An Open Letter to the Government of Singapore
To the Government of the Republic of Singapore,
There was a time when Singapore made headlines around the world for refusing entry to long-haired male musicians.
Artists cancelled concerts rather than cut their hair. Singapore defended the policy as necessary to preserve social order and national values. History has largely remembered that episode as an overreach.
Half a century later, history appears to be repeating itself.
This time, it is not long hair that has prompted government action, but a Palestinian flag.
The decision to ban members of the British band Massive Attack from re-entering Singapore after displaying the Palestinian flag at the end of their concert sends a message: that peaceful expressions of solidarity with a people enduring immense suffering are to be treated as unacceptable political acts rather than as expressions of human conscience.
The Palestinian flag is not merely a political symbol. For millions around the world, it represents a people struggling for freedom, dignity and self-determination. Displaying it in solidarity with civilians facing unimaginable devastation should not be regarded as a threat to public order.
Throughout history, musicians have stood against apartheid, racism, dictatorship, war and oppression. Such acts of conscience have enriched, rather than diminished, public discourse.
Singapore has every right to enforce its laws. But laws are ultimately judged not only by how consistently they are enforced, but by whether they serve justice.
The decision to exclude artists for peacefully expressing solidarity with the Palestinian people risks placing Singapore on the wrong side of a defining moral issue of our time.
Nations earn international respect not merely through economic success or administrative efficiency, but through their willingness to defend universal principles of justice, compassion and human dignity.
We urge the Singapore Government to not view peaceful expressions of solidarity with oppressed peoples as threats to national security or public order.
Singapore once became known for asking musicians to cut their hair.
Let it not now become known for asking them to cut their conscience.