Difference between revisions of "Operation Spectrum"

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'''Operation Spectrum''' was launched in [[1987]] by [[Singapore]]'s [[Internal Security Department]] (ISD) using its [[Internal Security Act]] (ISA). The security operation saw 22 young [[Roman Catholic]] church and social activists and professionals detained, without trial, under the internal security law, accused of being members of a dangerous [[Marxist]] [[conspiracy]] bent on subverting the [[People's Action Party|PAP]]-ruled [[government of Singapore|government by force]], and replacing it with a Marxist state.
'''Operation Spectrum''' (Chinese: 光谱行动), also known as the 1987 "Marxist Conspiracy", was the code name for a covert security operation that took place in Singapore on 21 May 1987. 16 people were arrested and detained without trial under Singapore’s Internal Security Act (ISA) for their alleged involvement in "a Marxist conspiracy to subvert the existing social and political system in Singapore, using communist united front tactics, with a view to establishing a Marxist state." On 20 June 1987, 6 more people were arrested, bringing the total number of detainees to 22. The mostly English-educated group was a mix of Catholic lay workers, social workers, overseas-educated graduates, theatre practitioners and professionals.<br>


As it turned out, some of them had been quietly helping the opposition Workers’ Party. After they were released, several of the detainees issued a statement countering government denials that they had been tortured. They were promptly rearrested. They were later released only on condition that they sign statutory declarations denying everything they had said in their earlier press statement. An intrepid lawyer, former solicitor-general [[Francis Seow]], stepped in to represent one of the detainees who had sought his legal assistance. When Seow arrived at the detention center, he himself was detained by the ISD and was not released for more than two months. He was later charged and convicted in absentia for tax evasion. Seow now lives in exile in the [[United States]]. In 1997, six more people were arrested by the ISD, four of whom were subsequently released in [[1998]].
According to the government, Operation Spectrum was conducted to “nip Communist problem(s) in the bud”. The mastermind behind the alleged Marxist plot was Tan Wah Piow, a former University of Singapore Students' Union president who had been in de facto exile in London since 1976. His "key man" in Singapore was Vincent Cheng, a full-time Catholic Church worker in the Justice and Peace Commission. Cheng's role was to use the Catholic church in Singapore as a "ready cover" to organise the infiltration of disparate groups of influence including the Law Society, the opposition Workers' Party and various student bodies. These would become pressure groups that would eventually come into open confrontation with the government.<BR>


Even until recently, the case of the Marxist conspirators remains a puzzle. The detainees themselves did not fit the stereotype of the "agitators" whose activities were so troublesome to the PAP in the [[1950s]] and [[1960s]]. Inspired by the success of communist [[insurrection]] in [[China]] and [[Vietnam]], the old guard leftists tended to be hot-headed, [[populist]] [[orator]]s. The detainees, by contrast, consisted primarily of educated professionals. Indeed, the man accused of masterminding the plot was Vincent Cheng, a 40 year-old social worker for the Roman Catholic church, who had once studied to be a [[priest]]. Another prominent target was lawyer Teo Soh Lung, a Workers' Party supporter who had tangled with prime minister Lee during parliamentary hearings on the Law Society in [[1986]]. Other detainees included social workers, lawyers and actors.
By December 1987, all the detainees had been released except for Cheng. However, in April 1988, nine of the released detainees issued a joint statement accusing the government of ill-treatment and torture while under detention. They also denied involvement in any conspiracy and alleged that they were pressured into making confessions. Eight of the nine were re-arrested and detained for a second time. They were eventually released after they signed statutory declarations denying everything they had said in their press statement.<BR>


The truth of the allegations has been questioned. Historians C.M. Turnbull and Michael D. Barr have described the conspiracy as “myths” and a “fanciful narrative”, arguing that the arrests were politically motivated. In an interview with the Straits Times on 14 December 2001, Singapore's current Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said that "although I had no access to state intelligence, from what I knew of them, most were social activists but were not out to subvert the system." However, the People's Action Party (PAP) government has continued to maintain its stand that the ex-detainees “were not detained for their political beliefs, but because they had involved themselves in subversive activities which posed a threat to national security.”<BR>


== detainees ==
== External Links ==
* [[Francis Seow]] - former attorney general of singapore
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Spectrum Wikipedia article]
* [[Tang Fong Har]] - Female lawyer
* [[Teo Soh Lung]]
* [[Chng Suan Tze]]
* [[Vincent Cheng]]


== See also ==
* [[Internal_Security_Act]]
== External links ==
* [http://www.singapore-window.org/sw01/010521m2.htm List of Alleged 'Militants' ]
{{Singapore-stub}}
[[Category:History of Singapore]]
[[Category:History of Singapore]]
[[Category:Politics of Singapore]]
[[Category:Politics]]

Latest revision as of 22:51, 14 July 2020

Operation Spectrum (Chinese: 光谱行动), also known as the 1987 "Marxist Conspiracy", was the code name for a covert security operation that took place in Singapore on 21 May 1987. 16 people were arrested and detained without trial under Singapore’s Internal Security Act (ISA) for their alleged involvement in "a Marxist conspiracy to subvert the existing social and political system in Singapore, using communist united front tactics, with a view to establishing a Marxist state." On 20 June 1987, 6 more people were arrested, bringing the total number of detainees to 22. The mostly English-educated group was a mix of Catholic lay workers, social workers, overseas-educated graduates, theatre practitioners and professionals.

According to the government, Operation Spectrum was conducted to “nip Communist problem(s) in the bud”. The mastermind behind the alleged Marxist plot was Tan Wah Piow, a former University of Singapore Students' Union president who had been in de facto exile in London since 1976. His "key man" in Singapore was Vincent Cheng, a full-time Catholic Church worker in the Justice and Peace Commission. Cheng's role was to use the Catholic church in Singapore as a "ready cover" to organise the infiltration of disparate groups of influence including the Law Society, the opposition Workers' Party and various student bodies. These would become pressure groups that would eventually come into open confrontation with the government.

By December 1987, all the detainees had been released except for Cheng. However, in April 1988, nine of the released detainees issued a joint statement accusing the government of ill-treatment and torture while under detention. They also denied involvement in any conspiracy and alleged that they were pressured into making confessions. Eight of the nine were re-arrested and detained for a second time. They were eventually released after they signed statutory declarations denying everything they had said in their press statement.

The truth of the allegations has been questioned. Historians C.M. Turnbull and Michael D. Barr have described the conspiracy as “myths” and a “fanciful narrative”, arguing that the arrests were politically motivated. In an interview with the Straits Times on 14 December 2001, Singapore's current Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said that "although I had no access to state intelligence, from what I knew of them, most were social activists but were not out to subvert the system." However, the People's Action Party (PAP) government has continued to maintain its stand that the ex-detainees “were not detained for their political beliefs, but because they had involved themselves in subversive activities which posed a threat to national security.”

External Links[edit]