TR EMERITUS

By Jessica Jaganathan from Straits Times THE Health Ministry is recommending that pregnant women should be given only one of the two versions of the Influenza A (H1N1) vaccine available here. The ministry told The Straits Times yesterday that expectant mothers should be given vaccines which do not contain an adjuvant, or chemical additive. There are two types of H1N1 vaccines available here: Australian pharmaceutical giant CSL's Panvax, which does not contain the additive, and British company GlaxoSmithKline's (GSK) Pandemrix, which does. The additive in Pandemrix acts as an immunity booster, allowing the immune system to react faster to the vaccine. The additive also allows the vaccine to be given in smaller doses. Countries like Switzerland had recently restricted the use of Pandemrix for pregnant women, because of the lack of data on its side-effects for this group. The World Health Organisation had also recommended that pregnant women should receive an additive-free version of the vaccine. Yesterday, the Health Ministry told The Straits Times that vaccines without additives have a longer track record of safety when it comes to pregnant women. It is thus recommending that such vaccines be used if available. The ministry is also recommending that only women in their last six months of pregnancy be given the H1N1 shots. However, because pregnant women are at higher risk of being severely affected by the virus, they should not refrain from getting the shots altogether. Right now, the ministry recommends that people at high risk - pregnant women, those with medical conditions like heart disease and those travelling to countries in the Northern Hemisphere, where winter increases the risk of catching the pandemic flu - should get the H1N1 vaccine. Meanwhile, demand for the vaccine has outstripped supply. Currently, 271,180 doses have been ordered, but only 250,000 doses are available. However, 106,400 doses from CSL are expected to arrive at the weekend. - ST  Read More →

From our Correspondent The Singapore government has found itself in the international spotlight again for the wrong reason! Human Rights group Amnesty International has written an open letter to Canadian Prime Minister Stephan Harper urging him to use the occasion of his visit to Singapore to attend the APEC Summit to raise serious human rights issues with Singapore officials. Canadian lawyer Mr Amsterdam had earlier published a White Paper - “The Repression of political freedoms in Singapore: The Case of opposition leader Dr Chee Soon Juan” which documents the repression of political freedoms in Singapore and outlines how the Government of Singapore, under the leadership of the People’s Action Party (PAP), has monopolized the state’s apparatus to its own benefit. The press release by Amsterdam & Peroff was given extensive publicity by major news organisations like MSN, AOL, National Examiner and Reuters as well as global investment and trade organisations like Forbes, Breitbart, EuroInvestor and Bizjournals much to the embarrassment of the Singapore government which published a weak rebuttal to it on a government website. The letter which was written by Amnesty International Secretary General for Canada Alex Neves, described Singapore has having two realities: "its appearance as a progressive country with regular elections and economic success; and its record of human rights violations designed to maintain the political status quo of the People's Action Party (PAP) during its virtual one-party rule over the past half-century. Lee Kuan Yew, now Minister Mentor, has led Singapore in a number of government positions since independence in 1959." Mr Neves criticized Singapore's restrictive laws and defamation lawsuits as well as the recently enacted Public Order Act (POA) which restricts cause-related public assemblies: "Restrictive laws and civil defamation suits brought for political motives against opponents of the PAP are ruinous to the victims and have a "chilling" effect on potential critics and the population at large.....The result is a climate of political intimidation and self-censorship that deters the expression of views alternative to those of the ruling party and dissuades many Singaporeans from exercising their right to take part in public affairs," he wrote. The letter also brought up the case of former Singapore President Devan Nair who was sued by MM Lee Kuan Yew for defamation in a Canadian court for remarks made in an interview article in the Globe and Mail. Devan Nair described Lee's technique of suing his opponents into bankruptcy or oblivion as an "abrogation of political rights." He also remarked that Lee is "an increasingly self-righteous know-all", surrounded by "department store dummies". In response to these remarks, Lee sued Devan Nair in a Canadian court and Nair countersued. Lee then brought a motion to have Nair's counterclaim thrown out of court. Lee argued that Nair's counterclaim disclosed no reasonable cause of action and constituted an inflammatory attack on the integrity of the government of Singapore. However, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice refused to throw out Nair's counterclaim, holding that Lee had abused the litigating process and therefore Nair has a reasonable cause of action. [Source: Lee v. Globe and Mail (2001), 6 C.P.C. (5th) 354 (Ont.S.C.J.)] Another issue raised by Amnesty International is Singapore's high per capita rates of execution. It described the trials as failing "to meet international standards for fairness." The letter ended by urging the Canadian Prime Minister to press the Singapore government to "ensure that the filing and judicial examination of civil defamation suits fully recognizes and upholds the right to freedom of expression and will not be used for political purposes." The APEC Summit is supposed to showcase Singapore as a modern, cosmopolitan and vibrant country to the rest of the world, but it ended up being hijacked by human rights groups to pursue their own agenda. The constant barrage of criticisms and accusations hurled at the Singapore government during this crucial period not only distract international attention away from APEC, but is damaging to its international image and standing as well. Despite widespread skepticism and doubts about its archaic political system, the Singapore government is adamant that "societal interests take priority before the individual" to justify the repressive laws put in place to curtail the civil liberties of its citizens. Related articles: >> Singapore govt rebukes white paper’s claims on repression in Singapore >> Singapore’s ruling party embarrassed by white paper on its repression >> White paper condemns repression of political freedoms in Singapore  Read More →

