Tamil
Net
Amnesty
protests Sri Lanka death penalty
Amnesty International, the human rights
organisation wrote to the Sri Lanka President, Chandrika Kumaratunga
yesterday, appealing against the government's "regrettable
decision" to reintroduce the death penalty.
In an open letter to President Kumaratunga, Amnesty
International's Secretary General Pierre San� expressed "deep
concern" that Sri Lanka "may be moving towards resuming
executions, after 23 years of being a de facto abolitionist
country."
He said that the appeal was written on behalf of Amnesty's one
million members world-wide, including those throughout Asia.
Amnesty International is urging that the policy change announced
on 13 March, as part of a larger review of the President's
prerogative of granting remissions of sentences imposed by the
courts, be reconsidered
San� said Amnesty was making his letter public, "to express
international support for the many Sri Lankan voices in media, human
rights, legal and other groups who are dismayed at the prospect of a
resumption of executions."
"There is no proof that the death penalty has any special
power to deter people from resorting to violent crimes" said
Amnesty, adding "A number of studies have failed to find
convincing evidence that the death penalty has any unique capacity
to deter others from committing particular crimes."
"To our knowledge, no public opinion polls have recently
been conducted on this issue in Sri Lanka," said Amnesty,
adding, "We have, however, noted several letters to editors of
various newspapers calling for the resumption of executions."
Amnesty called for "an in-depth study" into criminality
in Sri Lanka and for anti-crime measures "which are genuine and
not merely a palliative for public cries for law and order."
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