am pleased that Dr. Chee and his friends have become more defiant and have deliberately resisted arrest. There is nothing wrong in resisting an unlawful arrest as in this case. Such resistance is not only justified; it is honorable.

This propaganda agent says that the attack by Ms. Chee Siok Chin will be investigated. I think we all expect that of this government. Ms. Chee, I and almost everyone else who understands Singapore knows that the government will investigate, and file charges. How much good it will do them is uncertain.

And now comes a blatant unashamed lie by Hasnita A Majid. I will reproduce the entire sentences here. She says "Police said Chee had earlier applied for a police permit to hold a protest rally. But this "was an empty gesture, as a subsequent posting on SDP's website indicated that SDP intended to proceed with the rally on March 15, at 2 pm even though the permit was not obtained."

Anyone with any understanding of Singapore law as well as the English language full well knows that Hasnita A Majid is unashamedly telling a shameless lie here. The facts are clear. There was no "empty gesture" on the part of Dr. Chee at all.

Dr. Chee did apply for a permit to hold the rally, even though Dr. Chee as well as I know that both the requirement of a permit and the law itself is illegal. Dr. Chee could have, if he wanted to, gone ahead with the rally without even applying at all. Singapore is governed, or at least it is supposed to be, governed by the Constitution. The Constitution is the supreme law. Any law that violates the constitution is illegal unless a compelling reason can be shown for the law. Dr. Chee had applied, even though he did not have to, for a permit under the Public Order Act. His application was illegally denied. There was no legal basis for denying it.

In 2007, CASE, an organ of the Lee Administration had held a protest at that very location. Furthermore Dr. Chee’s was a peaceful protest. There was not a single possibility that anyone could have been harmed by this peaceful protest.

Since this government has abused the law by denying this permit, as they routinely do, Dr. Chee subsequent to this, announced that he will go ahead anyway, without the permit. In these circumstances why was Dr. Chee's application for a permit an empty gesture? Dr. Chee was trying to comply even with an unjust law. Since he was disallowed his lawful right to protest, he went ahead anyway. Not an "empty gesture" at all.

She then finishes with this sentence" Police reiterated that no one is above the law." I totally agree with her, by pointing out that this Lee Kuan Administration is also not above the law, and I hope that the police will understand that. The Constitution of Singapore applies to them as well as Dr. Chee. It gives Dr. Chee the right to peaceful assembly. Please respect that right keeping in mind that Lee Kuan Yew and the Singapore government are not above the law.

The good news is this. In this clash between these civic minded protestors and this government trying to impose unacceptable repressive laws, the loser each time is Lee Kuan Yew and his son's government.

Singapore is a small country with 3 million people or so. It is reliant on an educated workforce, in the English language. It is not a rice growing country of peasants. By now Singaporeans, especially the educated ones, are becoming more and more aware of how people in other western countries live, such as in Australia. They too want the same freedoms that others have. They know there is nothing wrong with peaceful protests. It happens all the time in Sydney, Melbourne or London. Why then should they not be allowed the same freedoms, they ask?

Singaporeans are already fed up with Lee Kuan Yew and his son's arrogance. They have decided to leave. Emigrate. As you are aware, massive emigration is hurting Singapore, emigration of the most educated and capable. With the news of the arrests of these peaceful protestors, another 1000 educated and capable people will join the line for Australia. This hurts Singapore.

Singapore’s lawyer population has remained stagnant for the last 10 years. 10 years ago, there were 3,200 lawyers. Today we have the same number. No one wants to enter the law. The reason is the lack of the rule of law. With the news of these arrests of these innocent people, a further hundred will immediately leave the profession. No matter what; whether it is more money, scholarships, working from home, working part time and all manner of desperate attempts to stem the decline in numbers, lawyers are leaving the profession and no one is joining. This latest news of the arrests will only increase the resignations even further.

The Civil Service does not have manpower. The army barracks are empty because no children are being born for national service. Good honest reporters are leaving the news media in Singapore leaving behind dishonest ones such as this Hasnita A Majid.

