fountainhall
February 18th, 2015, 16:50
I always find it odd that Singapore is one of the cruisiest cities in the region with hosts of gorgeous guys. Yet the government is almost as autocratically right-wing as they come in these parts and it still will not go with the flow in terms of accepting gay rights.
It is well known that its legal framework has a hangover from its Victorian colonial past making it a criminal offence for men to have sex with other men. This is enshrined in Section 377A of the Penal Code. A gay couple who have been in a relationship for 15 years made the most recent attempt to have the law overturned. In October last year, SingaporeтАЩs Court of Appeal threw out their case and upheld Section 377A.
The government is also incredibly touchy whenever and wherever it is criticized. Newspapers around the world regularly receive long missives from ambassadors and other representatives claiming news that has been printed is not - in their opinion - fact. Nor has the government been in the least bit shy to take action for libel against the news media тАУ just ask the publisher of The Economist. Since 2006, many foreign publications have to pay a security deposit of S$200,000 if they wish to be sold in the city state.
The government of the Parliamentary Representative Democratic Republic of Singapore has been in the hands of the PeopleтАЩs Action Party since 1959. The PAP has won every general election since. For the first 15 years there was no opposition MP. In 2001, it gained 82 out of the 84 contested seats. Organisations like The Economist Intelligence Unit and Freedom House classify it as a hybrid country with authoritarian and democratic elements. The few opposition MPs have been regularly harassed and hounded with law suits, including libel.
The Singapore Law Society is not the government, but there can be little doubt that it pays attention when the government dogs bark. Clearly some barking has been going on recently.
In 2010 a Singapore human rights lawyer M. Ravi lost a constitutional challenge against Section 377A The media quoted him as saying, тАЬIt appears that this absurd and discriminatory law criminalizes the core aspect of an individualтАЩs identity, in this case, homosexual men. This unequal treatment in the law is based on hatred for hatredтАЩs sake, and discrimination for discriminationтАЩs sake, and nothing else.тАЭ
Just a few days ago, M Ravi was suspended by SingaporeтАЩs Law Society.
And hereтАЩs the typically Singaporean part. According to Reuters, the reason given for his suspension is that the Law Society is concerned about the state of RaviтАЩs тАЬmental healthтАЭ. Apparently this has deteriorated and thus affected his ability to practice law. Naturally, the Law Society took the opportunity of confirming that its decision had nothing whatever to do with the lawyerтАЩs political views!
And if you believe that, then the moon is indeed made of some form of cheese!
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/ ... 9120150214 (http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/14/us-singapore-lawyer-idUSKBN0LI09120150214)
It is well known that its legal framework has a hangover from its Victorian colonial past making it a criminal offence for men to have sex with other men. This is enshrined in Section 377A of the Penal Code. A gay couple who have been in a relationship for 15 years made the most recent attempt to have the law overturned. In October last year, SingaporeтАЩs Court of Appeal threw out their case and upheld Section 377A.
The government is also incredibly touchy whenever and wherever it is criticized. Newspapers around the world regularly receive long missives from ambassadors and other representatives claiming news that has been printed is not - in their opinion - fact. Nor has the government been in the least bit shy to take action for libel against the news media тАУ just ask the publisher of The Economist. Since 2006, many foreign publications have to pay a security deposit of S$200,000 if they wish to be sold in the city state.
The government of the Parliamentary Representative Democratic Republic of Singapore has been in the hands of the PeopleтАЩs Action Party since 1959. The PAP has won every general election since. For the first 15 years there was no opposition MP. In 2001, it gained 82 out of the 84 contested seats. Organisations like The Economist Intelligence Unit and Freedom House classify it as a hybrid country with authoritarian and democratic elements. The few opposition MPs have been regularly harassed and hounded with law suits, including libel.
The Singapore Law Society is not the government, but there can be little doubt that it pays attention when the government dogs bark. Clearly some barking has been going on recently.
In 2010 a Singapore human rights lawyer M. Ravi lost a constitutional challenge against Section 377A The media quoted him as saying, тАЬIt appears that this absurd and discriminatory law criminalizes the core aspect of an individualтАЩs identity, in this case, homosexual men. This unequal treatment in the law is based on hatred for hatredтАЩs sake, and discrimination for discriminationтАЩs sake, and nothing else.тАЭ
Just a few days ago, M Ravi was suspended by SingaporeтАЩs Law Society.
And hereтАЩs the typically Singaporean part. According to Reuters, the reason given for his suspension is that the Law Society is concerned about the state of RaviтАЩs тАЬmental healthтАЭ. Apparently this has deteriorated and thus affected his ability to practice law. Naturally, the Law Society took the opportunity of confirming that its decision had nothing whatever to do with the lawyerтАЩs political views!
And if you believe that, then the moon is indeed made of some form of cheese!
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/ ... 9120150214 (http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/14/us-singapore-lawyer-idUSKBN0LI09120150214)