| PlanetOut Network/ Gay.com
December 15, 2004
Singapore again rejects gay party permit
Singapore's Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Monday
rejected an appeal from organizers of a popular circuit
party who seek permission to hold a holiday party this
year.
The appeal followed last week's action by the police,
who denied a permit to organizers of the party, known
as SnowBall.04, because the event contradicted the "moral
values" of the majority of Singapore's population.
The rejections stunned Fridae.com and its subsidiary
Jungle Media, which has produced SnowBall parties for
the past two years. Fridae.com also produces Nation,
an annual summer party that is the most popular LGBT
event in Asia.
In a statement, MHA echoed the reasoning of the police
for denying the permit.
"The blatant public display involving intimate
behavior of people of the same sex exhibited at previous
events organized by Jungle Media/Fridae.com would be
an affront and unacceptable to the large majority of
Singaporeans," the ministry said.
Fridae.com chief executive Stuart Koh decried the actions
as "poorly justified."
"Fridae is extremely disappointed with the response
we have received, which, in the absence of any illegal
act, is a blatant show of discrimination against homosexuals
in Singapore," Koh said.
Hong Kong-based Fridae.com, the largest LGBT Web site
in Asia, has posted ticket refund information for tourists
who may been planning to attend SnowBall.04.
Koh also warned that the government's action will hurt
Singapore's reputation.
"The image of Singapore as a progressive nation
will be tarnished by such an act of discrimination,"
he said, "and our aspirations of being a global
city where diversity is celebrated will be set back
by many years."
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