The response to the vigil that we have held for Dr Chee Soon Juan, Mr Gandhi Amblam and Mr Yap Keng Ho have been heartening.
A group of us have been making camp outside Queenstown Remand Prison (QRP) every evening since Thursday last week.
We have had many people with whom we were unfamiliar, drop by and spend if not the entire evening, then part of it, with us. They were there to express their solidarity with us and to register their disquiet to the Singapore Government for their autocratic behaviour. The mood has been light and certainly informal. All sorts of discussions have been held ranging from politics to the arts to family life.
We had announced that we would hold the vigil until Thursday 30 November 2006. There have been suggestions that we keep this gathering going. This is because the narrow pavement outside QRP has turned into a little cove of camaraderial spirit.
As such, we will hold a weekly vigil until the last of the three men is released from Queenstown Remand. This will commence this Friday evening (1 Dec 2006) from 7pm, and every Friday after that.
Mr Yap Keng Ho will be released this Saturday, 2 Dec 2006. We expect him to be out between 9 am to 12 pm. Mr Yap will be the first among the three prisoners of conscience to be released since their imprisonment on 23 Nov 2006.
We urge those of you who have not joined us to come and light a candle for democracy. You will also discover for yourselves what those of us who are dedicated to bringing democracy to our country, are like.
To those who have been there, thank you for the company, the friendship and the gifts that some of you brought. We look forward to seeing you again on all or any one of the Fridays that we will be there.