Sri Lanka’s President Maithripala Sirisena announced that he has signed four warrants for execution of persons who were convicted of crimes related to drugs. His announcement was given very wide publicity. In justifying his action, he said that in the Philippines, 27,000 people were shot on allegations of offences relating to drug possession. The Sri Lankan President went on to say that this is what should be done. He further stated that the bomb blast that took place on Easter Sunday, 21 April was, according to his understanding, masterminded by powerful persons behind the drug trade.
Sirisena
While the death sentence is still on the books for punishment of serious crimes such as murder and similar crimes, for many decades, the execution was changed to life imprisonment. The reason indicates no one has been executed either by hanging or any other means. That way, Sri Lanka showed compliance with the global demand for the stopping of executions as an uncivilized practice. There has been a global effort to stop death sentences. Many of the more developed countries have now adopted stopping the practice of executing prisoners.
Even in countries where the death sentence was carried out, researchers had serious doubts about the legitimacy of the practice. They were able to discover a large number of cases where the alleged criminals had confessed to the crime. But, in fact, later inquiries proved that they were not involved in the crimes at all. Due to various pressures exercised, and promises given at the stage of arrest and detention, many persons have confessed to crimes that they had not committed. It was during this testing that it was found that a number of these convicted criminals were not the persons who committed the crimes.
The imitation of the Philippines President’s practice of shooting alleged drug-victims have been exposed to serious criticism. And, it is very likely that the President will be exposed to international investigations regarding this practice of extrajudicial killings. The attempt by the Sri Lankan President to imitate a mass murderer will certainly not create much prestige for Sri Lanka.
Attributing the April 21 Easter Sunday carnage to drug dealers is not based on any kind of evidence or factual data. It is merely speculation on the part of the President.
Sufficient time has passed from 21 April, to see what seems to be a very strong attempt to discourage investigations to find out the actual masterminds and trainers of this attack. This includes those who motivated and taught the suicide bombers to carry out this work. An enormous amount of work was entailed. Large amounts of money had also reached Sri Lanka prior to these attacks. It becomes politically embarrassing to allow and call out a thorough inquiry into the actual crime of Easter Sunday.
The Sri Lankan President, in his statement, said that following the April 21 events, he was condemned in the country as perhaps the worst person having to do with security issues. He was referring to the massive criticism that had come against the head of State. He took no measures to stop the massive damages to lives and property, even after warnings had been received by the Sri Lankan authorities for some time. It appears that the attempt to introduce the death sentence is an attempt to divert the public attention from the events of the April 21 carnage. And the popular demand is to know the truth about the matter.
When the whole nation is deeply dissatisfied with the way the matter has been handled by the Government, this is hardly the time to engage in divergent tactics. Their aim is to distract the people from the Presidential and Parliamentary elections to be held in a few months.
We condemn the attempt to reintroduce the death sentence. It will not serve any real purpose. There remain an enormous number of serious crimes for which many have been convicted. The Government lacks a strategy to improve its policing system and investigative mechanisms in order to deal with such an increase in the number of crimes. (Asian Human Rights Commission)
Mohamed / June 27, 2019
“He further stated that the bomb blast that took place on Easter Sunday, 21 April was, according to his understanding, masterminded by powerful persons behind the drug trade”
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This is a very serious and highly sensitive statement.
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Steve / June 27, 2019
Mohamed
Drug king Kanjipani Imran ???
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D.P. / June 27, 2019
Steve,
R u sure that there evidences to link Kanjipani to Jihadists? Even though there have been several drug arrests involving Muslims, none is identified to have any links with Jihadi terrorism in SL.
The problem I think is the extreme difficulty in making sense of what MY 3 says & do from time to time. For example, he boasted his forgiveness by offering pardon to the assassin who attempted on his own life and joined hands on oct 26th, 2018 with another team who threaten to kill him for betrayal. He also pretends to be the greatest Buddhist ever in the country (even better than MaRa!). And yet, the same man is pledging to kill convicted drug dealers. He also seems to be very offended when the democratic process stands against his personal agendas. These don’t add up! The only conclusion I can make out of all these inconsistencies is that MY 3’s public statements & behaviors are only the result of an impulsive mind rather than of a coherent mature thinking necessary to be a national leader.
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Mohamed / June 27, 2019
Steve, Who knows man? That should have been easy to find since the guy is in SL custody now
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Amila W / June 28, 2019
No, no Mohamed, that Steve guy is sarcastic or utterly dumb to link things because of Muslim names. Unfortunately, these poor souls of this poor country where religion based violences are more often than it rains, have been taught to link someone’s religion for anything & everything since their childhood through their much boasted “free education”
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Amarasiri / June 27, 2019
Sirisena,
You are a Traitor, Sevalaya (sleaze), Pachaya (liar), Mala-Perethaya (lining off the dead) etc.
