Singapore issues counter-attack against Amnesty

"Amnesty and ICJ have sought to create the impression that they are two impartial, independent observers," a Ministry of Law statement said after the two organisations issued scathing attacks on Singapore's leaders and courts.

"In fact they have engaged in a coordinated, partisan propaganda campaign to pressure the Singapore government," the statement said.

"By their contemptible attacks on the judges, they have also sought to intimidate the courts."

Amnesty had slammed Singapore leaders from its London headquarters Wednesday for allegedly resorting to the courts to silence the political opposition.

The Geneva-based ICJ earlier issued similar criticism. Both groups sent observers to the trial of Singapore's top opposition leader, lawyer J.B. Jeyaretnam, who was ordered last month to pay Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong S$20,000 (US$13,000) in damages.

"The reputation and integrity of Singapore's leaders have always been and continue to be vital to Singapore's success," the Singapore law ministry said. It said the government was "recognised internationally as being honest" and that billions of dollars were invested by foreign companies in Singapore on the basis of faith in the "charater and integrity of the Singapore leadership."

"This faith and Singapore's future will be seriously damaged if government leaders who are defamed are afraid to clear their names in court," it said, noting even opposition politicians had filed defamation suits against their critics.

Amnesty, regarded as the world's top human rights watchdog, had said that "Singapore's leaders are in fact resorting to defamation suits as a politially motivated tactic to silence critical views and curb opposition activity." Amnesty also questioned why the Jeyaretnam case was ever brought to court.

Goh and 10 other leaders of the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) sued Jeyaretnam, leader of the Workers' Party, for allegedly defaming them with remarks at a political rally on the eve of general elections last January. Jeyaretnam had told the crowd that another opposition candidate, Tang Liang Hong, had filed police complaints against Goh for campaign remarks made by the prime minister.

A high court judge last month found Jeyaretnam guilty of defamation for talking about the police reports in public. Tang, who has fled to exile, was earlier found guilty of defamation for that case and as well as public statements he made against the PAP, and ordered to pay a record 8.08 million Singapore dollars to PAP leaders.

Amnesty said defamation suits by Singapore leaders "place restrictions on freedom of expression that cannot be justified under international standards."

"Outside of Singapore, in a society respectful of these standards, Jeyaretnem's allegedly defamatory words would not have excited comment -- let alone prompted actions of this kind," it added.

The Singapore law ministry said that this was "absurd." "There is no international standard which says that freedom of expression is freedom to destroy another's reputation. The Singapore constitution guarantees freedom of expression. But that is no licence to defame," it said.