"In the Pink," a picnic listed on Indignation's calendar of events, has been cancelled after "organisers" were informed by the National Parks Board that its use of the Botanic Gardens for the picnic to be held on Aug 9 - Singapore's national day - has been disallowed.
Miak, the organiser of the event, clarified that he did not apply for a permit as he did not expect a permit to be needed for a picnic.
Last week, Au's photographic exhibition featuring same-sex couples kissing was disallowed by the censors. A lecture focusing on the law and sexual orientation to be delivered Prof Douglas Sanders, professor emeritus at the University of British Columbia and Thailand's prestigious Chulalongkorn University, was not given the go ahead. The organiser has however announced that the event will still go ahead as planned without Prof Sanders's attendance.
The Botanic Gardens web site states that organised activites which involve groups of 30 or more requires written approval.
The decision to not allow any "organised gatherings" has also affected a 5km morning walk and run planned for Aug 11. Runners celebrating the eighth anniversary of the Adventurers Like Us (Adlus), a LGBTS sports group, will now run around the gardens instead of through it like they usually do.
The organiser said in a statement: "The (National Parks) Board is clearly misinformed about the intention of 'In the Pink'; it was meant as no more than a social event for friends from the community. But their misapprehension is not surprising, since anti-gay elements are constantly painting every gay activity as dangerous and subversive."
Explaining why the picnic is being cancelled, Miak said: "Never intending to make the picnic a politicised event in the first place, the organiser does not really want to do so now, even in the face of such provocation by the authorities. Thus, it is deemed wiser to cancel the event and issue this statement instead."
Although the event has been officially cancelled, members of the LGBT community and their families are encouraged to have a picnic at the gardens all the same. The organiser ended his statement saying, "It would be a sad day if the Botanic Gardens were to say that gay people can't stroll or picnic on their grounds simply because they are gay. Or is that what they are saying?"
Other updates about Indignation events:
Tue, 7 Aug: Sexual orientation in international law: the case of Asia Update from organiser at press time: Despite the police refusing a permit for Prof Douglas Sanders to speak - he has since chosen not to visit
Singapore - the event will still go on. The topic may be altered slightly, but will still focus on the law and sexual orientation.
Wed, 8 Aug: Troy Perry, My Life Story
Safehaven is proud to present Rev. Troy Perry, the founder of the Metropolitan Community Church, which now boasts 250 congregations around 23 countries, with a combined congregation of tens of thousands. Troy will be speaking on the Gay Christian witness in the modern world, and what it means to start a new church that is affirming, accepting and supportive of GLBT individuals and the role that MCC plays in modern America.
Update from organiser at press time: Safehaven was contacted one week before the event by the police and immigration saying that the event needed a PELU license and a professional visit pass. Applications have since been submitted, pending approval. If approval is denied, a by-invitation event will still be held, with Rev. Troy Perry in attendance. It will start with a short worship session, followed by a reading of his book "Troy Perry, Pastor and Prophet". He will be available after the session for individual questions. For details on RSVP, please visit Safehaven's website for more information.
Film screenings: all screenings have been cancelled "due to MDA (Media Development Authority) problems."
For the latest info, please visit the Indignation web site.
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At the moment, we are in the shade, but there will be time, that we will see the light...Be patient. We can't change the society in short time, let alone this one.
So picnic with your friends ok?
Could call it "I not Gay 3".
jail you for having a pinic? hahahah
wait.. its singapore a place i call home... and yes.. they do amazing things..
so i think they might just do it somehow or rather....
what they want they gets..
If u look at the history of gay activism u'll see people sacrifice more than just our sunday picnic arrangments to set things straight (i mean forward).
So i say ladies, why not ask a few more friends to join in and picnic all you want anyway. It's a free country and only gay people visit botanic gardens anyway.
Bernie
Wat?? No pets allowed in Botanic Gardens???
a. A lawyer
b. A nominated member of parliament
c. A Christian fundmentalist
d. Daughter of a well-known homophobe
e. All of the above
f. None of the above
Draw your own conclusions.
p.s. Girlfriend - careful what you say or do, this is a small country, and rest assured we've got friends EVERYWHERE
Zzzz...
Our sg is sooooo Close-Minded..
Hahahaz..
=P
Anyway if this picnic is cancelled , I am sure we can come up with something where we can just be ourselves minus the topless , skin to skin gatherings.
To all my pink bros and sistas - lets stand with one voice. The more we push , the stronger will be the resistance. Learn to live by the rules. As long as we are not discriminated , abused , hurt like in other countires , I am sure we will be there someday. Happy National day !!
