MEDIA ADVISORY

20 August 2008

Embargoed until 22 August 2008

Burmese Citizens Denied Renewal of Visas in Singapore

Groundless non-renewal of key immigration and work documents of Burmese Patriots by
Singapore immigration and manpower authorities

Background

Since the Saffron Revolution of September 2007, the Burmese anti-junta movement has
gained remarkable momentum in Singapore, fuelled by the increasing frustration and
discontent of the Burmese people in Singapore at the outrageous atrocities committed by the
Burmese military junta.

Burmese patriots in Singapore work as one united group to raise awareness about human
rights violations by the Burmese junta, advocate for free and democratic Burma, and stand in
solidarity with the freedom and democracy movements inside Burma as well as around the
world.

Some of the notable milestones are the peaceful protest along Orchard Road on 20th
November 2007 during ASEAN Summit and the “Vote NO” Campaign for the sham
referendum on the military-drafted, new constitution for Burma during late April and early
May 2008. These activities were not only effective in raising awareness about the injustice
committed by the Burmese Junta and the true desires of the Burmese people but also lawful
in Singapore.

The political objectives of the Burmese activists have always been to advocate political
change in Burma and their guiding principle is to use peaceful as well as lawful means in
Singapore while expressing themselves. Indeed, none of the anti-junta political activities of
the Burmese activists has ever been declared unlawful or in conflict with the local
sensitivities by the Singapore government. Apart from receiving a police warning for their
participation in the Orchard Road anti-junta protest, the Burmese activists have never been
charged for any unlawful act while pursuing their political objectives.

Non-Renewal of Key Immigration Documents

Since July 2008, many Burmese patriots in Singapore have been denied renewal and
extensions of their visas or permits by Singapore’s Immigration and Checkpoint Authorities
and the Ministry of Manpower for no reason or explanation. In a span of just over two weeks,
6 Burmese patriots have been affected, and 3 of them have been forced to leave Singapore to
date.

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There is no evidence that the 6 affected Burmese patriots have ever committed a crime
against the law in Singapore. No reason or explanation has been given by the Singapore
Immigration and Checkpoint Authorities for rejecting the renewal and extension of the visas
and permits of these Burmese patriots. In the eyes of the Burmese patriots affected, the
rejections appear arbitrary and without rationale.

Statement of Intent

We, Burmese patriots, are releasing this press statement to publicly inquire:

- The underlying reasons for the apparently arbitrary rejections by Singapore authorities

- Whether the Burmese Patriots have been rejected for their peaceful political activism

- Why the Singapore government unfairly ill-treated the Burmese Patriots despite its
declarations of support for peaceful political change in Burma

Photo & Interview Opportunities

Your reporter and cameraman are invited to cover the press conference, which is open to full
media coverage.

The details are as follows:

Date : 22 August 2008 (Friday)

Time : 3.00pm to 5.00pm

Venue : Lilac Room, Level 5, Peninsula Excelsior Hotel

The press conference’s panel includes:

Myo Myint Maung

• A 3rd year Business student from SMU and representing 3 Burmese patriots who have
since left Singapore.

Ngwe Zin Soe (Detailed profile appended below)

Please RSVP by Thursday, 21 August 2008, 5.00 p.m.

Thank you. We look forward to seeing you.

For media enquiries and interview requests, please contact:

Myo Myint Maung Benedict Jacob - Thambiah

Mobile: 97068362 Mobile: 9003 7566
marcmyomyint@gmail.com benedictthambiah@yahoo.com

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PROFILES

The following is the profiles of the 4 out of 6 affected activists and the details of their cases.