I hope Dr. Chee will continue to hold protests. One for UN Day, one for Children’s Day, for Christmas Day, for May Day, for Dr. Chee’s birth day, one for my birthday, whatever. And provoke this government to make more and more mistakes until their government becomes untenable when they will have no choice but to see reason.


From the government position, I can only see 2 alternatives. Either they arrest Dr. Chee and shoot him like Lee Kuan Yew's friends do in other dictatorships or they should stop this stupidity and come to their senses. They should realize that Dr. Chee and the movement for change are unstoppable. These arrests and releasing them a week later will not do any good. It will only embolden them, whereas at the same time the government suffers from the converse effects of their actions.

With the continuing decline of educated people from Singapore resultant on this government’s stupidity, you will find that almost everyone with any brains have left.

Leaving behind the likes of this reporter Hasnita A Majid and recent immigrants from Communist China who neither speak nor write English. And of course we cannot forget the Peidu Mama with their infant children from Communist China who are educated in Singapore at government expense while these mothers, on condition they are good looking, work in massage parlors or other places of disrepute!

I hope I am not being too presumptuous, or too arrogant to say that I believe the large turn out was partly due to my writing in this blog urging both Singaporeans and foreigners alike to show their solidarity and protest to exercise their constitutional right of free assembly.

Gopalan Nair

http://singaporedissident.blogspot.com/2008/03/hurrah-for-human-rights-activists-on.html

I have to disagree with the remaining Singaporeans being stupid. They are being bought like whores.

If Lee Kuan Yew dies, I wonder whether this disgraceful behaviour will end.

I don't see a reason why a peaceful protest cannot be held.

I don't understand Lee Kuan Yew at all.

What a sad bastard.

Lies from the police
Singapore Democrats
16 Mar 08

The media statement put out by the police today demonstrates again that there is no level to which they will not stoop in order to cover up the fact that they are used by the PAP for political purposes.

"Police alerted by members of public"

Does it expect the public to believe that they only acted on our protest yesterday because they "received calls members of the public"?

It is clear that plainclothes police officers were in the background monitoring and videotaping the protest activity right from the very beginning. (See photos A and B)

Besides the SDP had made an application for the protest two-and-a-half months ago on 28 Dec 07 and announced that we would proceed with the protest.

But the police expects us to buy their line that they were tipped off by members of the public about our protest.

Given such a scenario, the police are either lying or showing extreme incompetence. We concede that it is difficult to tell which is more predominant given the recent fiasco over the Mas Selamat escape.

Chee Siok Chin tried to bite officer

The police statement also said that "one of the protesters, Chee Siok Chin had tried to bite a female police officer when the latter tried to arrest her" and described her action as an "attack" on the police.

This is a complete lie. At no time did Ms Chee do anything of such a nature. There are photographs showing Ms Chee being led away by officers and it is clear that she remained calm and carried herself with dignity (See Photo C).

In addition, the police were videotaping the arrests. If they have evidence of Ms Chee attempting to bite or attack anyone, please produce it.

It is clear that the police are trying to demonise the only female protester who was arrested. Ms Chee has shown great courage and fortitude, and will remain an inspiration to many who want to see freedom and justice in Singapore.

Laws equal to all

The police say that "our laws apply equally to all." If our laws really apply equally to all then just answer one simple question: CASE can, SDP cannot. Why?

http://www.singaporedemocrat.org/articleWCRDprotest15.html

their courage is admirable...

i seem to be asking this alot

but are you seriously outraged that lawbreakers were stopped?

I like the question posed by this Reuters reporter, "is the holding of a placard against the law in Singapore".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4KyEE0R9Rc

no it's not

but you of all people should know that big groups hanging out in public is.

Originally posted by deathbait:

no it's not

 

but you of all people should know that big groups hanging out in public is.

then sgforums or class outings how leh? More than 20 people le wor.

permits can be granted

What you should be asking is. Were they granted a permit? Did they even try to get one? If so, did they hold the rally even AFTER being told not to?

Someone here must be extremely naive.

Last year Worker's Party wanted to apply a permit for their cycling event in the East Coat Parkway,

to commemorate the Worker's Party anniversary, it was rejected by the police without much thought.

Here you have a bozo suggesting that Dr. Chee should apply a police permit for his gathering.

