Sri Lanka Freedom Party General Secretary MP Dayasiri Jayasekara said the President has decided to execute convicted big-time drug offenders as ‘a doctrine of necessity to protect the future generation from the drug menace’. “The President has taken a timely decision to save the children of innocent parents.
The majority praise the President’s decision. But as usual very few people show their dispute over this decision. Around 15 court cases have been filed against the reintroduction of death penalty. It is questionable whether those cases have been filed by the drug addicts.
“The capital punishment is still a legal penalty in Sri Lanka and not a new thing to country. As Buddhists we too cannot accept the death penalty, but it has to be reintroduced as a doctrine of necessity to protect our future generation from drug menace. Nearly four million schoolchildren in Sri Lanka has become the target group of drug trafficking gangs. Drug related crimes have also increased in the country tremendously.” the MP said.
“Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) granted permission to use of the death penalty in limited circumstances in early 1960s.
But the Second Optional Protocol to ICCPR, which was adapted in 1989, committed its members to the abolition of the death penalty within their borders.
But Sri Lanka did not sign this Protocol.
“All Presidents who ruled the country since 1989 refrained from signing this Protocol. Though the UNP has announced that they are against the reintroduction of the death penalty, even Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe did not sign the Second Optional Protocol to ICCPR when he was in power during 2001to 2004.
“The death penalty is clearly against Buddha’s teaching, our former leaders who ruled the country after 1976 didn’t execute anybody. So there have been no executions since 1976, but death sentences were handed down continuously by the High and Supreme Courts for murder and drug trafficking convictions.
Commenting on the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), which is currently under negotiation between the United States of America and Sri Lanka, Jayasekara said this agreement will badly affect the country’s sovereignty since it would allow for persons not subjected to the country’s law.
Jayasekara stressed that the government should not sign the Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA) with the United States in a hurry since some more time is required to study it. He alleged that the Speaker has also signed the Agreement without following the proper procedure in signing such agreements.
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