The British band Massive Attack has reacted to the ban on two of its members from entering Singapore after closing last Wednesday’s performance with the Palestinian flag. “After our performance at the Star Theatre in Singapore on July 29, we were surprised and disappointed that our entire band was detained by the police, isolated, and interrogated separately,” says the beginning of the public statement they shared on their Instagram account, where they claim that some rooms were searched and their passports confiscated.
In their words, the band explains that during the show the audience spontaneously chanted “Free Palestine,” “presumably aware, but unfazed, that this expression alone could violate their government’s censorship laws.” In their statement, they assure that they did not imagine that simply raising the flag of a sovereign state would violate any law.
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After reflecting, they say, they are proud of what they did with their followers, “who clearly felt the moral imperative to show solidarity with the Palestinian people in their ongoing reality of illegal occupation, apartheid, and genocide.” Finally, they have called on the Singapore Government to ratify the UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, “and allow its citizens to express their conscience without fear of being prosecuted by the State.”
The authorities have reported that the band is being investigated for their “acts of support for a political cause and for displaying a foreign flag” during their performance. In Singapore, it is not allowed to publicly display foreign national emblems without authorization or exemption. For its part, the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) has indicated that it is also investigating possible non-compliance with license conditions and will await the results of the investigations to take “necessary measures.”
In 2023, the Singapore government had informed through its Minister of the Interior: “The current conflict between Israel and Hamas is a sensitive issue. Given the great sensitivity it arouses, we recommend avoiding the public display and use of items related to the conflict.” On that occasion, he stated: “We must not allow events taking place abroad to affect the peace and harmony we have in Singapore.” About 15% of the population of the Asian country is Muslim.
