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Singapore threatens political bloggers

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Singaporeans who post political commentary on Web sites could face prosecution according to a recent report at ZDNet.

Speaking in parliament, Senior Minister of State Balaji Sadasivan said anyone using the Internet to “persistently propagate, promote or circulate political issues” about Singapore during election periods was breaking the law.

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, whose People’s Action Party has dominated politics in the city-state since its independence in 1965, is widely expected to call early elections in the coming months.

“In a free-for-all Internet environment, where there are no rules, political debate could easily degenerate into an unhealthy, unreliable and dangerous discourse, flush with rumors and distortions to mislead and confuse the public,” Sadasivan said.

The tiny island-republic’s laws require political parties and individuals to register if they want to post political content on the Net.

While Singapore has oft been known for its strange poitical and legal gestures in the big scope they have been rather mute about bloggers and political commentary. Mostly to avoid international scrutiny. But with elections gearing up to take place whenver the government wants them to. It looks like they want to put a muzzle on the Singaporean blogosphere before the election period.

Originally posted on April 4, 2006 @ 9:28 pm