BBC: Singapore ‘breaks protest deal’

“The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank have accused Singapore of reneging on a deal to allow activists into their annual meeting.

The World Bank said it was “very displeased” with Singapore’s decision to bar 28 activists from the country.” full story

Related

“World Bank says Singapore Breached Deal” (Houston Chronicle) “Singapore breached an agreement by barring 28 activists from entering the country to attend the annual meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, the institutions said Thursday.”

“World Bank’s Wolfowitz says Singapore Backtracked on Agreement” (Bloomberg) “World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz said Singapore may have backtracked on an agreement to let all accredited members of civil society groups attend meetings of the bank and the International Monetary Fund in the city-state”

“World Bank says Singapore Breached Deal” (Associated Press) “The World Bank accused Singapore of breaching an agreement by barring 28 activists from entering the country to attend the group’s annual meeting, a newspaper reported Thursday.”

“Singapore has reneged on deal with activists: Wolfowitz” (AFP) – Note the comments by Lim Hng Kiang

“Singapore has reneged on deal with activists: Wolfowitz” (The Nation) “Singapore appears to have reneged on a deal over admission of activists accredited for the World Bank and International Monetary Fund meetings, World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz said Thursday.

“The most unfortunate thing is what appears to be a going-back on an explicit agreement,” Wolfowitz told about 50 activists in Singapore ahead of annual meetings of the Bank and IMF here next week.

“So far we’ve had no satisfactory explanation why,” Wolfowitz said.”

“EU, W.Bank urge Singapore to Lift Protest Ban” (Reuters) “The European Union urged Singapore on Wednesday not to bar activists from entering the country to attend the annual International Monetary Fund and World Bank meetings this week.

…
A statement from the Finnish EU Presidency said the activists had been accredited by the World Bank and should have the right to participate.”

“Charities Threaten to Boycott IMF over Ban on Singapore Protests” (Independent) “The high-profile meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) were in disarray yesterday after some of the world’s leading charities threatened to pull out of the event in protest at heavy-handed policing by the Singapore government.”

Comment

“Singapore Protests” (Wall Street Journal via TTT) “Protests in Singapore are a rare sight. That won’t change when the World Bank and International Monetary Fund come to town this week. From deporting aspiring nude animal-rights activists to refusing entry to certain known ruffians, the city-state has ensured that the annual meetings will run smoothly. But it’s missed a good opportunity to educate doubters about why globalization works, a lesson that Singapore, of all countries, can teach better than most.”

Thurs

Comment

“The IMF Descends” (philo christus) “In my opinion, getting the World Bank/IMF folks to town is a bad mistake – not so much for its security implications – but for the Singapore Brand Name”

“Calibrated Coercion in Singapore” – Cherian George sets up a new blog.

“Why I was such a bitch on Tuesday” (Yawning Bread) “A reporter from the Straits Times approached me for a comment on Tuesday. I declined. … the reason was that we had no faith that the Straits Times would do a fair write-up. Why should we lend our names and credibility to a biased piece?”

“Why it is time to leave” (Twilight) “Perhaps [the] first great awakening of the century is at least the consideration that citizenship is negotiable.”

“No Impact” (Kitana) “The papers cited something close to 40 million. The actual cost might probably be 150 million; I’m not too sure. The amount of money just sounds too obscene to actually contemplate too deeply. The taxi driver sounded slightly distressed. He said that it was a lot of money. And sure, it could have been going into a good cause, but surely, this money might have been more meaningful had it been put to other uses to benefits the citizens”

Arts

“Singapore Rebel goes Taipei” (Martyn See)