God if the Singapore Government thinks there are no Gay men or women there then boy are they stupid.
One more reason NOT to ever set foot there again!
The heavy-handedness reminds me of the Harry Potter movie currently showing...
Do us a favour and stop making excuses why gay people aren't "good enough" and can't be accepted by society as we are.
You wrote, "Anyway if this picnic is cancelled , I am sure we can come up with something where we can just be ourselves minus the topless, skin to skin gatherings."
The picnic is exactly that (wholesome and all) but it's still being disallowed. What do you think we should all do? Stay in the closet - literally?
The one thing the Sing Gumin does NOT want is world publicity on the G word and issues. So make these things as public as possible in the most public of places. The test of "public interest" is equality for all under the law.
Singapore is going to have the biggest breast feeding campaign tomorrow where mothers whom support breast feeding is going to make an effort to make it a social norm by making it the biggest number of mothers breast feeding in a single day in the world.
Well there is nothing wrong with that about breast feeding. But if government use the reason of sensitivity for the resident of the nation, how about people whom are not very comfortable seeing a mother breast feeding a kid in public, straight or gay?
Where is that consideration goes?Maybe the sight of gay man are more disturbing than anything else in the world? All gay people want is to walk comfortably under the sun for a day in the year and we also want to make it a social norm as well so there is less discrimination on our sexuality not to make str8 Population of singapore turn gay by encouraging gay lifestyle.
Gosh i hate the world lifestyle used in this context. As if is a lifestyle in which one can adopt at will.
Being gay is as norm mother as breast feeding a child.
The government and the general public has their stand, and we have ours.
I somehow do agree that occasionally gays can go overboard at clubs and private gatherings, with semi nudity, chems and indecent exposures...perhaps we need to do something about that too..in the eyes of the general public its unacceptable. What can we say ? Who can we blame?
Singapore after all is not a bad place for gays. In the US, gay bashing is so common and to be identified as gays can sometimes be a 'frightening' experience. We still have gay clubs, saunas in Singapore. Its not that bad after all. Singapore can never be another Bangkok.
I myself as a gay would not like the idea of seeing it to be one. We cant have everything according to what we desire !
http://minorepiphany.blogspot.com/2007/08/young-pap-nicholas-lazarus-rails-on.html.
http://youngpapblog.blogspot.com/2007/07/alternative-vision-for-singapore-and-i.html
That's a view of future government to come.
Well..guess we just have to shower them with more love..Speaking of love and pride. I wonder what we have demonstrated and contributed to the rest of society enough with charity work and campaigns. I personally feel that we ve been only battling with words theories and moral compasses.Let our action speaks.Could they refuse our impartial kindness and love?I am just suggesting a different school of thoughts.Perhaps fridae could look into this.
I applaud all the eforts of PLU's in Singapore and I should like to offer this by way of help.
Gay Disney originated in Orlando, where the Disney Organisation flatly denied any involvement - they even went further to say that their "family entertainment" would not subscribe to such an event.
But we all perservered. We wore red shirts on a specific day which WE knew was Gay Disney day! and nods and winks all round.
This in the face of Disney employment figures showing a decidedley gay slant - service industry of course - we're good at that!
Five years of this and Disney realised they had to accept the inevitable and recognise Gay Disney day.
Some eight years later and the only empty hotels in the area are the ones NOT waving the Rainbow Flag and it's now Gay Disney WEEK!!
My point is that perhaps the prejudice is so great right now in SG that a "softly softly, catch monkey" approach could be better.
Certainly arrange the picnic in Botanic Gardens, but don't make it official. Merely invite indiciduals to attend wearing a particular colour shirt or clothing - perhaps a differnet colour each year from the Rainbow Flag.
The object of the exercise to to show the doubtful that we (YOU exciting gay Singaporeans) that we are ordinary people first, don't have two heads, don't wear makeup, carrying handbags (well, not many of us anyway!!) and certainly don't abuse the environment or set out to harm anyone.
The penny will gradually drop and Parents will begin to worry less when their son comes out as they will realise he is their son first and has a sexual preference second.
I write this having recently returned from Brighton Pride in England where the attendance was reckoned to be in the region of 150,000 - and now recognised as a great party event hosting a very wide range of tastes and styles (oh how true that was!!) This event started as a small party in the park with no particular agenda.
I wish you all good luck in your endeavours, open or clandestine!
Sad that there is not to be a Nation Party 2008. Can't something be done to resurrect it?
Wouldn't it be great to continue it and be asked in a few years' time to have it return to SG??
It will happen. Because it's happened everywhere else.
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