SINGAPORE - Dec 9, 2004
Fridae, a Singaporean gay and lesbian party organizer, has had their annual dance party rejected by police who must approve all social gatherings in this tiny Asian city-state.Police representatives were quoted as saying that gay gatherings are “contrary to public interest in general.”
Police observed a previous party organized by Fridae and noted "patrons of the same gender seen openly kissing and intimately touching each other. Some of the revellers were cross-dressed, for example, males wearing skirts. Patrons were also seen using the toilets of the opposite sex. A number of couples of the same sex were seen hugging and kissing in public after the event while waiting for taxis and checking into the nearby hotels after the party."
Fridae recently came in for special criticism from Singapore's Senior Minister of Health, Dr Balaji Sadasivan, for advocating a "life-style of reckless regard to sexual health and safety."
In a mixed message issued to the press, police stated that they "recognise that there are some Singaporeans with gay tendencies. While Police do not discriminate against them on this basis, the Police also recognise that Singapore is still, by and large, a conservative and traditional society. Hence, the Police cannot approve any application for an event which goes against the moral values of a large majority of Singaporeans. Future applications for events of similar nature will be closely scrutinised.”
So while police say they no longer descriminate based on rule of law, they admit that they continue to make arbitrary moral decisions based on their own opinion of what society does or does not accept.
Fridae has supplied a list of relevant email contacts and encourages readers to let their voices be heard in contrast to the loud-mouthed anti-gay religious cliques that continue to press for extralegal oppression of other citizens' freedoms:
Prime Minister's Office (pmo_hq@pmo.gov.sg)
Feedback Unit (feedback_unit@mcys.gov.sg)
Ministry of Home Affairs (mha_feedback@mha.gov.sg)
Singapore Police Force Licensing Division (SPF_OPS_Licensing@spf.gov.sg)
Singapore Police Force Licensing Public Affairs Department (spf_spinet_webmaster@spf.gov.sg)
Singapore Tourism Board (feedback@stb.com.sg)