Ngwe Zin Soe

NRIC number : S7780862J (Permanent Resident)

Occupation : Assistant Engineer
Type of visa/permit : PR Re-entry Permit
Related agency : ICA

Since her graduation from Temasek Polytechnic in 2003, Ngwe Zin Soe has been working in
an Engineering company with a Permanent Resident (PR) status in Singapore. Considering
her PR Re-entry Permit would expire on 11th September 2007, she went to ICA on 21st July
2008 to apply for its extension as Re-entry Permit can be extended within 6 months prior to
the expiry date. At ICA, Ngwe Zin Soe was told that her permit could not be extended
immediately and she would be contacted at a later time. It is an unusual delay because PR Re-
entry Permit extension can be processed usually within 30 minutes. However, no reason was
given for this. To date, she has yet been contacted by ICA in regard to her application.

According to ICA, “a Singapore Permanent Resident (SPR) who wishes to leave Singapore
must obtain a Re-Entry Permit (REP) to enable him/her to return to Singapore as a SPR. A
SPR who remains outside Singapore without a valid REP will lose his/her SPR status.”

Maung Soe Thiha

Fin number : G3501046M

Occupation : Student (recently graduated from NUS in 2008)
Type of visas/permit : Social Visit Pass & Employment Pass
Related agency : ICA & MOM

Since the expiry of his Student Pass on 17th May 2008, 8 days after the completion of his
studies at NUS, Maung Soe Thiha was living on a Social Visit Pass to look for a job.
According to a bond between him and MOE, he has to work in Singapore-registered
companies for 3 years upon graduation in return for his receipt of MOE Tuition Grant.

About two weeks after his receiving a degree scroll at NUS Commencement, his application
for long-term Social Visit Pass was rejected by Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA)
through a letter dated 24th July 2008, which his sponsor received on 26th July 2008. On both
28th July 2008 (Monday) and 29th July 2008 (Tuesday), he approached ICA officers to ask
for the reason of the rejection as he had valid reasons to remain in Singapore – to seek
employment in order to serve his bond. No reason was given.

In the morning of 30th July 2008, the day when his Social Visit Pass expired, the flight to
Cambodia he intended to take was missed by him because of the delay caused by an

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unreasonably long checking of his passport by an immigration officer at the airport. He was
later told that his passport was alright, but no reason was given by the officer for checking it
so long. Eventually, he was given a Special Pass for one-day stay in Singapore with the
requirement that he leaves Singapore from Changi Airport.

In that time of dismay, he got a job as a project engineer at Hai Yong Engineering in the
afternoon of 30th July 2008. An application for Employment Pass was done for him through
EP Online System around 1:30 pm on 30th July 2008. With his employment letter, Maung
Soe Thiha then went to ICA to appeal for the extension of his Social Visit Pass until the
outcome of his EP application would become available. That appeal was outright rejected by
ICA; however, again, no reason was given.

Maung Soe Thiha left for Cambodia on 31st Jul 2008 and his application for Employment
Pass is still pending after nearly three weeks so far.

Myo Tun

FIN number : G7011467X

Occupation : Construction worker
Type of visa/permit : Work Permit
Related agency : MOM

On 30th Jul 2008, the extension of Myo Tun’s Work Permit Pass, which expired on 1st
August 2008, was rejected. As per normal, Work Permit extensions are applied in batches by
his company. Out of 5 or 6 applicants in his batch, Myo Tun was the only one left out by
MOM for rejection without any apparent reason.

Myo Tun left Singapore on 2nd August 2008 and is currently staying in Thailand.

Hlaing Moe

FIN number : F8383118U

Occupation : Technical Supervisor
Type of visa/permit : S Pass & Social Visit Pass
Related agency : MOM & ICA

Hlaing Moe had been working as a Technical Supervisor in Sankyu (Singapore) Pte. Ltd.,
since 17th July 2006 on S Pass when his application for the renewal of his S Pass was
rejected on 17th July 2008 according to the letter from MOM. There was no reason given for
the rejection and his company was still willing to employ him further. On 21st July 2008, he
submitted an appeal letter to MOM for reconsideration, but it was again rejected on 25th July
2008 without any reason given.

