Singapore Democrats Secretary-General Chee Soon Juan will meet with a delegation of European Parliamentarians today. A 17-strong delegation of Members of European Parliament is presently in Singapore on an official visit. The European legislators will be meeting with their Singaporean counterparts during their visit.
The delegation has asked to meet with Dr Chee. Accompanying Dr Chee will be Ms Chee Siok Chin, head of the SDP’s women’s wing, and human rights lawyer, Mr M Ravi.
The trio will highlight the continued suppression of civil and political rights in Singapore, in particular, the lack of free and fair elections in this country. They will urge the European lawmakers to more actively pursue the matter of the lack of democracy in Singapore and to pressure the Singapore Government to respect the human rights of Singaporeans.
The issue of the death penalty as it is currently practiced will also be raised at the meeting.
Singapore’s death penalty raised in Euro Parliament
In the meantime a written question was submitted to the European Council by Mr Graham Watson, Member of the European Parliament and leader of the Alliance for Liberals Democrats in Europe (ALDE), about the death penalty in Singapore:
Written Question E-1652/05
by Graham Watson (ALDE) to the Council
Subject: Death penalty in Singapore
Is the Council aware that Singapore is believed to have the highest per capita rate of executions in the world? Will the Council’s High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy raise this matter with the government of Singapore? Official information about the use of the death penalty is shrouded in secrecy. There is virtually no public debate about the death penalty in Singapore.
E-1652/05
Reply
(20 September 2005)
The Council is aware of the rate of executions in Singapore. The EU calls for abolition of the death penalty and takes action accordingly on the basis of the guidelines on the death penalty adopted in 1998. The Union has voiced its concerns over the death penalty in meetings at various levels with the Singaporean authorities.