Real Story of Myanmar Activists in Singapore
Real Story of Myanmar Activists in Singapore
Background
Since the Saffron Revolution of September 2007, the Burmese anti-junta movement has gained remarkable momentum in Singapore, fuelled by the increasing frustration and discontent of the Burmese people in Singapore at the outrageous atrocities committed by the Burmese military junta. Burmese patriots in Singapore work as one united group to raise awareness about human rights violations by the Burmese junta, advocate for free and democratic Burma, and stand in solidarity with the freedom and democracy movements inside Burma as well as around the world. Some of the notable milestones are the peaceful protest along Orchard Road on 20th November 2007 during ASEAN Summit and the "Vote NO" Campaign for the sham referendum on the military-drafted, new constitution for Burma during late April and early May 2008. These activities were not only effective in raising awareness about the injustice committed by the Burmese Junta and the true desires of the Burmese people but also lawful in Singapore. The political objectives of the Burmese activists have always been to advocate political change in Burma and their guiding principle is to use peaceful as well as lawful means in Singapore while expressing themselves. Indeed, none of the anti-junta political activities of the Burmese activists has ever been declared unlawful or in conflict with the local sensitivities by the Singapore government. Apart from receiving a police warning for their participation in the Orchard Road anti-junta protest, the Burmese activists have never been charged for any unlawful act while pursuing their political objectives.
Statement of intent
We, Burmese patriots, are releasing this press statement to publicly inquire: The underlying reasons for the apparently arbitrary rejections by Singapore authorities Whether the Burmese activists have been rejected for their peaceful political activism Why the Singapore government unfairly ill-treated the Burmese activists despite its declarations of support for peaceful political change in Burma
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PROFILES
The following is the profiles of the 4 out of 6 affected activists and the details of their cases.
According to a bond between him and MOE, he has to work in Singapore-registered companies for 3 years upon graduation in return for his receipt of MOE Tuition Grant. About two weeks after his receiving a degree scroll at NUS Commencement, his application for long-term Social Visit Pass was rejected by Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) through a letter dated 24th July 2008, which his sponsor received on 26th July 2008. On both 28th July 2008 (Monday) and 29th July 2008 (Tuesday), he approached ICA officers to ask for the reason of the rejection as he had valid reasons to remain in Singapore to seek employment in order to serve his bond. No reason was given. In the morning of 30th July 2008, the day when his Social Visit Pass expired, the flight to Cambodia he intended to take was missed by him because of the delay caused by an unreasonably long checking of his passport by an immigration officer at the airport. He was later told that his passport was alright, but no reason was given by the officer for checking it so long. Eventually, he was given a Special Pass for one-day stay in Singapore with the requirement that he leaves Singapore from Changi Airport. In that time of dismay, he got a job as a project engineer at Hai Yong Engineering in the afternoon of 30th July 2008. An application for Employment Pass was done for him through EP Online System around 1:30 pm on 30th July 2008. With his employment letter, Maung Soe Thiha then went to ICA to appeal for the extension of his Social Visit Pass until the outcome of his EP application would become available. That appeal was outright rejected by ICA; however, again, no reason was given. Maung Soe Thiha left for Cambodia on 31st Jul 2008 and his application for Employment Pass is still pending after nearly three weeks so far.
Myo Tun
Occupation : Construction worker Type of visa/permit : Work Permit Related agency : MOM On 30th Jul 2008, the extension of Myo Tun's Work Permit Pass, which expired on 1st August 2008, was rejected. As per normal, Work Permit extensions are applied in batches by his company. Out of 5 or 6 applicants in his batch, Myo Tun was the only one left out by MOM for rejection without any apparent reason. Myo Tun left Singapore on 2nd August 2008 and is currently staying in Thailand.
