3D (Robert Del Naja) and Daddy G (Grant Marshall) of Massive Attack perform live during the Unaltrofestival festival at Parco della Musica. (Photo by Alessandro Bremec/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Singapore temporarily detained and then banned the members of the British trip-hop group Massive Attack from ever returning after the duo expressed their support for Palestine during a concert in the island nation earlier this week.
Big picture view:
On Sunday, Massive Attack posted a statement on Instagram saying all of its band members were detained and questioned by Singapore police following the Thursday night show at the Star Theatre. Some members of the group had their hotel rooms searched and their passports temporarily confiscated, the band added.
While the group’s statement did not mention the ban, a joint one from the Singapore Police Force and Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) confirmed it the day after the concert in a public statement that accused the pair of violating its ban on displaying the flags or symbols of other nations in public and the nation’s public order act.
The backstory:
Massive Attack, which is a vocal supporter of Palestinian causes, explained in its statement that members of the audience started chanting "Free Palestine" before and after the show. The band said the chanting was organic, but added that the audience members were "presumably aware but undeterred" that they were violating Singaporean censorship laws. Singapore police alleged that one band member had also shouted, "Free Palestine."
The group acknowledged they held up a Palestinian flag, but claimed that they did not believe that displaying a flag of another sovereign state violated the law. According to the police statement, the concert organizer had acknowledged as a condition of the license that no flags would be displayed in support of causes.
"Surreal experience"
"On reflection, we are proud to have made this impromptu expression with our fans in Singapore who clearly felt a moral imperative to show solidarity with the people of Palestine in their ongoing reality of illegal occupation, apartheid & genocide, & we salute their courage in doing so," the band wrote in the post.
It went on to describe the incident as a "surreal experience [that] was a reminder of the importance of defending universal human rights & freedom of expression wherever those rights are threatened" and compared it to protests that happened in the United Kingdom.
What they're saying:
In their joint statement, the Singapore Police Force and IMDA indicated law enforcement was concerned about the impact of such displays on the nation’s racial and religious harmony and said people should keep from importing foreign politics that could affect that balance.
The statement ended by saying, "The peace and harmony between different races and religions in Singapore should not be taken for granted, and we must not let external events affect our society."
The Source: Information for this article was taken from Massive Attack, Singapore Police Force, Infocomm Media Development Authority. This story was reported from Orlando.