Invitation for Human Rights Watch to give evidence remains open: Select Committee

SINGAPORE — The invitation for Human Rights Watch (HRW) to give evidence remains open, said the Select Committee studying deliberate online falsehoods on Tuesday (March 27), hours after the organisation issued a response to the Singapore Government’s criticism of its no-show at a public hearing the previous week.

HRW’s latest statement suggests it is “now prepared to participate, and come forward to give evidence in the hearings”, the committee noted in a press release.

Requesting that the group convey its position by noon on Thursday, the committee asked HRW to notify when its representative would be prepared to attend either in person, or through video conference.

“As has been announced, Parliament will be prorogued in April. We can hear you on any date in May, or after May, after Parliament reopens,” said the committee.

The Ministry of Law (MinLaw), which had called HRW’s no-show “disappointing, but not surprising”, said the group’s response “leaves out any explanation for why they are unable to attend through video-conferencing, from an overseas location – at any time over a period of 14 days from March 15 to 29”. MinLaw said: “HRW’s lack of enthusiasm in wanting to defend its Report is obvious.”

The ministry was referring to the report titled “Kill the Chicken to Scare the Monkeys”: Suppression of Free Expression and Assembly in Singapore, which HRW said “analyses the laws and regulations used by the Singapore government to suppress the rights to free speech and peaceful assembly”.

In a media statement earlier on Tuesday, HRW said it had offered to send a staff member to the hearing, but eventually had to back out as the committee did not confirm a suitable date in time.

The international non-governmental organisation described accusations that it was unwilling to defend its report on the Republic as “both ironic and absurd”.

HRW said that last October, it sent a letter – requesting input and response to the 133-page report – to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Home Affairs and Law Minister K Shanmugam, Communications and Information Minister Yaacob Ibrahim, and Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan.

“Human Rights Watch received no response by the time of publication of the report on Dec 13, 2017. We still have not received a response,” said HRW.

At the public hearing last Friday, two sets of witnesses had testified to the committee, singling out HRW and claiming that the group has been putting up false information about the governments of various countries, including Singapore.

The People’s Action Party (PAP) Policy Forum said the HRW report showed how “selective presentation of facts can paint a very misleading picture”, and was an example of how organisations can use technology to spread falsehoods.

For instance, the report described the now-defunct website The Real Singapore (TRS) as an extremely popular website that was about citizen journalism, but “conveniently omits” to mention how the founders of TRS had deliberately fabricated sensational falsehoods directed against foreigners.

The PAP Policy Forum is a platform for the ruling party’s rank-and-file members to engage government leaders on policy issues. Their submission also looked at HRW’s motivations and reasons for spreading these falsehoods.

NGO Monitor president Gerald Steinberg also told the Select Committee that HRW made statements on facts without any basis. NGO Monitor is a non-governmental organisation that produces and distributes critical analysis and reports on the activities of the international and local NGO networks.

After hearing the witnesses, Select Committee chairman Charles Chong said it had invited HRW to provide oral evidence. Mr Chong, who is the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, said HRW initially agreed to send a representative, but later said the person could not turn up on the agreed date due to “other travel plans that cannot be changed”.

In its response, HRW pointed out that it has no staff based in Singapore. When the committee invited the group to give evidence, it had “offered to send the relevant staff member on a particular date”. But “the committee did not confirm a date that could work for our staff until after we had made other commitments”.

The group added: “As the government has not disputed our factual findings and has not replied to our recommendations, which were offered in good faith to promote and protect free expression and peaceful assembly in Singapore, it is both ironic and absurd that the Ministry of Law and members of the ruling People’s Action Party are now accusing Human Rights Watch of being unwilling to defend our report.”

HRW reiterated that it looks forward to “reading any submissions (on the report) and will respond if we think it is necessary and appropriate”. “To date, no submission has raised any serious question about our factual findings. We have also offered to meet with government officials in Singapore or elsewhere, or relevant parliamentarians, at a mutually convenient date to discuss the report,” the group said.

HRW also cast aspersions on the purpose of the committee’s invitation for it to give oral evidence at the hearing.

“It is now clear that the purpose of the hearing was not to discuss our findings and recommendations in good faith, or to get our input into dealing with ‘deliberate online falsehoods’ in a manner consistent with international standards, but to engage in ridiculous and irrelevant arguments aimed to discredit our report and Human Rights Watch,” the group added.

“The people of Singapore are not served by a government and ruling party that appears to be more interested in public grandstanding than having a substantive discussion about threats to the internationally protected rights to freedom of expression and assembly.”