Hlaing Moe
Occupation : Technical Supervisor Type of visa/permit : S Pass & Social Visit Pass Related agency : MOM & ICA Hlaing Moe had been working as a Technical Supervisor in Sankyu (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., since 17th July 2006 on S Pass when his application for the renewal of his S Pass was rejected on 17th July 2008 according to the letter from MOM. There was no reason given for the rejection and his company was still willing to employ him further. On 21st July 2008, he submitted an appeal letter to MOM for reconsideration, but it was again rejected on 25th July 2008 without any reason given. After the cancellation of his S Pass, he received a Social Visit Pass to stay in Singapore until 5th August 2008. He is studying part-time for Diploma in Technology (Mechanical) at Ngee Ann Polytechnic and in his 5th semester there so far. Since he had then upcoming exams during 14th August 2008 to 24th August 2008, he appealed to ICA on 29th July 2008 to extend his Social Visit Pass until he would have finished sitting the exams. Despite his valid
reasons for staying in Singapore, the appeal was outright rejected for no given reason. Hlaing Moe left Singapore on 5th August 2008 and is currently staying in Malaysia. During his stay in Malaysia, he applied for Singapore visa in order to sit the exams that have started since 14th August 2008. It was finally approved on 20th of August 2008 in the evening, just two days before this press conference, but it was too late for him. 22 August 2008
The press conference on 22 August 2008 at Peninsular Excelsior Hotel. Picture shows only half the room.
The Burmese in Singapore have organised "more than dozen" events in the last few months, from the march along Orchard and Tanglin Roads during the Asean summit held in Singapore last November, to petition signing against the sham referendum, to
prayer vigils for those slain in the streets of Rangoon, said Myo. All have been peaceful, but they have also been a reflection of the deep anger felt by Burmese over the vileness of the military regime.
Hlaing Moe was also a part-time student at Ngee Ann Polytechnic, studying for a Diploma in Technology (Mechanical) with Cold heart exams on 14 24 August 2008. He appealed for an extension of his Social Visit Pass to Hlaing Moe was not even allowed to stay enable him to complete his exams, but this on for 2 more weeks to finish his exams. appeal was rejected, also without any reason. Were our bureaucrats just plain unfeeling? Were they merely being He is now languishing in Malaysia. robotic? Myo Myint Maung provided more details of 2 Or were they deliberately being cruel? other cases at the press conference, which you can glean from his press release, archived as Burmese citizens denied renewal of visas in Singapore
Not in the Press Statement is the case of Thu Yein Win (right). He was at the press conference to share with the public his experience over his application for Permanent Residency (PR). Thu Yein Win has been working in Singapore for over a year (but less than 2 years) as an Assistant Engineer with a private company. He is also on the executive committee of the Overseas Burmese Patriots in Singapore (OBP). In April this year, he applied for Permanent Residency, following which he was asked to attend an interview at the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) in June. To his surprise, there was virtually nothing in the twoand-a-half hour interview relating to his application for PR status, nothing on his qualifications or the documents that he had submitted. Instead, the 2 officers present focussed exclusively on his Burmese patriotic activities. "They asked me: 'Who is the leader of the OBP? How many members do you have? Who are they? What are their names? Where do you usually gather for meetings?' And they also asked about my close friends." At one point, they asked him if he would inform them in advance of any activities by the OBP. It's not clear (to me at least) what answer he gave them, but the more important point, as you can see, is what our government agents are up to. Thu Yein Win had in March this year helped organise a petition against the junta's referendum on their extremely undemocratic new constitution. While doing so, his particulars were recorded by some officers, and he was subsequently summoned to a police station for investigations.
The number of Burmese whose particulars have been recorded by the police for participating in various activities is unknown. "Perhaps 50," was Myo Myint Maung's best guess. But going by these examples, all of them may well be expecting the worst. It's not easy to find another country to take them. Do they have to return to Burma? Chasing them out of Singapore "may put them into physical danger of the violence that the Singapore government condemned [last year]," said Myo Myint Maung. Myo was careful to stress that he was not calling these cases deportations. He pointed out that strictly speaking, each case was one of a nonrenewal of residency papers. He concedes that such decisions are up to the Singapore government; as foreigners they cannot demand the right to stay. The intent of the press conference was to raise awareness of this trend and ask the Singapore government for reasons for the non-renewals.
