Statement from Function 8.
21 September 2012
PRESS RELEASE
We refer to the press release of MHA of 20 Sep 2012. MHA alleged that Function 8 is disrespectful towards Archbishop Nicholas Chia of the Catholic Church. This is untrue. The allegations have attempted to set F8 against the church. The Archbishop had withdrawn the letter sent to the organisersof the commemoration event of Operation Spectrum. To date, as far as we know, this letter has not surfaced in public. We have obviously respected the wishes of the head of the Catholic Church by not publicizing the contents of his letters.
In our response dated 1 June 2012 to the letter of withdrawal by His Grace, we sought his clarifications over several questions: How did he come to the conclusion that there is an ulterior motive to use his unsolicited letter outside of the event? Doesn’t justice require a hearing from all sides? And should we copy our letter to the person who was copied in his letter of withdrawal?
More than three months have passed and we have not heard from the Archbishop.
Out of respect for His Grace, we had voluntarily not publicized our letter of response to his letter of withdrawal, and had hoped for the courtesy of a reply from him in due course. However, MHA’s unwarranted allegations have now forced us to show details of our letter to the Archbishop in order to clear the allegations against us. This letter is reluctantly attached with parts blacked out to protect the direct contents of the Archbishop’s original letter and the identity of the person who was copied in his letter of withdrawal.
MHA further claimed that Function 8 had publicised the matter through blogger Alex Au. Function 8 and MARUAH as partner organizations had, on the 3rd of September 2012, decided to try arranging for a private dialogue with MHA and other relevant organisations. We were in the process of drafting letters. There is no conceivable reason why we would choose to trip ourselves up by having the matter aired in public. Why has MHA made publicity of this matter the focus of conversation when the more pertinent question is one of transparency in executive action in engaging civil society?
We trust that the government wants to generate a meaningful national conversation at this time. MHA said that “government ministers meet regularly with religious leaders in Singapore”. We hope that theywould also engage civil society groups for “frank exchange of views especially on sensitive subjects”.
We hope this ‘national’ conversation can be conducted with dignity and civility over tea and certainlynot through the national papers. We continue to request a meaningful dialogue with MHA and other affected parties on this matter away from the noise of what has turned into an ugly public dispute. Assuch, we hope that this will be the last public statement we have to make as an organization on this matter.
In ending, we state categorically that we continue to applaud the Catholic Church for her good work carried out in our society to uphold social justice, caring for the poor and the weak. At no time will we allow ourselves to be set against the Church by inappropriate and unjustified allegations by any party.
Issued by
Function 8 Ltd
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Letter from the organisers of the 25th anniversary commemorative event at Speakers' Corner on 2 June 2012, to Archbishop Nicholas Chia on 1 June 2012.
Dear Monsignor Nicholas Chia
May we first say that we were very happy to receive your letter of 25th May 2012 in support of the commemoration event of Operation Spectrum to be held on 2 June 2012 and your wish for [-----blanked out by organisers-----]. We received and appreciated it as a gesture on the part of the Catholic Church in Singapore to recognize truth and acknowledge the injustice suffered by the former detainees of Operation Spectrum and their families.
Needless to say, we are deeply disappointed and puzzled to receive your letter of withdrawal, just five days later.
Whatever might have transpired to pressurize the head of the Catholic Church in Singapore to withdraw the letter, we would like to think that you can now understand why the detainees had to make their “confessions” under the duress of torture and the threat of indefinite detention without trial.
We do not regard the event we are organizing as “political activities”, but as an effort to achieve restorative justice. This is a human and necessary stage in the healing process for the former detainees of Operation Spectrum, their families and friends. We are somewhat amazed and dismayed that you seem to suspect – without giving any reason (and indeed there is none) – that there is any ulterior motive to use your letter outside of the event, in any way at all.
How did you come to this conclusion? We had not even solicited the letter from you in the first place.
We note that you have copied a Mr [----blanked out by organisers----] in your letter of withdrawal and are puzzled as to his role in this matter when he was not copied in the first lett er. Should we also copy this response to Mr [----blanked out by organisers---]? Out of courtesy, we will await your response.
Lastly, while we can understand that Christians are obliged to “render to Caesar what is Caesar’s”, in the context of Singapore, we are curious to know what you think they should “render to God” in this same context.
Yours sincerely,
The Organisers