SRI LANKA: AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL -- PRESS RELEASE

AI Index: ASA 37/001/2003 (Public)

News Service No: 124 19 May 2003

Sri Lanka: Appeal to members of parliament to oppose resumption of executions

In the run-up to a parliamentary debate on a possible resumption of executions announced for Thursday, Amnesty International today issued a call to all members of parliament (MPs) not to support this retrograde step and pleaded instead for a holistic approach to tackle the rise in crime in the country. The Minister of Interior, who took the initiative for the debate, has identified the rise in crime as the main reason why he is proposing to reintroduce executions after more than 26 years of a de facto abolitionist approach.

"By re-introducing executions, Sri Lanka would go against a clear international trend towards abolition of the death penalty and a moratorium on executions. More than half the countries in the world have now abolished the death penalty in law or in practice. Furthermore, over the past decades, Sri Lanka has set an example in Asia, by rejecting the death penalty. It would be extremely distressing if this tradition were to be broken with," Amnesty International said.

The organization stressed that it -- in no way -- condones the gruesome murders and other grave crimes that have been reported recently. But, scientific studies have consistently failed to find convincing evidence that the death penalty deters crime more effectively than other punishments.

"Serious crime is a multifaceted matter. Many factors that come into play have already been identified by the Minister of Interior and Inspector General of Police in recent media interviews. Among them are inadequate legislation, lack of expertise in the law enforcement system to deal with organized crime, lack of access to sophisticated investigation techniques such as DNA and the widespread availability of weapons and other spill-over effects from the armed conflict in the north and east of the country," Amnesty International said.

One such problem is the fact that army deserters who have not returned their weapons continue to engage in crime as seemingly the only option available to them while they refuse to return to the army and remain unable to operate normally in civil society. These complex issues need to be considered in a holistic way to address the current rise in crime.

Background

The last execution in Sri Lanka was carried out in June 1976. Throughout the period since, consecutive presidents have automatically commuted all death sentences. In March 1999, amid reports of rising crime, the then People's Alliance government announced that death sentences would no longer be automatically commuted when they came before the President. Amid widespread condemnation, this new policy however was not implemented.

During a meeting with an Amnesty International delegation visiting Sri Lanka in June 2002, President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga promised to continue the practice of automatically commuting all death sentences that come before her.

The recent initiative to reintroduce executions by the Minister of Interior has sparked a massive public debate in the country. Many newspapers have received letters addressed to the editor, there have been petitions to the Prime Minister and public debates on television. Several MPs have informed Amnesty International that they are opposed against the reintroduction of executions.

In 1999, Amnesty International proposed the appointment of a commission or similar body to study the apparent rise in criminality in the country and make recommendations for effective measures which could be taken without resort to the death penalty. In June 2001, the then Minister of Justice indicated his interest in commissioning such a study. In March 2003, Amnesty International made a similar proposal to the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior but to date, it has not received a response.