You are directly responsible for all those who are dead and dying.
You are the curse of the land.
Please hang yourself, Sevalaya.
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mike / June 27, 2019
Amarasiri – “Please hang yourself, Sevalaya.” I would suggest that this mala-perethaya hang himself using the saffron robe and the kurakkan satakaya!
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K.Anaga / June 27, 2019
Amarasiri!
There appears to be considerable doubts as to who is really responsible for 21/4′ A strong suspicion, that president’s inaction, despite being informed of a possible attack is the cause. His ‘killing habits’ are sadistic in nature and no wonder he is trying to take ‘legal’ shelter in murdering some more. It will be appropriate for president to carry out the hanging personally rather than employing a “Hangman” to do this job. Thus the whole curse will be on him rather than the hangman sharing it by doing his duty.
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Eagle Eye / June 28, 2019
Amarasiri,
Why Ranil went to Nuwara Eliya? Why Sumanthiram did not go to Easter Sunday mass. Why Harin Fernando did not go to mass.
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Sirisena, Ranil and the Cabinet should take the responsibility for the carnage and resign. All these fellows are Traitors, Sevalayas (sleaze), Pachayas (liars), Mala-Perethayas (lining off the dead).
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People are asking why the leaders who have failed the nation miserably are not resigning. Perhaps the answer is in the following:
The then President Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines was asked why he is not resigning when confronted with large scale countrywide demonstrations asking for his resignation. He simply told I will resign when Americans ask me to do so”.
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Native Vedda / June 27, 2019
Spring Koha, Old Codger, Manel Fonseka, …. others
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Say No To Capital Punishment.
Say No To Capital Punishment.
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Native Vedda / June 27, 2019
Nimal Fernando
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Are you still sitting on the fence?
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nimal fernando / June 28, 2019
Oh C’mon Native!
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Leave me out of this crusade. You know I’m a man of violence! Have I ever hidden the fact? What you see is what you get!
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Nothing thrills me more than people hanging from trees …… blood and gore, Custard and Jell-O pudding on the pavement ……….My favourite song is “Strange Fruit.”
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If I have any objections ……. it’s just the size of the fish they want to hang ……….. if it’s Gota, Mahinda, Duminda Silva, Milroy Fernando’s wife, ……….. I’m all for it.
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Sooner the better!
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Murder begets murder.
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Serial-killing begets serial-killing ………… how many times can you hang Gota?
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Native Vedda / June 28, 2019
nimal fernando
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Thanks for being open and honest.
I admire your intellectual honesty, although I don’t agree with your childish idea of life, death and pain.
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“I may not agree with what you say, but I shall defend to my death your right to say it” – Evelyn Beatrice Hall.
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By the way the state has been looking for an Alugosuwa for the last 5 years. You too can be a volunteer hangman while you holiday here, a part time Alugosuwa, you get to chose the whom you want to hang, out of 1299 death row inmates..
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nimal fernando / June 29, 2019
“your childish idea of life, death and pain.”
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“By eighteen I could paint like the Masters ……….. the rest of my life I have spent trying to paint like a child.” — Pablo Picasso :))
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Native Vedda / June 29, 2019
nimal fernando
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Thanks
I am sure you would have come across many devil’s advocates before and certainly you will meet many more.
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By the way where are those do gooders who helped the victims of riots? They are missing from these life or and death discussions?
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Probably they may be awaiting for the actual execution to take place. Once executed they will appear in these forums boasting how they helped the family, ….. Why they are do gooders, ………………….
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Say No to Capital Punishment
Say no to execution
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Say No to Capital Punishment
Say no to execution
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Amarasiri / June 28, 2019
Native Veddah,
Can we make an exception for Sirisena? After all he is a Mala-Perethaya, and living off the dead, he is responsible for.
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Native Vedda / June 28, 2019
Amarasiri
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Where are those do gooders, Taraki, wannihami, …………… who help those riot victims. It appears they will make their stand only after a number of criminals have been hanged and then they defend the virtues of Sinhala/Buddhism, Mahanayakes, and Sinhala/Buddhists, fascists, ….
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Sisira Weragoda / June 28, 2019
NV
I am with you.
It is sad we have to campaign for
“Say No To Capital Punishment.”
in 2nd decadeof 21 century. “Aho aho aho Deviyane”
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Native Vedda / June 28, 2019
Sisira Weragoda
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“It is sad we have to campaign for “Say No To Capital Punishment.”
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Of course it is sad.
We will have to teach the people how to make wheel, fire, …and rediscover ZERO.
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The question of or the possibility of imposition capital punishment or execution should not be in our political agenda.