Myo Myint Maung (standing) kicking off the press conference. He was being diplomatic.
blunt: For all practical purposes, these are deportations. By putting their lives at risk, the Singapore government is as callous as the junta when they blocked foreign aid to Cyclone Nargis victims. By penalising anyone who has spoken out against generals, the Singapore government is aiding and abetting those generals in their continuing crime against humanity. Not only is this deportation policy morally wrong -- shockingly, revoltingly wrong -- but from a self-interest perspective, it is unbelievably stupid. Do we think the military regime will last forever? Impossible. One day, it will fall and these young men and women whom we antagonise today will quite possibly be part of the new government. How can it serve Singapore's interest to be on the wrong side of history? What fools we have for a government. Yawning Bread
issue several of them with a warning for their offences instead of prosecution, so as to give them a second chance. The police had summoned around40 people who had taken part in a street protest last November to a police station to help with investigations, and later let them off with a warning. Regrettably, this leniency is not appreciated. Some of the individuals concerned in the OBP continue to maintain a position that suggests they see themselves being above the law which Singaporeans observe. The OBP members have ignored repeated advice from the Police to act within our laws, and also ignored requests by Government officials to meet to discuss the groups conduct. The MHA spokesperson also noted: The right of a foreign national to work or stay in Singapore is not a matter of entitlement or a right to be secured by political demand and public pressure. Of the eight Myanmar nationals who did not have their immigration passes renewed, six have left Singapore and are living in countries including Malaysia, Cambodia and Thailand. The other two,Ms Ngwe Zin Soe and Mr Wunna Saw Thein, both Permanent Residents, are still waiting for their re-entry permits to be renewed. Aug 23, 2008
Myanmar activists not above the law They have persistently ignored police warnings in the past year, says MHA
By Sue-Ann Chia SOME Myanmar nationals involved in political activism here believe that they are above Singapore laws and have ignored repeated advice by the police to act within the laws, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said yesterday. It said foreigners who work, study or live here must 'respect the law and local sensitivities in Singapore'. 'The police and Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) have no objection to members of the Myanmar community in Singapore pursuing their political activities so long as they abide by our laws,' a ministry spokesman told The Straits Times. 'Indeed, the police have approved and facilitated many such activities conducted through lawful means.' His statement was in response to a group of Myanmar nationals who held a media conference yesterday, the second in three weeks, to press the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority to reveal why it did not renew the passes for six of them. The spokesman singled out the Overseas Burmese Patriots (OBP) - a loose grouping of about 50 Myanmar nationals - and noted that it is one of a number of groups that organised activities to express their concerns about the situation in Myanmar. But unlike other Myanmar groups 'which have conducted their activities in a lawful manner, the OBP has chosen to do so in open and persistent defiance of our laws', the spokesman said. There are about 30,000 Myanmar nationals living in Singapore. MHA said OBP members have been investigated by the police for staging a number of illegal protests. 'The authorities have chosen to issue several of them with a warning for their offences
instead of prosecution so as to give them a second chance. Regrettably, this leniency is not appreciated,' it said. Some individuals in the OBP 'continue to maintain a position that suggests they see themselves being above the law which Singaporeans observe,' it added. Members not only ignored repeated police advice to act within Singapore's laws, but also ignored requests from government officials to meet to discuss the group's conduct. At the press conference, OBP spokesman Myo Myint Maung confirmed that of the six whose passes were not renewed, five had taken part in a public protest last November. The sixth person was in the vicinity of the protest in Orchard Road. 'We do have a suspicion that the rationale for the rejections might be because of the protests and our activities,' he said. The press conference was attended by political activists, bloggers and opposition party members. Some of OBP's activities include what Mr Myo called a 'peaceful protest' in Orchard Road during the Asean Summit last November, and the 'Vote No' campaign to protest against Myanmar's new Constitution in April and May this year. Since last month, at least six of the Myanmar nationals did not get their visas or permits renewed or extended by the ICA and Manpower Ministry. The two agencies, in line with existing policy, did not give reasons. At the press conference, Mr Myo, 23, a business undergraduate, identified four of the six, saying one was a permanent resident here for eight years. He insisted that all six had not committed any crimes, even though some were issued a stern warning by the police for their activities, which advocate political change in Myanmar. To him, this meant the activities 'were not unlawful enough to put us to court'. The ministry spokesman, in addressing this point, said: 'The right of a foreign national to work or stay in Singapore is not a matter of entitlement or a right to be secured by political demand and public pressure.' [email protected]