MARUAH welcomes the announcement by the Singapore Government today, that the death penalty will no longer be mandatory in certain limited circumstances. At the same time, MARUAH regrets the narrow scope of this move, and notes that the mandatory death penalty remains in place for many other offences.
Death penalty no longer mandatory for certain cases: MARUAH welcomes changes as first step towards universal human rights norms
9 July 2012
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Position statements (Maruah) | Tagged: death penalty | 
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3rd MARUAH submission on ASEAN Human Rights Declaration
9 July 2012Please see below for MARUAH’s 3rd submission on the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration. Our submission can also be downloaded as a PDF. For reference, we include our 1st and 2nd submissions.
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8 July 2012
To the ASEAN Foreign Ministers & AICHR representatives,
Dear Sirs and Madams,
We take this opportunity to thank the members of the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) for their dedication to the service at the regional level and to the teams that work with them.
In a very short period of time they have framed the most important document for ASEAN, with the help of the Drafting Group. We also thank the AICHR members for agreeing to meet Civil Society Organisations in a Regional Consultation on 22nd June 2012, which we found useful.
As a human rights organisation from Singapore, we submit the following key areas of concern as the deliberation over the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration continues. This consultation among civil society actors was done over a 3-hour interaction and we submit these humbly to ask for a consideration on the most important document that will drive ASEAN and its people to a better future in the years to come. Read the rest of this entry »
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ASEAN Matters: consultation on ASEAN Human Rights Declaration, 7 July 2012
3 July 2012
The ASEAN Human Rights Declaration (AHRD) is a document that is going to be very important to all of us in ASEAN, Singapore included. The ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) has been working at this document with their team of experts for almost a year. Come this November, the document will be handed over to the 10 Heads of State in ASEAN for it to be formally accepted as a document that governs how ASEAN will observe human rights. Read the rest of this entry »
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ST Forum letter – Monitoring of media coverage of Hougang By-Election
5 June 2012
Please see below for our letter to the Straits Times Forum.
NGO’s media coverage findings
We read with interest the recent exchange between Workers’ Party (WP) chief Low Thia Khiang (1)(2) and the editors of The Straits Times and Lianhe Zaobao (‘Low explains comments on media’; last Wednesday).MARUAH believes media monitoring during elections is pivotal to free and fair elections. Such monitoring to ensure balanced coverage has to be done by neutral parties, and the conclusions shared with the public.
We conducted a media monitoring exercise during the Hougang by-election. Due to limited resources, the immediate analysis was limited to the English-language newspapers and Lianhe Wanbao. We had conducted similar exercises for the General Election and Presidential Election last year. Read the rest of this entry »
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Speech by Ms Braema Mathi, MARUAH President – 25th anniversary of alleged “Marxist Conspiracy”
4 June 2012Speech on 2 June 2012
In Search of Justice – That We May Dream Again
Remembering the 1987 “Marxist Conspiracy”
Good afternoon everyone.
Twenty-five years ago, while we were sleeping, 16 persons were dragged off under the Internal Security Act (ISA) and later were presented to the public as Marxists with clandestine communist connections.
Over the next few weeks in 1987 we saw images of those arrested in the media. We were told many times by the government and the media that these individuals were subversive and out to harm Singapore, a security threat. Hence the need for the ISA to contain this spread of Marxism, Communism, Socialism – it is still not that clear what really was the charge. Read the rest of this entry »
Dignity Defined – Inaugural issue of MARUAH’s newsletter
4 June 2012
We are delighted to present the first issue of Dignity Defined, MARUAH’s newsletter. In this issue, we put the spotlight on the Internal Security Act (ISA), and the ISA arrests in 1987/88.
Please download the full newsletter here (PDF).
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Saying no to arbitrary detention – 25th anniversary of ISA arrests under alleged “Marxist Conspiracy”
3 June 2012On 2nd June 2012, MARUAH and Function 8 commemorated the 25th anniversary of ISA arrests under the alleged “Marxist Conspiracy”.
An exhibition area included mock-ups of detention cells, original items created during detention, and posters detailing the profiles of the ex-detainees.
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MARUAH petition for Commission of Inquiry on alleged Marxist Conspiracy
30 May 2012Please click this link to view MARUAH’s petition to call for a Commission of Inquiry on the alleged Marxist Conspiracy. If you believe in it too, please provide your details and sign on to the petition!
Please also share the link on Facebook, email it to your friends or even tweet about it! We need 350, 000 signatures and it’s not going to be possible without your help!
To email to your respective mailing lists, you may use the following text:
We need to call for a review of a dark episode in Singapore’s history.
It has been 25 years since Operation Spectrum, when 22 persons were detained for allegedly being “Marxist Conspirators”.
Even then, there were doubts about the accusations and whether these citizens should be detained without trial.
25 years later, these doubts continue to linger.
Let’s call for an independent Commission of Inquiry now!
Sign MARUAH’s petition to call for a Commission of Inquiry on the alleged Marxist Conspiracy at this link.
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That We May Dream Again (In Search of Justice: The 25th anniversary of the ‘Marxist Conspiracy’)
26 May 2012
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Event postponed to 2 June 2012 – That We May Dream Again: Remembering the 1987 ‘Marxist Conspiracy’
17 May 2012That We May Dream Again
Remembering the 1987 ‘Marxist Conspiracy’
Postponement of Event to be held on Saturday, 19 May 2012 at Speakers’ Corner, Hong Lim Park
We have been informed by the police on the evening of Tuesday, 15 May that the exemption granted under the Public Entertainments and Meetings Act to Speakers’ Corner, Hong Lim Park has been revoked with effect from 16 May to 26 May 2012 because of the upcoming by-election. A police permit is therefore required for our event on 19 May 2012.
Owing to the short notice and uncertainties in obtaining a police permit, as well as the prospect of inconvenience to our guests and contractors should the permit be refused, we are sorry that our event at Speakers’ Corner, Hong Lim Park, has to be postponed.
We deeply regret that a by-election in the single-member constituency of Hougang, has disrupted and inconvenienced Singaporeans from enjoying activities at Hong Lim Park which is not part of Hougang.
We will now hold our event on SATURDAY, 2 JUNE 2012 at 3.00 pm. The programme remains unchanged and, we hope to continue receiving your support.
We are aware that this notice may not be read by all our guests and members of the public who have made plans to be at Hong Lim Park on 19 May 2012. As organisers, we will be at Hong Lim Park to meet those who may turn up because of our inability to reach them.
The organisers,
Function 8 Limited and MARUAH
17 May 2012
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