Not much to smile about in the land of 4 million smiles
Image source: AFP
More than 160 NGOs boycotted the IMF and World Bank meetings in Singapore this week to protest against a clampdown on free speech and the banning of activists; some of whom plan to sue the Singapore government. The super organised event has been so ‘over-stage-managed‘ that even someone as right-wing as the World Bank president himself, Paul Wolfowitz, has declared that Singapore had inflicted “enormous damage” to its reputation because of its reluctance to admit people who were already accredited by the World Bank and IMF. Not good PR for a country looking to boost its tourist dollar me thinks. Gayle Goh has all the gory details.
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