After the cancellation of his S Pass, he received a Social Visit Pass to stay in Singapore until
5th August 2008. He is studying part-time for Diploma in Technology (Mechanical) at Ngee

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Ann Polytechnic and in his 5th semester there so far. Since he had then upcoming exams
during 14th August 2008 to 24th August 2008, he appealed to ICA on 29th July 2008 to
extend his Social Visit Pass until he would have finished sitting the exams. Despite his valid
reasons for staying in Singapore, the appeal was outright rejected for no given reason.

Hlaing Moe left Singapore on 5th August 2008 and is currently staying in Malaysia. During
his stay in Malaysia, he applied for Singapore visa in order to sit the exams that have started
since 14th August 2008. It was finally approved on 20th of August 2008 in the eveing, just
two days before this press conference, but it was too late for him.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
22 August 2008

Spokesperson’s Comment on the Intent for Holding Press Conference

Our intent for holding this press conference is to raise public inquiry to Singapore immigration and
manpower authorities about their groundless non-renewal of key immigration and work documents
of Burmese patriots who are pursuing anti-junta political activities in Singapore. 6 Burmese patriots
have been affected so far. They now are currently in third party countries on social visit passes, and
when these expire, they may be left with no choice but to return to Burma, where their security will
become precarious.

Our first inquiry is into the underlying reasons for the apparently arbitrary rejections by the
Singapore authorities. The Singapore authorities denied the Burmese patriots of renewing their key
immigration and working documents without giving any reason. We accept that the right of foreign
nationals to stay in Singapore is not a matter of entitlement and that foreign nationals must pay
respect to the law of Singapore and local sensitivities. While so accepting, we also want to state
affirmatively that none of these affected Burmese patriots has ever been charged with any crime
during their stay in Singapore, nor has any of them committed any outrageous act that conflicts with
local sensitivities. Hence, the rationale for the rejections should not have been their disrespect for
the law of Singapore and local sensitivities. Regarding individual merits, in the first place, these
affected Burmese patriots achieved their statuses as students, workers and professionals in
Singapore solely because of their manifested individual merits. And there is no evidence that their
individual merits have dwindled during their stay in Singapore. Thus, the rationale for the rejections
of renewing their immigration and work documents has so far been unapparent and unknown.

Our second inquiry is into whether the Burmese activists have been rejected for their peaceful
political activism. The reason why we suspect the rationale for the rejections be the peaceful
political activism of the affected Burmese patriots is that the affected Burmese patriots, students,
workers and professionals alike, do have commonalities in regard to their political activism. Because
of their political activism, all the affected Burmese patriots had their personal particulars taken
down by Singapore police and were at least once summoned to the Tanglin Police Station in the
past. Although this suspicion is not absolutely grounded, the fact that these Burmese patriots, whose
personal particulars were recorded by police, faced denial of renewing their documents one by one
serve as the only apparent justification for this suspicion. Moreover, so far, there has been no
explanation or rationale for the rejections declared by the Singapore authorities indeed.

Last but not least, our third inquiry is into why the Singapore government unfairly ill-treated the
Burmese activists despite its declarations of support for peaceful political change in Burma. In the
aftermath of last September Saffron Revolution in Burma, both the Prime Minister and the Foreign
Minister of Singapore declared concerns for the well-being of the peaceful protestors in Burma and
revulsions at the violent crackdown on the peaceful protestors committed by the Burmese military
junta. We now want to remind the Singapore government of its support and reassurances. Besides
that, we also want to remind the Singapore authorities that their apparently arbitrary non-renewal
of the passes may put the affected Burmese patriots into physical danger as well as make them
subject to very wanton violence the Singapore government condemned.

After this press conference, we will look forward to receiving reasonable response from the
Singapore authorities regarding the renewal of these key immigration and work documents. At the
same time, we will seek legal counsel and advice.

Myo Myint Maung

Spokesperson
Burmese Patriots in Singapore
Contact: 81189792 (permanent)
90768362 (temporary)
Email: marcmyomyint@gmail.com