Singapore’s gay community holds rally

Close to 2500 activists donning pink rallied for gay rights on Saturday in nanny-state Singapore, just one week after the government rescinded an NGO sex education program. The reason cited for stopping the program, organized by women’s rights NGO Aware (Association for Women for Action and Research), was that it promoted alternative lifestyles unpalatable to mainstream Singaporean society. While sodomy is still illegal and homosexuality is not recognized, the government has  become more tolerant of gays and lesbians in recent years. It has also become more tolerant of protests, which were once essentially banned. The one-party state, led by People’s Action Party, recently encouraged Singaporeans to hold public demonstration in a previously empty and quiet Speakers’ Corner park. The catch is they cannot air grievances related to race, religion or language.  According to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, law, order and security are all priorities for the small and ethnically diverse city-state community. “One incident could undermine our racial harmony”, Lee was recently quoted as saying in the Straits Times.

Singapore’s gay community holds first-ever rally, Associated Press

Hong Lim park turns pink, The Straits Times

Speakers’ Corner: protests ok, The Straits Times