British band Massive Attack has been banned from performing in Singapore after two members displayed a Palestinian flag and chanted "free Palestine" at a recent concert.
The incident occurred on Wednesday, sparking a strong reaction from the Singapore Police Force (SPF), which cited two laws that ban the display of foreign flags in public without a permit or exemption.
The SPF took a stern view of the band members' behavior, which allegedly violated Section 3 of the Foreign National Emblems (Control of Display) Act 1949 and Section 16 of the Public Order Act.
The SPF emphasized the importance of maintaining racial and religious harmony in Singapore, stating that the peace and harmony between different races and religions should not be taken for granted.
As a result of the incident, Singapore's media regulator has said it will not grant Massive Attack any future applications to perform in the country.
Massive Attack is currently on a world tour, with their next show scheduled to take place in Seoul, South Korea on Saturday.
The band is known for its political activism and has been highly critical of Israel's occupation of Palestine.
In 1999, Massive Attack refused to perform in Israel as a "form of non-violent pressure" and has since called for their music to be removed from streaming platforms in Israel as part of the No Music For Genocide campaign.
The band has also supported the campaign to free imprisoned Palestinian political leader Marwan Barghouti, who has been jailed since 2002.
Massive Attack has had Barghouti's son, Arab Barghouti, on stage at several of their concerts to talk about his father and Palestine.
Robert Del Naja, a member of Massive Attack, was among 500 people arrested at a Palestine Action protest in London earlier this year.
