14 October 2002
Brigadier-General Michael Teo
Singapore High Commission
9 Wilton Crescent
Belgravia
London SW1X 8SP
Your Excellency,
I wish to bring to your attention the petition which Liberal International is organizing in respect of the case of Dr Chee Soon Juan, Secretary General of the Singapore Democratic Party. Liberal International at its Executive Committee meeting in Gibraltar on 28 September 2002 adopted a resolution on Singapore in which it noted its concerns with respect to human rights, freedom of expression and democratic debate, and the recent trial of Dr Chee in Singapore.
Liberal International is a political network of 90 liberal political parties throughout the world, some in government, some in opposition, some promoting liberal values in situations of authoritarianism. Among our political commitments we support the ratification and observance of international Human Rights standards and the establishment of independent Human Rights Commissions and Ombudsmen.
Liberal International has brought to the attention of its member parties the situation in Singapore as described in the recent (2002) reports of Amnesty International and the State Department of the United States Government, and in its petition LI calls upon the Singapore Government to take action to remedy the points raised in these two reports. The details of the resolution and the petition can be found online at http://www.liberal-international.org.
Yours Sincerely,
Jasper Veen
Human Rights Officer
Liberal International