Humans Aren't Cargo

The following letter was published by The Online Citizen on 15 December 2010. Mr K Shanmugam Minister for Home Affairs and Law New Phoenix Park 28 Irrawaddy Road Singapore 329560 Dear Mr Shanmugam, Permit Application Nos PP/20101125/003 and PP/20101128/001 Pursuant to Section 6 of the Public Order Act 2009 – An Appeal under Section 11 of the Public Order Act 2009 We write to express our regret that the above applications for permits to conduct a vehicle procession and to distribute flyers on Saturday 18th December have been rejected. These activities are to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the United Nations International Convention for the Protection of Migrant Workers and Members of their Families which falls on 18th December. Migrant workers who are transported in the open decks of lorries are vulnerable to traffic accidents which may lead to injury and even death. Such tragedies have been widely reported in the media and discussed in Parliament. To raise awareness of the danger

The following article was published in TODAY on 15 Dec 2010. No go for International Migrants Day by Cheow Xin Yi TODAY, Dec 15, 2010 SINGAPORE - The police have rejected applications by civil society groups Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (Home) and Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2) to hold activities commemorating International Migrants Day on Saturday. The groups wanted to hold a vehicle procession to raise awareness of the dangers of migrant workers being transported on the back of lorries as well as to distribute flyers to raise awareness of the United Nations Convention for the protection of migrant workers, which the Singapore Government has not ratified. When contacted by MediaCorp, a police spokesperson said: "The permit applications were not approved due to law and order considerations. The police have advised the two NGOs to hold their activities within the confines of the Speakers' Corner instead." Home executive director Jolovan Wham feels