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MFA slams US State Dept’s human rights’ report on S’pore

SINGAPORE — The Government has hit out at the United States Department of State’s annual report on human rights practices in Singapore, saying it “once again includes the same gross inaccuracies and misrepresentations of the Singapore Government’s laws and policies that we have rebutted in detail year after year”.

SINGAPORE — The Government has hit out at the United States Department of State’s annual report on human rights practices in Singapore, saying it “once again includes the same gross inaccuracies and misrepresentations of the Singapore Government’s laws and policies that we have rebutted in detail year after year”.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs made these remarks in a statement issued today, in response to the 2012 country report issued by the Department of State in April.

“By repeating the same misrepresentations and inaccuracies year after year and ignoring even factual clarifications, it is apparent the US Department of State is more interested in imposing its own ideology, rather than making a genuine attempt to understand human rights practices as they actually exist, whether in Singapore or elsewhere,” the MFA said.

“This calls into question the overall objectivity of the report, and raises questions about the US’ own commitment to the right to freedom of speech, including a genuine dialogue on the different approaches to promote and protect fundamental human rights.”

In the report, the US Department of State said human rights problems were reported in Singapore last year, such as legal restrictions on the activities of political opposition groups and parties, which benefited the ruling People’s Action Party. Other issues they raised include the Internal Security Act (ISA), caning as an allowable punishment, “government intimidation that led to self-censorship by journalists” and “some restrictions on labour rights”.

The MFA said it “continue(s) to be disturbed” by the “double standard” applied by the US’ criticism of the ISA, “which is meant to address grave and serious threats to internal security, including threats to public order, communal and religious harmony, and subversive and terrorist activities”.

“The US, in its own fight against terrorism, has at the highest level publicly articulated that certain trade-offs between rights and security are necessary and worthy,” the ministry said. “The US itself has been the subject of both domestic and international criticism regarding various allegations of egregious human rights violations. As such, the moralistic tone of its annual human rights report is hypocritical and Pecksniffian.”

Singapore does not claim its system to be perfect, or that it would work in other countries, but “our government is built on the rule of law and held accountable to our people through regular democratic elections”. “We have and will continually work towards improving the lives of our people and advance their rights, with or without the US Department of State’s human rights report,” the MFA said.

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