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Singapore Democrats
 A
White Paper
written by law firm Amsterdam & Peroff about repression in Singapore is receiving extensive attention across the world. More than 160 online media organisations and news agencies have picked up the press release of the White Paper.
Entitled: The Repression of Political Freedoms in Singapore: The Case of Opposition Leader Dr. Chee Soon Juan, the document traces the years of oppressive measures taken by the PAP to silence its critics in Singapore.
Mr Robert Amsterdam, a prominent international human rights lawyer as well as an expert in corporate disputes, spearheaded the project.
The press release was picked up by major news organisations like MSN (which boasts of 25 million visitors a day), AOL (18 million), National Examiner (half a million) and Reuters (quarter million).
Apart from these giant news networks, the statement was also featured by global investment and trade organisations like Forbes, Breitbart, EuroInvestor and Bizjournals.
The news was, perhaps, carried most extensively in the US by scores of local news networks all across the country. From Boise, Idaho to El Paso, Texas; from Tucson, Arizona to Spokane, Washington; from Reno, Nevada to Shreveport, Louisiana website after website featured the news. Even Honolulu carried the statement.
All in all, an incredible 160 news websites, big and small, published the press release. Many of these media outlets are affiliates of major TV networks like ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC.
Because of the upcoming APEC meeting many of the websites posted the news on its business and money sections.
The statement talks about the Government's use of "unconstitutional domestic laws" to silence dissent and highlights the recently passed Public Order Act that has "consolidated further the authority of the ruling PAP over the political opposition."
The release also mentions the judiciary and media. It says that the threat of defamation and libel suits have "created a climate for the suppression of political freedoms."
It also calls for APEC leaders to meet with civil society and opposition leaders in Singapore, for ASEAN to establish a viable human rights commission, and for charges against Dr Chee and colleagues to be dropped.
 Mr Amsterdam met Dr Chee when he attended the International Bar Association conference held in Singapore in 2007. The IBA subsequently published a paper that was critical of the judicial and legal systems in Singapore.
The lawyer had gone to the Istana where Dr Chee was protesting against Singapore's investments and arms deals with the military regime in Burma.
The London-based Canadian lawyer agreed to become the SDP's and Dr Chee's lawyer in 2008 and has assisted the parties in their on-going trials in Singapore courts.
Mr Amsterdam's clients include Russian oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky who has been in jail for the last six years for supporting the Russia's opposition.
Mr Amsterdam writes a high-profile blog here.
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As such, I can see why this SDP article does not even attempt to highlight any new ideas contained therein. The only difference is that it is euphemistically couched in the form of a “white paper”.
Basil Liddell Hart advocated an "indirect approach" as a strategy for armies to advance along the line of least expectation against the least resistance.
The approach of appealing to foreign backing to buttress SDP's causes, showcase the party's predicament and apply pressure on the government can also be considered indirect. But it moves NEITHER against a line of least expectation NOR resistance.
Firstly, such a move is not unexpected since SDP has repeated this tactic often enough. Diplomatically, I do not see foreign leaders even bothering to raise the issue to the host nation at APEC.
In fact, the approach is tantamount to an onslaught further deeper into political wilderness because it further ingrains in Singaporeans' minds an image of a foreign lackey who is incapable and/or unwilling of bringing its case directly to the electorate.
[b]My recommendation is for SDP to focus on engaging the local electorate directly and earnestly, and disassociate itself from the misplaced foreign meander.[/b]