Continuing with the theme from last week of freedom of expression and the chapters we have read this week on the harsh punishments that the colonialists exhibited on the native populations of Asia, this article posted by the New York Times seemed especially relevant. The article tells the story of a 16 year old boy who has been arrested by Singapore officials for criticizing the late founder Lee Kwan Yew. lee Kwan Yew was considered the founder of modern Singapore, the teenage boy questioned whether the ruler did indeed help his people or that the prosperity came at the cost of civil rights and liberties. Since his arrest his Youtube account has been switched to private and the authorities have justified their actions under the Harassment Act, which bans speech with “deliberate intention of wounding the religious or racial feelings.”(BBC) the authorities have invoked their right to use this law by saying the teenager criticizing Christianity, given the specific remarks about the leader and the fact that his speech was made the day after his death it is not hard to suspect that the teenager was arrested for defacing the leader not the belief of Christianity.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/31/world/asia/singapore-arrests-teenager-over-video-critical-of-lee-kuan-yew.html?ref=asia&_r=0
No comments:
Post a Comment