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Those human rights activists who condemned the LTTE, JVP, ISIS, …. Armed forces for human right abuses/violations are missing from this 11th hour of the execution.
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Where are monks, priests, cardinals, …………………..Mahanayakes, ……?
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If execution is the perfect moral answer to all those crimes, why does the state recruit Alugosuwa? Instead the state should employ the president, prime minister, …. chiefs of respective armed forces, former national hangman Gota, the judges, ….. whoever support capital punishment, etc to take turn and hang each of the death row inmates one by one themselve.
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FYI there are 1,299 inmates on death row.
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Douglas / June 27, 2019
President Sirisena “Signed” his own “Death Sentence” on 26th October 2018. The real “Execution” will be carried out by the PEOPLE if he contests the next Presidential Election and if not, the “END” from the politics.
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Raj-UK / June 27, 2019
Sirisena
Is your ‘understanding’ based on facts or just your confused imagination? You have no more aces to play, so you are trying the ‘tough’ on crime card but you seem to be blind to all the crimes against the nation & it’s people, particularly, when it comes to the crimes committed by the Rajapakse clan. If you want to be seen as tough, go for the sharks & not the minnows. Sending a couple of sacrificial drug pedlars to gallows while you hobnob with the king pins of crime only makes you a pathetic bum sucker.
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Ethel Nanayakkara / June 27, 2019
Exactly, and in addition to that we can heap on his head the over 250 lives lost on Easter 2019. This man doesn’t seem to have any respect for human life. He is not interested in the country. At the moment he seems to be driven by his selfish desire to win over the popular vote of the innocent average Sri Lankan by painting a false picture that all crime is due to just one factor and that beheading a few bottom rung drug traffickers is going to solve all the problems of society. More importantly, what we need at the moment is bringing peace and reconciliation among the people and get the economy going so that, specially the daily, weekly wage earners can get their lives going. If you have any love for the country serve the people; stop creating all this drama round yourself and focus on the people and the country.
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K.Pillai / June 27, 2019
MS authorised hanging of four drug user/peddlers who are in the lowest rung of Lankan drug scene. The ‘giga-traffickers’ cannot be touched because of their ‘connections’.
In justifying his action, MS claimed that in the Philippines, 27,000 people were shot on allegations of offences relating to drug possession. It is common knowledge that ‘allegations’ come much later.
Filipinos have had their share of dictator rule, the greediest was Marcos and crudest is today’s Duterte.
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Asian Human Rights Commission warns Lankans of what is on offer.
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Kugan / June 27, 2019
Xx
K
Go
Hi
One thing for sure is that our politicians are blood thirsty regardless.
Where are the champions of peace!
Death destruction avalanche of politics no stopping
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jj / June 28, 2019
M3 had opened roof top bar hotel 100 meters away from hospital Jetwing in Jaffna.He should also blamed or punished.Further most of the drug abusers are psychiatric patients who lacks direct heath care facility. So say No to capital punishment and need more psycho-social approach.
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Eagle Eye / June 28, 2019
Drug dealers, whether Sinhala, Demala or Muslim are doing a greater harm to the nation than terrorists. They are ruining the young generation. May be some organizations are behind this. Eliminate these bastards.
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Hand over the responsibility to Sarath Fonseka. He will do the job.
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Good Sense. / June 28, 2019
His Axcellency claims to have signed four death warrants. If so, what are the names of the condemned and the dates and times of the respective executions? Why are the details missing? I always entertained the thought that this is a bargaining ploy and towards that extent this announcement had the required effect in making the mood of the “Chapel Ward” prisoners more sombre. My gut feeling is that whether executions are carried out or not there would be more counting of money in hotel car parks. The result? Those who no longer can squeeze the juice can face the noose.
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Jey / June 28, 2019
This guy has lost it big time. Quite exit is the honourable solution or the Sri Lankan public be his noose around his neck at the next Presidential election.
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Wimpy Kid / June 28, 2019
Mr President had the death sentence in the agenda for the last 2.5 years
So I don’t think this is an attention grabbing exercise.
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rew / June 28, 2019
This will go down as a disgraceful barbaric act.
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aswin / June 28, 2019
The first person to be hung should be sira the president for putting the country to this state. He alone is responsible for all this mess
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chiv / June 28, 2019
Now that Dr. Shafi,s case is closed MS has decided to open the next. JOKERS.
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Jayantha deAlwis / June 28, 2019
People’s court had signed Sirisena’s death warrant already. In a few months time, he will be hanged from him from his genitals for his part in murdering more than 250 churchgoers.
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Native Vedda / June 28, 2019
jj
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“Further most of the drug abusers are psychiatric patients who lacks direct heath care facility. “
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However in the case of Gota, he gets treatment in Singapore yet he is desperate to replace Hopper Sirisena and become the next chief hangman for life.
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