The Right Honorable Stephan Harper Prime Minister of Canada 80 Wellington Street Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A2 November 10, 2009 Dear Prime Minister, We are writing this open letter to you in advance of your upcoming travel to Singapore to attend the APEC Summit, and then on to India. Amnesty International has long-standing concerns about human rights violations in both Singapore and India. We call on you, therefore, to use the occasion of these visits to raise serious human rights issues with officials in both countries. We recognize that trade, investment, and economic matters are likely to dominate the agenda at the APEC Summit and be a priority as well during your visit to India. We urge you, however, to ensure that human rights are also central to all of your discussions and are not relegated to the back seat. Below, we lay out some of our principal areas of concerns and key recommendations for reform with respect to the human rights situation in both Singapore and India. We urge you to raise these issues in all relevant meetings with officials in the two countries. SINGAPORE Singapore has two realities: its appearance as a progressive country with regular elections and economic success; and its record of human rights violations designed to maintain the political status quo of the People's Action Party (PAP) during its virtual one-party rule over the past half-century. Lee Kuan Yew, now Minister Mentor, has led Singapore in a number of government positions since independence in 1959. Amnesty International's main concerns are: the misuse of the law to punish critics, who face ruinous defamation and other suits; and the shockingly high per capita rate of executions - possibly highest in the world - often after unfair trials. Restrictive laws and civil defamation suits brought for political motives against opponents of the PAP are ruinous to the victims and have a "chilling" effect on potential critics and the population at large. While government leaders claim they have the right to defend their reputations, there are serious concerns that the real motive is to silence selected opposition figures and remove them from public life. The result is a climate of political intimidation and self-censorship that deters the expression of views alternative to those of the ruling party and dissuades many Singaporeans from exercising their right to take part in public affairs. The recently enacted Public Order Act (POA), which restricts cause-related public assemblies, is seen as designed to target Dr Chee Soon Juan, Secretary-General of the small opposition Singapore Democratic Party, prior to the APEC meeting. Under the POA, even a sole demonstrator needs a permit. Dr Chee points out, however, that the authorities state that no permits will be issued for outside "political" assemblies. He has been fired from his university position, made bankrupt, imprisoned some seven times and banned from contesting a parliamentary seat or leaving the country without permission. Dr Chee is a recipient of the Defender of Democracy Award by Parliamentarians for Global Action, a leading member of a number of international human rights bodies and author of several books related to his belief in non-violent change. With respect to his continuing legal harassment, he is currently represented by a Canadian lawyer. Also significant to Canada is the case of former President CV Devan Nair, who became a government critic, went into exile and settled in Hamilton, Ontario, where he expressed his criticisms in an interview article in the Globe and Mail. The outcome was a defamation suit filed by Lee Kuan Yew against both newspaper and former President. Amnesty International believes that Singapore has one of the highest per capita rates of execution in the world, often after trials that fail to meet international standards for fairness. Over 400 people have been executed since 1991 in a country with a population of close to 5 million (approximately the size of Toronto). Most death sentences result from convictions for drug trafficking under the Misuse of Drugs Act, which places the burden of proof on the accused and provides a mandatory death sentence, thus removing a court's discretionary powers. Prime Minister, Amnesty International calls on you to raise these concerns in discussions with Singapore officials. Specifically, we urge you to press the Singapore government to: - ensure that the filing and judicial examination of civil defamation suits fully recognizes and upholds the right to freedom of expression and will not be used for political purposes; - cease any further action that violates the right to freedom of expression of Dr Chee Soon Juan and colleagues; and - publicly declare a moratorium on executions in the country, in keeping with the resolutions adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2007 and 2008. We further urge that you seek out opportunities to meet with Dr Chee Soon Juan and other representatives of Singapore civil society while you are in the country. Sincerely, Alex Neve Secretary General Amnesty International Canada Source: Robert Amsterdam  Read More →