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“This is a breach of the formal agreement we had with the government of
Singapore, in the Sept 23, 2003 Memorandum of Understanding,” said Kevin
Shaw Kellems, senior adviser to World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz, in a terse
statement.
<p>The Singapore police said the 28 – who had accreditation from the International
Monetary Fund and World Bank to attend their meetings here – may be barred
from the country as they could “create security and law and order problems.”
</p>
<p>But Kellems said they should not be excluded from the meetings and added: “We
work with these representatives of civil societies, and we value their role
– even when we disagree with what they say.” </p>
<p>He urged the government to let them participate. </p>
<p>A spokesman for Singapore’s organising committee for the meetings said
last night it was looking into the statement. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, police clarified that no accredited activists have been barred from
Singapore, and said the media that had earlier reported a ban had got it wrong.
</p>
<p>“Rather, we have raised objections to the accreditation of these activists,”
said a statement by the police on Wednesday. </p>
<p>“If they decide to come to Singapore, we will assess their suitability
to enter Singapore subject to a set of security criteria. If they meet the criteria,
they will be allowed into Singapore.” </p>
<p>It did not say what these criteria were. </p>
<p>Over the past two days, three activists were denied entry to the country when
they landed at Changi Airport. </p>
<p>Filipinos Chona Ramos and Bobby Diciembre were sent home to the Philippines
on Wednesday morning, after arriving on Tuesday afternoon. The third, an Indian,
will be deported once his flight is confirmed, said the police. </p>
<p>The trio were found to have “posed a potential security and public order
threat” to the IMF-World Bank event. They were not accredited to attend
the meetings and not among the 28 blacklisted activists. </p>
<p>The European Union has backed the World Bank’s stand, saying the 28 accredited
activists have the right to participate in the meetings. </p>
<p>A statement from the Finnish EU Presidency said: “The Presidency considers
civil society participation an indispensable part of the World Bank and IMF
Annual Meetings.” – The Straits Times / Asia News Network
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