OPERATION COLDSTORE

The 1963 Operation Coldstore in Singapore Edited by Poh Soo Kai, Tan Kok Fang & Hong Lysa

The 1963 Operation Coldstore in Singapore

On 2 February 1963 and in the weeks that followed, more than 133 people were arrested and detained. Code named “Operation Coldstore” took away the top leaders of the opposition parties, trade unions, rural organisations, and Nanyang University student and alumni associations. It brought about the disintegration of political pluralism and open exploration among the people of Singapore for the kind of society they envisaged.

Operation Coldstore is also about the length of the detentions, beyond the security justifications that were asserted at the time but never substantiated. Arbitrary indefinite detention without trial has continued unabated since then.

On 2 February 2013, more than 600 people gathered to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Operation Coldstore 2.2.1963, called ‘WE REMEMBER’