Wednesday, September 12, 2007

MiKE: Speakers Cornered

Just watched Speakers Cornered; someone brought over a copy.

My response: I am terribly ashamed to be associated with such a country. Really. There is nothing very much more to be said about it. Please watch it if you get the opportunity.

A trailer:

Oh, I think the trailer needs explaining as they have acquired such a reputation in singapore as to be written off by the general public. Chee and his supporters, including his sister Chee Siok Chin, had wanted to stage a peaceful protest march from Speakers' Corner toward places like Parliament House, the Istana, and Suntec City, where the World Bank/ IMF conference was taking place. The government with the police as its executors, were hell bent in preventing such a thing from happening. The video is a record of what happened in the process, with police tactics of neither arresting the speakers as they wanted to move away from the corner, nor allowing them freedom of access, simply forming a human wall of police and plainclothes officers encircling them, and preventing them from moving anything more than a couple of metres away from the spot. Even when they wanted to go to the washroom, there was the mobile police wall, ready to spring into action and prevent them from movement.

In one scene, there was a plainclothes officer demanding to the taxi driver (who was called up to pick up Siok Chin) to bring her home, even though all she wanted was a ride to the Parliament House, which the police had forbidden her pedestrian access, and through her negotiations, managed to secure a taxi.

Deep down, I think some of the police officers may have felt extremely stupid for doing what they are doing, but have 'no choice' as they needed to 'pay the bills'. But still, what is needed to indoctrinate a group of people to not see that such peaceful protests are not only legal, but absolutely essential for a nation's vibrance?
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