The official guideline for the "indoor protests", entitled "Guidelines For The Use By Civil Society Organisations of the Designated Area Within Suntec Singapore" from the Singapore 2006 website.
They call this a protest? What a joke...
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Abstracts -
Some Do's and Don'ts when using the designated area
Do: Keep both your IMF/WB and designated area passes visible
at all times.
Do: Keep the noise to an acceptable level. For this reason, sound
amplification systems should not be used.
Do: Be appropriately attired at all times and respect the cultural
sensitivities of all participants to the Annual Meetings.
Do: Keep all activities within the designated area
Do: Keep the designated area free of food or drinks.
Do: Avoid moving any of the barricades marking out the
designated area.
Don't: Burn anything as part of the gathering.
Don't: Display anything or behave in a manner that would:
a. Provoke a breach of the peace;
b. Cause alarm or distress;
c. Offend religious or racial/ethnic sensitivities; or
d. Be prejudicial to the security of Singapore.
Due to safety concerns for persons in Suntec Singapore, we will not allow certain items to be brought into Suntec Singapore. Such items include wooden and metal poles or wooden cut-outs. Upon request and subject to availability, substitute materials will be made available to hold up banners and placards.
With all these ridiculous restrictions on free expression (especially the one that says, "Don't: Display anything or behave in a manner that would:
ReplyDeletea. Provoke a breach of the peace;"), is it any wonder that many foreign CSOs have chosen to boycott the meetings in Singapore?
don't forget the police statement on the news saying that the area allotted to the protesters would be "roughly the size of a badminton court". i laughed at that one.
ReplyDeleteSo... I guess a rock concert is out of the question then?
ReplyDeleteMan, what a bunch of squares...
"Take away the right to say fuck and you take away the right to say fuck the government!"— Lenny Bruce
who would want to have demo with this kind of restrictions; I think the place must be quite deserted
ReplyDeleteSame rules goes for the buffet dinner.
ReplyDeletethe place was deserted; what a bore
ReplyDeleteThe World Bank and the IMF leaders
ReplyDeleteand the leaders/visit from the other countries should boycott any further sessions if they value feedback from the 'voiceless' sections of the world.
We have seen how world policies have been finetuned with valuable feedback from the civil socities many of which are run by prominent and educated people include Nobel laureates, etc...So we cannot afford to ignore their voice, too.
THEY CAN CUT THEIR STAY SHORT.
(rather than giving press statements that smacks of their own insincerity or even hypocrisy)
THE WORLD PRESS SHOULD ALSO BOYCOTT THIS EVENT, as it makes them a mockery of being part of this event.
This is a world event NOT a Local event to feed some local agenda or boost our self-image.
It backfired!!!!