MEDIA ADVISORY
Friends of the Earth International
SINGAPOREAN CRACKDOWN JEOPARDISES WORLD
BANK CREDIBILITY
SEPTEMBER 14, 2006 – The World Bank’s
credibility is in jeopardy. Most of the 500
campaigners accredited to attend the Sept.
19-20 Singapore World Bank and International
Monetary Fund annual meetings, usually
attended by hundreds of campaigners, will
boycott their meetings with the Bank.
As of today, the boycott that Friends of
the Earth International and others called for
has been joined by more than 80 social,
environmental and small farmers’
organizations from around the world.
They will boycott all meetings planned
with the World Bank in Singapore, to protest
the city-state’s expulsion and ban of
international activists who were officially
accredited by the World Bank to attend the
meetings.
“The World Bank’s demand to Singapore to
accept the banned campaigners is too little
and comes way too late. The Bank ignored
calls not to choose Singapore for its Annual
Meeting while knowing that a ban on protests
was likely to be put in place. What is
happening in Singapore is another blow to the
little that was left of the World Bank’s
credibility” said Longgena Ginting, who
coordinates Friends of the Earth
International’s Financial Institutions
campaign.
Singaporean authorities set up a list of
at least 28 people to be banned from
Singapore because they would pose a ‘security
risk’. These campaigners were accredited by
the IMF and World Bank.
"In solidarity with those denied entry
into Singapore and denied the exercise of
their fundamental rights to freedom of
expression and association, we will stay away
from all meetings and seminars in the
official programme at the World Bank and IMF
2006 annual meetings," the groups said in a
joint statement.
Friends of the Earth International
considers the Singaporean government’s ban a
grave violation of the principles of
democracy and good governance.
CASES OF DEPORTATIONS AND
DETENTIONS:
Chona Ramos from GCAP Asia and Booby
Diciembre from Jubilee South , who were
organizing the International Peoples’s Forum
(a Sept. 15-17 event due to take place in
Batam, Indonesia, in parallel to the World
Bank/IMF meetings) have been deported from
Singapore. Filomeno Santa Ana, an established
economist and academic on development finance
and economic governance from the Philippines
is currently being detained by the
Singaporean immigration authorities at Changi
international airport, as is a representative
of ActionAid Vietnam.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Longgena Ginting, Friends of the Earth
International’s Financial Institutions
campaign coordinator: by email at
ginting@foei.org or by tel: +31-20-6221369
(Dutch mobile).
The latest list of signatures of the
boycott is on the Focus is online at
http://www.focusweb.org/
|
