[Kabar-indonesia] 160 NGOs Boycott IMF-WB Meetings [+MM Lee; FT on FEER Suit]

[JoyoNews at aol.com]

4 reports: 

- More than 160 NGOs boycott 
  IMF-World Bank meetings

- Strong S'pore needed to say 'no' 
  to neighbours -Lee

- 500 civil group representatives 
  attend forum in Batam

- FT: FEER urged to fight libel 
  suit in Singapore

Agence France-Presse
September 15, 2006

More than 160 NGOs boycott IMF-World Bank meetings

More than 160 non-governmental groups have declared a boycott of IMF and 
World Bank meetings in Singapore to protest against a clampdown on free speech and 
the banning of activists.

"In solidarity with those denied entry into Singapore and denied the exercise 
of their fundamental rights to freedom of expression and association, we will 
stay away from all meetings and seminars at the World Bank and IMF 2006 
annual meetings in Singapore," the 164 organisations said in a statement on Friday.

"We call on all social movements, civil society organisations and networks 
and individuals to uphold the rights of peoples to freedom of expression and 
association, and to honour this boycott by staying away from the official 
meetings in Singapore."

The statement came on the sidelines of the International People's Forum 
Against the IMF and World Bank which began Friday on the Indonesian island of 
Batam, an hour by boat from Singapore. About 500 people are attending.

Activists staged the forum on Batam after the Singapore government refused to 
waive a long-standing ban on outdoor protests for accredited groups during 
the September 19-20 International Monetary Fund and World Bank meetings there.

"In order to stifle dissent and any possible protests at the IMF-World Bank 
Annual Meetings, the Singapore government has resorted to draconian security 
measures," the statement said.

Singapore police said tough security measures were necessary because the 
country, Southeast Asia's most advanced economy, is a high-profile "terrorist" 
target and any public protests would compromise preparations.

Late Friday the city-state backed down on its reluctance to admit some 
activists accredited for World Bank and IMF meetings, saying 22 of the 27 would now 
be allowed entry.

Singapore had said there were security concerns over the 27, who are among 
hundreds of activists accredited for the event as part of a formal dialogue with 
the financial institutions.

World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz earlier Friday had said Singapore 
inflicted "enormous damage" to its reputation because of its reluctance to admit 
people who were already accredited by the Bank and IMF.

The Batam forum is being held indoors at a sprawling complex used to house 
pilgrims going to Mecca for the annual haj, as well as for religious conferences.

Organisers said they were negotiating with police to allow them a brief 
outdoor march when the event ends on Sunday.

Banners denouncing IMF and Bank policies adorn the entrance and walls of the 
Asrama Haji, or Haj Dormitory where the activists have gathered in Batam.

As seasoned foreign and Indonesian activists huddled in the conference rooms, 
Friday prayers blared from loudspeakers at a nearby mosque, a reminder that 
Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim country.

"Debt is Terror," said one banner. Another screamed, "IMF-World Bank -- Out 
of the Asia Pacific."

The activists in Batam allege about 20 of their colleagues have been deported 
from Singapore but police in the city-state could only confirm three.

The NGOs said the two Washington-based lenders knew of the city-state's 
strict laws against public gatherings when they planned the meetings.

"These institutions are most comfortable in countries without respect for 
civil liberties and human rights," said Sameer Dossani of the 50 Years is Enough.

Both institutions "could not have been in the dark about Singapore's track 
record when they chose it," Dossani said.

"Our boycott is a response to egregious hypocrisy," said Ana Maria Nemenzo, 
president of the Philippine-based Freedom From Debt Coalition.

-----------------------------------

Strong S'pore needed to say 'no' to neighbours -Lee

SINGAPORE, September 15 (Reuters) - Singapore's former leader Lee Kuan
Yew defended his party's political dominance, saying it was vital for
the predominantly ethnic Chinese state to stand up to its bigger,
majority-Muslim neighbours, Indonesia and Malaysia.

Lee, a founder of the People's Action Party (PAP) that has ruled
Singapore uninterrupted since independence in 1965, also criticised
Singapore's tiny opposition parties on Friday, saying the city-state
would eventually collapse if they were elected.

"We need a government that will have the gumption and skill to say
'no' to our neighbours in a very quiet and polite way that doesn't
provoke them into doing something silly," said Lee at a forum on the
sidelines of the World Bank-International Monetary Fund (IMF) meetings
in the island republic.

"My main critics want me to be as liberal, open and contentious and
adversarial with the opposition as the West," said Lee, who was
independent Singapore's prime minister from 1965 to 1990.

Lee and former U.S. Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers were the key
speakers at the forum.

