In Support of Mr. James Gomez and the Workers' Party

We, the Undersigned, endorse the following petition:
In Support of Mr. James Gomez and the Workers' Party

On May 7th, 2006, Mr. James Gomez of the Workers' Party (hereafter, the WP) was detained at the airport on his way to Sweden. Over the past week, the tale of whether Mr. Gomez, an opposition candidate, correctly submitted his election paperwork has dominated the news on the state-run media ahead of the General Elections 2006. Although Mr. Gomez had initially remarked that the Elections Department had misplaced his document, he had later, retracted this and apologized most sincerely for his absent-mindedness. However, the long-ruling People's Action Party (hereafter, the PAP) has used the incident to try to discredit the opposition as incompetent or worse, repeating a pattern seen in previous elections of singling out opposition figures for alleged abuses and making them the dominant campaign issue. Mr. Gomez has worked as a political researcher at international think-tanks, including Germany's Friedrich Naumann Foundation and currently the Stockholm-based Idea International, which promotes democracy in developing countries. In spite of this, Mr. Lee Hsien Loong and Mr. Lee Kuan Yew have continually attacked Mr. Gomez's character, and have refused to acknowledge his apology. The PAP and it's members continue to allege that the WP had intended to discredit the Election Department, and thereby, Singapore's electoral system; the WP have refuted both charges.

1. We, the Undersigned, believe that the PAP is making a mountain out of a mole hill. Last week, Mr. Lee Hsein Loong made a comment regarding his intentions to 'fix' the opposition MPs and 'buy' votes. These comments undermined democracy in Singapore, but he was allowed to retract his words with an apology from his Press Secretary. Therefore, we believe that this priviledge should be extended to Mr. Gomez who has admitted and apologized for his mistake.

2. We, the Undersigned, demand an apology from Mr. Lee Hsien Loong, Mr. Lee Kuan Yew, and Mr. George Yeo for continually insisting their intentions to take criminal actions against both the WP and Mr. Gomez, and demanding Mr. Gomez's withdrawal during the course of the election campaigns. The abovementioned individuals have continued to discredit Mr. Gomez and all other opposition members during public appearances in both the media and during the election rallies.

3. We, the Undersigned, believe that the PAP is undertaking a series of acts of revenge against the opposition parties after noticing a marked upsurge in their popularity.

4. We, the Undersigned, believe that the PAP is perpetuating fear and intimidation amongst Singaporeans in order to stiffle public dissent by undertaking these legal actions against opposition members.

5. We, the Undersigned, believe that the PAP continues to suppress Singaporeans and deny us, of our democratic rights including freedom of speech and press, and the right to peaceful assembly.

6. We, the Undersigned, demand the immediate release of Mr. James Gomez and the return of his passport.