Civil society group Function 8, which represents 60 detainees from Operation Coldstore have released a statement demanding the abolition of the Internal Security Act, an apology from the Government, and compensation for them and their families.
The statement was released at a press conference to mark the 60th anniversary of Operation Coldstore.
About 80 people attended the press conference, including former ISA detainees and their family members.
60 former detainees or their family members signed the statement, including Dr Poh Soo Kai, former assistant secretary-general of Barisan Socialis, whose own statement accompanied the collective one
Ms Mavis Puthucheary, wife of late politician James Puthucheary, also signed the statement.
Responding to the statement, the Ministry of Home Affairs that the allegations and assertions in the statement by the former detainees are not new.
It added that the Government has “addressed it comprehensively in past public communications, which are a matter of public record.”
Operation Coldstore was a security operation saw the arrest of over 100 people who were alleged to be “hard core organisers and their collaborators of the Communist conspiracy in Singapore”.
Those arrested were detained without trial, with some detainees alleging they were subject to torture.
Protests were held in the aftermath of the operation, and much criticism was directed at the conditions under which the detainees were held.
