"A kiss-in on Valentine's Day would be fun!" quipped gay Singaporean playwright Ng Yi-Sheng when asked by Fridae if he has heard about outdoor demonstrations being permitted at one of the city's parks from Sept 1.
At a press conference on Monday, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and the National Parks Board (NParks) - when asked by reporters - said that outdoor gay pride events will be allowed at the Speakers' Corner in Hong Lim Park, reported Today newspaper. The corner was specifically created in 2000 for political speeches and speakers have to register in advance with the Police. From Sept, the corner will come under the purview of NParks.
Under Singapore law, any public protest of five or more people without a permit is deemed illegal.
With the changes, demonstrators now need only to register online at the NParks website prior to the event. Permanent residents (PRs) will be allowed to participate but they have to apply for a permit if they wish to give a speech or organise a protest themselves. Foreigners however must obtain a permit from the police in advance if they wish to organise or participate in any events. Demonstrators wanting to cover issues such as race and religion are still required to obtain a police permit.
Although organisers will need to furnish their personal details, the date and nature of the event and the topic, NParks's chief operating officer, Dr Leong Chee Chiew says that they will not "do screening and make sure you speak on what you said you will speak on."
"But if you give information, you must know you're accountable for it. Our primary motivation is to keep Speakers' Corner for use in as well-maintained conditions as possible... If there's a need to make good on anything, we can follow up," said Dr Leong.
In Aug 2004, PM Lee announced that permits were no longer required for indoor talks if the speaker is a Singapore citizen and as long as the topic does not deal with race or religion.
Although some members of the gay community such as Ng see the move as providing new opportunities for people to air their concerns, veteran gay activist Alex Au says that he will not organise any protests at the designated venue as the changes are "nowhere near what (he) considers satisfactory, or in any substantial way respectful of our civil rights."
"The freedom to demonstrate is meaningless unless it is applicable to all of Singapore." Au wrote in his blog, Yawningbread.
"I would not dignify this tokenism by organising anything there. It will have to be at a proper place like here at Raffles Place or down a major street, or nothing," Au was quoted as saying on Channel NewsAsia.
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Reader's Comments
Au has said it all...
H-O-O-R-A-Y
It's just people being people - picnicing, protesting, etc etc.
It is a positive step, although comes over as one of those quaint straight persons attempts to be 'gay friendly'.
Such as wearing pink, single earing, talking in a 'queer' loud manner, touching unnecessarily.
Probably they won't take you away, but give you a warning to behave yourself and button up your low cleavage shirt as to not cause discomfort to the majority of the family orientated folks around the parks.
BTW: Singapore in 2010 is hosting its First Youth Olympics.
Time to make some banners, climb some lamppost and H-O-L-L-E-R for your rights!!! (not just in People's Park)
Shame this so called democratically elected goverment in the eyes of the world for blantant discrimination and denial of human rights!
It is commendable that the authorities have not placed any conditions or limitations on the types of demonstrations held (barring those that might be seditious or foment religious intolerance), which to me is the most significant aspect of this change in policy.
Singaporeans have learnt to adapt to our unique environment and rebel (in a controlled manner) for the greater good. This simply opens up yet another channel for expression. Public demonstrations serve many purposes - to coalesce a community, to convey a message, to protest against an injustice. Finally, there is a (legal) way to do these things in Singapore, a civil liberty that has been denied us since independence, and which others in most foreign democracies take for granted as a basic human right.
Congratulatons to everybody who made this all happen....and to Singapore's brave gay campaigners...
We rented a one bed hotel room together. Nobody had a problem.
We visited some of the numerous gay bars and clubs together. Nobody had a problem.
We bought condoms at a convenience store together. Nobody had a problem.
We even sometimes held hands, hugged or kissed in public. Again, nobody had a problem.
In short, we were two obviously gay men who had every intention of breaking the sodomy laws on a daily basis, yet no Singaporean seemed to be the least bit concerned. In fact, I felt much more comfortable being openly gay in Singapore then I do in many countries where it is not illegal to be so.
It seems the conservative government is very out of touch with the attitudes of the people.
All that said, I do think that (baby step though it may be) a step forward should always be applauded. And this is a small step in the right direction.
A concert or conference is USELESS if no one significant attends. So, let them relax all they want, u do your relaxation on a toilet bowl instead. At least that will make u feel much better in the end, and not wind up sitting in a cage similarly for "other invented" misdeameanour.
Ready, pants down everyone with tissues in your hands...I meant, hands down with issues at hand...flush your missiles into cyberspace.
It also reminds me of apartheid South Africa when blacks and coloureds were allowed to do what they liked BUT only in their little corner of the country, segregated from the mainstream White Afrikaans society :-) !
Why do we want to dignify this sort of crappy treatment ?!?!?!?! As Alex Au said, it's ALL or NOTHING :-) !
The march..the flags..surely will be looked forward by the PLUs... cheers!!
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