Journos pressed to cancel luncheon with Megawati

Journos pressed to cancel luncheon with Megawati

SINGAPORE (AP): The Singapore Foreign Correspondents Association (FCA) said yesterday it had acceded to a request from the government to withdraw an invitation for Indonesia's Megawati Soekarnoputri to speak at a luncheon in Singapore.

It was the first time the Singapore government has objected to a guest, said Darren McDermott, the FCA's executive committee member in charge of speakers.

With two members out of town last month, the committee voted 4-3 to accede to the request from K.U. Menon, acting head of the Media Division of the Ministry of Information and the Arts, the Associated Press learned from several sources who spoke on condition of anonymity.

In a statement faxed yesterday to FCA members, the committee did not name Menon, but said a high-ranking official "conveyed a formal request that the FCA withdraw the invitation."

"The committee subsequently considered the government's request and the various issues involved, and voted not to hold the lecture as originally planned," said the statement.

Megawati, daughter of Indonesia's first president, declined to comment when reached by the AP in Indonesia.

She was ousted last year as chairperson of the Indonesian Democratic Party in a government supported congress.

Asked if the incident would have a chilling effect on the FCA's choice of speakers, McDermott said, "No, I don't think so. I think we'll continue to search for interesting and dynamic speakers and deal with any problems that... may arise as they do. But we're not going to censor ourselves from inviting people because of this."

At a meeting with the executive committee, the official was asked "whether there was an implied threat... to our positions here as reporters... and he said, 'No,"' said McDermott.

"He said he felt the government saw it as a sensitive issue, and while reporters based in Singapore are free to call her or visit her for an interview, her coming here to give a public speech might be seen as problematic," McDermott added.

The FCA statement said, "Through an intermediary, Mrs. Megawati approached the FCA early this year and expressed willingness to speak to the FCA as part of our regular luncheon series, which has previously featured numerous local and international political figures. The executive committee agreed that she would make an interesting speaker, and invited her to speak at a luncheon."

The speech was tentatively set for August, but no venue had been reserved or announcement made.

The government official, Menon, was out of town, and his assistant, Woong Wee Jai, said he needed to consult before saying why the government asked the correspondents to withdraw their invitation to Megawati.

It is believed that she wanted to speak in Singapore because of the high number of international journalists based here.

The Singapore government, which promotes the city-state as a regional media and communications base, is a member, with Indonesia, of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which has a policy of non-interference in members internal affairs.