Maybe your post is better suited for the Jokes and Humour forum.

Image edited.pl read Tibet thread in this Speaker Corner.

Is it personal attacks or protest on policies?

While there are many people not joining the protest agree on

what CSJ and gang protest,i dunt think they agree LHL played in this way.

Like other human being,LHL also need face and some respects.

2.BTW,do all u guys believe he is the ONLY ONE formulate all these polices?If u believe,u are a little bit of naive.

3.I wander why the police was so generous allowed them marched to the gate of Parliment and let the photo taken.

Were they granted a permit?

PAP events sure can get permit.

opposition parties events, I think you can try to wait for gold to fall from the sky, it's more possible.

Next GE will be a good chance to deal a blow to the PAP.

I hope opposition will contest all seats.

I think PAP will start their propaganda activities by the end of next year to build up the momentum to the GE.

Opposition must be ready to counter this propaganda.

The last election in 2006, I was activated to do security coverage at a nomination centre which was a school premises. That was a weekend. When PAP nominees turn up and prepared to go into the area where the nomination took place, which happened to be the school assembly hall, all eyes were like on them. Press local and foreign, and supporters of PAP turned up.

Subsequently, the SDP came. Excluding the nominee, there were less than 10 persons. A few journalists approached them. No one cheered. That constituency later had a PAP victory.

Those who really think that SDP and Chee are heroes, where were you when they made their calls for the sunday rally? When you are in the voting room casting your votes, at places where SDP contested, who did your votes goes to? If so many ppl really supported them, then I must be confused that day. All those cheering must be cheering for the SDP. Support is not only by words. You can support through your acts. You can support through your votes. So, SDP supporters, where are you?

How come Low cheng Kiang (not sure how to spell his name in English) and Chiam Si Tong are still holding onto their constituency, whereas the SDP never won before? They aint PAP. Guess that's because voters have eyes to see and mind to judge for themselves too.

SDP fared badly because its image has been tarnished by the PAP. SDP is stronger so pap is worried that they will win the election, so pap went all out to destroy it, just like mm lee destroyed JBJ.pap is a crook party.They worried they lost ,so by all means, they have to fix the oppositions. They knew that in 1987, the oppositions were very strong, so they cooked up the marxist theory to catch the oppositions.Following that they created GRC to make sure they win. They will find fault to the oppositions by checking their account, income tax and charge them even there is a $2 discreapancy in the taxi fare (CSJ) case. But are they really honest people, that we don't know because we don't have access to their book.

Comparatively, in Malaysia, the police are more tolerent no doubt protest is ban also, they sometimes allow protesters to protest for a while before asking them to disperse. Saturday's incident really made singapoere a shameful country.

The police will continue to arrest and make SDP out to be "bad people" or unlawful. If for nothing else, as a deterrent to others who are slightly fearful of legal reprecussions when they toy with the idea of joining the protests. I dare say if SDP is not arrested for 3 protests in a row, numbers will grow dramatically. Hence, the govt cannot afford not arresting them, even if they have to do so on charges that dont stick well. I guess they have weighed the pros and cons, "arrest, look abit like a bully, but deterring all but only the most determined protestors."

Well what do u expect from PAP's puppets?

t_a_s: Harbans Singh must be really good opposition!

maurizio13: If cycling cannot, no need to think of protest. WP end up cancel their cycling, find out PAP also got a cycling! PAP also cancel their cycling. Sia Suay! but SDP go ahead.

Originally posted by maurizio13:

 

Someone here must be extremely naive.

 

Last year Worker's Party wanted to apply a permit for their cycling event in the East Coat Parkway,

to commemorate the Worker's Party anniversary, it was rejected by the police without much thought.

 

Here you have a bozo suggesting that Dr. Chee should apply a police permit for his gathering.

Maybe your post is better suited for the Jokes and Humour forum.

 

 

ah ha!

so by your logic, applying for permission to rob the bank is an exercise in futility. That makes it right for me to rob a bank.

CSJ is a thorn in PAP's side. He just won't go into exile.

Will PAP attempt to label CSJ as insane and lock him up?

As far as PAP is concerned, CSJ is a threat.

Yes or no?