Wolfowitz, NGOs knock S'pore for IMF activist ban

SINGAPORE, Sep 9 (Reuters) Singapore has drawn sharp criticism from the World Bank chief and non-governmental groups after it banned about 20 activists from entering the country for next week's IMF-World Bank meetings.

Singapore police issued a terse statement yesterday saying anyone deemed ''undesirable'' would be ineligible for entry during the period of the IMF-World Bank meetings and side events which start on Wednesday. They did not elaborate.

A group of NGOs said in a media statement overnight that the city-state had barred entry to about 20 people from five civic groups who had already been pre-approved by the IMF and World Bank.

Singapore-based activists said the ban -- which targeted activists from groups including the International NGO Forum on Indonesian Development, the Freedom from Debt Coalition and the World Development Movement -- was uncalled for and a snub to the organisers.

''It is quite a big embarrassment for the World Bank itself, which is trying to reach out to the civil society and talk about governance, transparency and democracy,'' said Sinapan Samydorai, president of Think Centre in Singapore.

''Here we have a government that is rejecting everything they stand for,'' he said.

Although the World Bank said outdoor protests should be allowed during the conference, Singapore has agreed to permit only indoor protests within a designated area in the lobby of the conference venue.

Public demonstrations are rare in Singapore, which requires a police permit for all outdoors protests and for any gathering of more than four people.

Paul Wolfowitz, president of the World Bank, told the BBC he hoped Singapore authorities would reverse what he called a bad decision, adding that it was important to hold a ''strong dialogue'' with such groups.

''We may not always agree with what they have to say, but it is very important to have that discussion,'' he said.

Apart from the thousands of officials attending the meetings, the IMF and World Bank said they had already accredited nearly 500 ''civil society representatives'' from more than 45 countries.

THE WRONG PLACE? In a joint statement yesterday which civic groups said was too soft on Singapore, the IMF and World Bank urged the government to allow all properly accredited representatives to attend the meetings.

''We have consistently opposed any restrictions on full participation and peaceful expression of views,'' the statement said. ''We strongly urge the Singapore government to act swiftly and reverse their decision on entry and access to the meetings for these representatives.'' Lidy Nacpil, international coordinator for Jubilee South, a network of NGOs, told Reuters the IMF and World Bank should have anticipated such a decision by Singapore.

''I don't think they can pretend to be that shocked, because they knew very well when they chose Singapore, the orientation and nature and domestic policies of the country, and they should have anticipated this,'' she said.

''In fact, they should not have chosen Singapore in the first place if they truly are upholding the rights of citizens to have their say in issues.'' Samydorai said Singapore, which is trying to turn itself into a major financial centre and regional tourism base, needed to find a way to better engage civil society.

''By doing this, I think the world will get to know what is the real Singapore,'' he said. ''Of course, we are economically better off, but political-control wise, I think it's time for them to rethink, or revisit, the concept of being more open.'' However, Peggy Kek, deputy executive director for the NGO Singapore International Foundation, said she could understand the city-state's concerns about security.

Singapore, as a staunch US ally and a major base for Western business, sees itself as a prime terrorism target in Southeast Asia after foiling plots in 2001 by the Jemaah Islamiah group to attack various Western targets in Singapore.

''Everybody's on heightened alert at the moment and when you have such a big group of high-level people in one place at one time, it's got to be an attractive target, and that's what one has to think about,'' she said.

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