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Pia
Muzaffar Dawson with 2 other international students outside the
venue of ASEAN summit (Reuters photo).
Encounter
with the Singapore police (Bloomberg photo).
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Exclusive
interview with student protestor
Michael Wan
The
Campus Observer
10 Jan
08
http://campus-observer.org/index.php/news/exclusive-interview-with-student-protestor.html
NUS
exchange student Pia Muzaffar Dawson did the unthinkable last
November.
Along with two exchange
students, the 22-year-old took her chances with Singapore's
tough laws against public protests by marching down Orchard Road
into an area guarded by about 1,000 armed police and
soldiers.
Together with Daniel Babiak and Mark (who did
not want to reveal his last name), Dawson entered the city area
where the Association of South East Asian Nations leaders'
summit was being held.
The trio, dressed in red T-shirts
and holding lighted candles, were protesting against Asean's
inaction toward Burma's junta after the country's bloody
military crackdown on demonstrations led by Buddhist monks.
In
an e-mail interview with The Observer on Jan. 08, Dawson spoke
about her experience with the university administrators that
called to warn her against protesting and about what she thinks
of NUS students.
She has since completed her semester as
an exchange student at NUS and returned to England, where she is
studying international relations and development studies at the
University of Sussex.
Campus Observer: Have you
ever protested in England before?
Dawson: Yes, but
not very much. I don't have much history of activism. It's only
recently that I've been inspired to participate in protests,
specifically regarding education in the UK, anti-war, the
occupation of Palestine, and the gradual erosion of our civil
liberties in England.
Campus Observer: What
inspired you to protest that day?
Dawson: First
and foremost, the continuing political repression in Burma, the
strong links between Singaporean elites and Burmese military
rulers and drug barons, and the relative silence in Singaporean
media on both these issues.
It would have been awful if
the Burmese junta could be seen to just turn up in Singapore and
not be held accountable for their actions - especially given the
recent violent crackdown on monks and others.
Secondly,
the repressive environment in Singapore, which restricts free
speech, free assembly and free press. With the government silent
and civil society groups facing massive restrictions, we thought
that we could use our status as international students to
highlight this issue.
Thirdly - and I am speaking for
myself here - it is becoming increasingly clear to me that
protest and political participation are vital to maintaining any
semblance of democracy and political accountability. This is
something that one generation of Singaporeans knew well, but has
been stifled in contemporary Singapore. Knowing full well that a
public assembly of more than four people does not necessarily
degenerate into violence and chaos, we wanted to demonstrate
this in Singapore.
Campus Observer: It was
reported that administrators from NUS called to warn you of
Singapore's laws. What exactly did they tell you?
Dawson:
The provost and dean of students spoke to some of us. They had
managed to print out our Facebook event details and explained
that the wording of our appeal made it clear that there was
intent to hold an assembly of more than four people, even if the
protest was conducted in smaller groups.
They didn't
want us to unwittingly break the law and were concerned that as
foreign students we were not aware of local law. They even
offered us the Central Forum as an alternative venue to stage a
vigil.
Campus Observer: Why did you still decide
to go ahead with the protests?
Dawson: Because our
reasons for protesting remained the same, and we were concerned
that this kind of muting of our plans would have much less of an
impact and carry our message much less far.
We were also
lucky because we knew that any sort of legal action or arrest
would not affect us in the same way that it would affect a
Singaporean student and their future career prospects (unless we
want to work in Singapore, that is).
Campus Observer:
Were you afraid when security officials and the police stopped
your group of protesters?
Dawson: I wasn't afraid,
because we had expected to encounter police in that area, and we
knew that we hadn't broken any law. We also knew that the police
would not mistreat us in the presence of so many international
journalists. The main reason I wasn't afraid, however, was that
a successful protest usually relies on good planning, and our
group had collectively decided that we would not confront the
police or try to defy their warnings. So when the moment came,
we were all prepared to disperse peacefully.
Campus
Observer: I see that you were using your handphone in one of
the photos. Who were you calling?
Dawson:
Journalists from all over the world had been calling me non-stop
that day.
Campus Observer: Were there any friends,
well-meaning or otherwise, who tried to dissuade you from
joining the protests? Could you recount one such
experience?
Dawson: Yes, one law-student friend
tried to dissuade us and managed to dissuade some others. One
other friend was not comfortable with the fact that we would
have no control over how our protest would be represented in the
media, and he was very worried that we would be cast as
troublemakers, or that reporters would focus on us and not on
the issues that we were trying to publicise. He didn't come, in
the end. Luckily, his fears didn't come true.
However, I
had no problem with the fact that some people didn't want to
participate, because it's not right to do those things without
being comfortable with your actions. Also, other people's
criticisms were totally legitimate and meant we had many
excellent discussions in the days before the protest, which
ultimately prepared us much better for the day.
Campus
Observer: Daniel was quoted by Bloomberg: "A lot of
people wanted to come, but they were afraid of the
repercussions." What were these people's reactions after
the protests?
Dawson: They were relieved, I
think, that no harm came to us. But I think their fears were
totally valid, especially given the way the university, police
and local media attempted to scare us out of participating.
Hopefully, people will be more encouraged the next time such an
opportunity arises.
Campus Observer: What do you
think has been the effect of the protests on Singapore's
political scene?
Dawson: I don't know. I think
it's important to highlight that the next day, 40-50 Burmese
residents of Singapore were able to stage a rally, even holding
banners and placards. I hope this will encourage even more
Singaporeans to become active in civil society. I know that
there are many Singaporeans who feel disillusioned with
politics, seeing it as a sphere outside and above their control.
For me, politics is something everyday and ubiquitous, and I
believe we can empower ourselves without the permission of those
who are supposedly in authority.
Campus Observer:
Describe your opinion of NUS students in three words.
Dawson:
Overworked, competitive, and de-politicised!
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