locoa > LOCOA News > 21 individuals blacklisted by Singapore governments and IMF/World Bank officials

September 15 ,2006 PRESS ADVISORY

The Singapore government announced on Monday it has a list of 21 individuals who were barred from entering the country, despite being accredited to attend the IMF/World Bank annual meetings. These individuals had been notified last wek of their being blacklisted by their governments and IMF/World Bank officials .Meanwhile individuals from civil society have faced detention and deportation at the hands of Singapore immigration authorities this week, leading to the conclusion that the actual list is longer.

Wilfred D'Acosta,General -Secretary of Indian Social Action Forum(ISAF) based in Ahmedabad, was deported yesterday despite having a two year multiple entry visa for Singapore. He was never informed he might be on the blacklist .As with other detainees and deportees, he was not allowed to contact anyone while being questioned by 15 officers for over five hours. Most of those held report their mobile phones are confiscated until they were released or deported. Filomeno"Men"Sta. Ana, a well known Philippine economist who was part of the official organizing process for the civil society forum /roundtables to be held in Singapore during the IMF/World Bank meetings was likewise detained yesterday for at least four hours ,same time as authorities detained an Action Aid Vietnam representative.

Mr. Sta. Ana was released yesterday afternoon after World Bank staff helped negotiate with Singapore authorities.At the meeting today with World Bank President Wolfowitz, civil society representatives raised the action of the Singapore government which jeopardised the role and contribution of civil society in conveying to the WB-IMF the good and bad things that its policies create in countries where they operate.

Social Watch Coordinator,Roberto Bissio of Uruguay, reported to Mr. Wolfowitz at the forum today , that Brazilian Maria Clara Couto of Action Aid and Kami Kappa of Kenya Debt Relief Network and an unnamed Italian journalist were likewise deported by the Singapore authorities.

Mr. Wolfowitz responded that Singapore's action was a breach of the MOU and is unacceptable.He said that instead of this annual WB/IMF meeting serving as an opportunity to showcase Singapore's development and being visionary, its action was a self-inflicting damage for the people of Singapore .

Meanwhile, at Batam, Indonesia, several hundred activists converged to expose and discuss the negative effects of economic policies of multilateral institutions and instead push for people centered alternatives organised by the International People's Forum.A press conference condemning Singapore's action against civil society representatives was held yesterday calling for the boycott of civil society representatives of the official WB/IMF meetings.

A South Korean representative of the Citizens Coalition for Economic Justice, Ms. Hyekyung Kim of Seoul who was enroute to Batam via Singapore, was also detained and deported ,reflects:"The success of IMF/WB meeting must be much,much more important to the Singapore government than individual human rights. Once again, I realized the value of freedom and real democracy-we should always remember what are our rights and put efforts to protect, promote and realise human rights."

Initial report by IPF team, Jelson Garcia,Bank Information Center and Bobby Diciembre of Freedom from Debt Coalition and updated by Fides Bagasao of CO Multiversity/

LOCOA from the CSO Center, Suntec City, Singapore