Those who wanted Singapore to embrace a more liberal style of
democracy failed to see the limits of its geography, said Lee, whose
son, Lee Hsien Loong, is Singapore's prime minister.

Lee Kuan Yew, who turns 83 on Saturday, holds the title of Minister
Mentor in his son's cabinet.

Lee said the attitude of neighbouring Malaysia and Indonesia towards
Singapore was shaped by the way they treat their own ethnic Chinese
minorities.

"Our neighbours both have problems with their Chinese. They are
successful. They are hardworking and therefore they are systemically
marginalised," he said.

Indonesia and Malaysia "want Singapore, to put it simply, to be like
their Chinese -- compliant", Lee said.

Although Singapore and Malaysia have deep economic ties, relations
between the two countries which separated in 1965 after a brief union,
have often been prickly.

Relations between Singapore and Indonesia hit a low in 1998 when
then-President B.J. Habibie referred to Singapore as a little red dot
in a sea of green -- a reference to the fact the city-state of 4.4.
million people is surrounded by two large, predominantly Muslim
countries.

Lee acknowledged that there was growing support for opposition parties
among Singapore's voters, but said the office of the elected
presidency had been put in place to prevent a profligate opposition
government from touching the island's vast monetary reserves.

"Without the elected president and if there is a freak result, within
two or three years, the army would have to come in and stop it," Lee
said.

------------------------------------

Channel NewsAsia
September 16, 2006

500 civil group representatives attend forum in Batam

BATAM: The exploitation of migrant workers - especially women overseas, was 
discussed at the International People's Forum, which opened on Friday on the 
Indonesian island of Batam.

The view was also that foreign debt has robbed some countries of educational 
opportunities.

At least 500 activists from various organisations attended the session, which 
also saw issues such as dealing with natural disasters, and eradication of 
poverty.

Developing countries were urged to stop getting loans from the IMF/World 
Bank, which the civil groups say are actually hurting their economies.

The International NGO Forum on Indonesian Development, for example, says that 
some of these loans are not effective, nor based on the real needs of these 
developing countries.

The forum continues till Sunday. 
 
--------------------------------------

Financial Times (UK)
September 15, 2006

FEER urged to fight libel suit in Singapore

By John Burton in Singapore

A leading Singapore opposition politician on Thursday urged the Far
Eastern Economic Review to contest a defamation suit filed by two of
the city-state's top leaders, saying the effort would help promote
free expression.

"I hope FEER will seriously fight this matter and not bow to the
Lees," said Chee Soon Juan, whose recent interview in the publication
led to the suit by Lee Hsien Loong, Singapore's prime minister, and
Lee Kuan Yew, his father and independent Singapore's first leader.

The suit is seen as a test of new conditions placed on leading
international media that circulate in Singapore.

FEER was one of five publications, along with the Financial Times, the
International Herald Tribune, Time and Newsweek, that were recently
told they must submit a security deposit of S$200,000 ($127,000) and
appoint a local representative who could be sued.

The disputed article, "Singapore's 'Martyr' ", written by Hugo
Restall, the FEER editor, quoted Mr Chee criticising the Lees and the
alleged secrecy of the Government of Singapore Investment Corp, which
is headed by them as chairman and vice-chairman.

The Lees earlier sued Mr Chee for similar comments, saying he had
accused them of mismanaging GIC funds. Mr Chee was convicted of
defamation in Singapore as a result of the suit.

Mr Restall and Hong Kong-based Review Publishing, FEER's publisher,
would not comment on the suit. But Dow Jones, which owns Review
Publishing, has had a history of contesting libel suits filed against
it by Singapore authorities in the local courts.

The case could present several challenges in the enforcement of
Singapore's libel laws. FEER does not have a representative or assets
in Singapore as required under the new regulations.

A judgment against FEER would have to be enforced by Singapore
authorities requesting the Hong Kong courts to impose any penalties,
believed to be unprecedented in a libel suit filed by Singapore
officials.

But a request by Singapore for the Hong Kong courts to enforce any
judgment could lead to new hearings in Hong Kong that might consider
evidence about the judicial impartiality of the Singapore courts.

No foreign publication has ever won a libel suit filed by Singapore
authorities in a Singapore court.

Authorities could possibly try to curb the distribution of FEER in
Singapore, which has a circulation of about 3,000 copies in the
city-state. But this could prove difficult because FEER is not sold on
newsstands but mailed to subscribers.

Some aspects of the suit also puzzled media observers. FEER had
offered to publish a interview with Lee Kuan Yew in response to Mr
Chee's criticism, but the offer was described by Drew & Napier, the
lawyers acting for the Lees, as an attempt to profit from FEER's
alleged defamation.

Additional reporting by Justine Lau in Hong Kong

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Joyo Indonesia News Service
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