President Maithripala Sirisena today reiterated that he would somehow give death penalty to drug offenders following examples set by other countries including the Philippines
Maithripala Sirisena
Addressing an event in Matara, Sirisena said the President of the Philippines, whom he met a few weeks ago, did not stop at giving death penalty to drug dealers, but also executed drug users.
“In the Philippines, the drug dealers are sent to the electric chair. India also gives death penalty to drug dealers. So does the United States. I too will do that,” Sirisena said.
Sirisena said the drug dealers were capable of toppling governments and changing the fate of a nation. He also added that those who belittle his campaign against drugs are funded by drug networks.
However, many prominent bodies, including the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka, have expressed displeasure over President Sirisena’s threat to reimpose death penalty on drug offenders.
Writing a letter to Sirisena last year, Dr. Deepika Udugama, the Chairperson of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) urged him to ‘do away with the decision to re-implement capital punishment.’
The Commission instead recommended ‘a series of strong and long term policies including strengthening of the law institutions and procedures aimed at addressing serious crimes including drug trafficking. International human rights watchdogs have also condemned Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte’s brutal war on drugs.
Kugan / January 31, 2019
This is very dangerous,we have seen how Thanajudden murder was fabricated they killed him and made it as a car accident specially business community is very vulnerable
/
Chamila Dodankotuwa / January 31, 2019
Shitsena became even more spineless since 26 Oct 2019 conspiracy. He has now taken to the clearners. I dont thim, the conspirators succeeded either. So, since then, what this Shitsena drops his lips have no credibility at all. People would not give a damn to his statements. People would not give a dot whatever statements he adds today. So, these are just thrash to them today.
/
Dodo / February 1, 2019
From opium wars to war on terror in Afghanistan where the Anglo-American Pax goes, drug wars follow. Drug wars in Latin America have destroyed countries by dividing and distracting people from the real theft of the National wealth by Corporations, America first and the Global 1 percent.
Today stories of drug offenses by foreigners – US citizens and an now an Iranian lady (what a strange co-incidence), and various drug stories and narratives of imprisoned drug baron’s empires distracts us from the Bondscame and massive debt trap and US logistics bases being set up in Lanka as all the Fake independence day celebrations looms.
Lanka has not economic sovereignty and its national security is in tatters while drug stories preoccupy the bird brained President while the BOndscam Ranil loots Lanka on the behest of his foreign handlers – Trumpland and its Asian Proxy Japan!
Long live miracle of modayas!
/
Amarasiri / January 31, 2019
President Sirisena,
Can you at least round up those killed Lasantha, Ekliyagoda, Thagudeen and many others. There is no need to hang them, but at least keep them in prison for the rest of their lives.
The Drug dealers, if not framed, are in fact drug dealers should be hanged.
What about those politicians who carry out illegal and unconstitutional coups again the people and confirmed by the Supreme Court are still at large?
/
Spring Koha / January 31, 2019
I cannot change my firm conviction AGAINST the death penalty.
Dr Udugama has provided suitable and acceptable alternatives, and these must be considered.
As a nation, we must be weaned away from the killing solution.
International drug traffickers are now targeting Sri Lanka as a highly desirable staging point because of our lax security. We must strengthen our drug-traffic fighting capabilities with a capable, well-paid force. International dealers pay more for turning a blind eye than the government pays for enforcement.
/
Eagle Eye / January 31, 2019
Spring Koha
“As a nation, we must be weaned away from the killing solution”
Did you give your saintly advise to your former leaders LTTE?
/
Spring Koha / January 31, 2019
Eagle Eye, firstly, the LTTE were not my leaders.
I watched, first hand, through the 1950’s, the inexorable decline of community relations as ever-growing bands of Sinhalese taunted, and killed many of our Tamil brethren – fellow citizens, born, through no fault of theirs, in this blessed land of ours. Many of us spoke out. But the mob ruled. Our then Prime Minister SWRD played billiards during the worst of the atrocities. Your Eagle Eye must have missed that.
Through the sporadic atrocities of the 60’s and 70’s it was clear that the lessons of 1958 had not been learnt; the warning had not been heeded. The governments of the time, failed, or refused to notice, the ticking bomb. The main political parties in their urge to grab power saw the need to pander to the 72% Sinhalese community, and ignore the plight of the much less significant Tamil population. Our Tamil community were pushed from pillar to post. Soon, as was inevitable, the young hot heads of the Tamil community, decided that the talking of their elders was not going to bring anything. They chose the killing option – first their own Tamil leaders, and then government forces. Did anybody listen to the peacemakers? In the north, young hot heads seized the upper hand. They pressed the killing button. When our soldiers were killed in the north, the die was cast. The massacre of innocents began islandwide. President JR Jayawardena was dumb-struck for three days – he couldn’t or wouldn’t shut the stable door. Why, even ministers went out to lead the mayhem. You should have seen JR’s face then. How did your Eagle Eye miss all that?
For nearly thirty years, our Sri Lanka was a house divided. You know what; true peace is not ours yet. There are evil forces, now coming dressed in saffron robes, waiting in the wings for the chance to unleash chaos and destruction. Is anyone listening to those talking reconciliation and justice?
Killing can be addictive, but it is NOT the answer.
/
Amarasiri / February 1, 2019
Spring Koha,
Thanks for summarizing succinctly.
The politians are more concerned about their power and hegemony. JR Executive Presidency, resulting in The current Sirisena , the madman, the coup, is all evidence, for everybody to see. SWRD’s Sinhala Only of the past, is being replaced by the safton clad Para-Sinhala Para-“Buddhism”, by the Rajapaksa’s and Sirisenes.
/
JD / January 31, 2019
This comment was removed by a moderator because it didn’t abide by our Comment policy.For more detail see our Comment policy https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/comments-policy-2
/
Sam Fernando / January 31, 2019
These are just common SHITSENA kind of public statements. How many times, he has pleaded so, since he became President, but what we are compelled to see is nothing but other way around of his BIG statements, become his actions.
:
As Ranjan Ramanayaka reiterates it, if weare blessed with presidents that would ABUSE state holicopters and save the DRUG kin pins in Negambo, so people should be very clear, Mahinda Rajapakshe and Nimal Lanza from Negambo have no moral right to stay further in lanken politics.
:
Ironically, SHITSENA is sharing his bed with Mahinda Fuksha and Nimal Lanza today. So nothing would work, but these just just to mislead the nation. SHITSENA is born to destroy this nation, he should be given any further extensions.
/
Pandi Kutti / January 31, 2019
What about penalising war criminals and people who destroy Hindu temples and appropriate Hindu temple lands using political power and fabricated history ? Instead of penalising them you seem to be praising them and promoting them. We all know who is peddling drugs in the north and east but you will never punish them , as the victims are largely Thamizh
/
Shrikharan / January 31, 2019
“Sirisena Renews His Pledge To Impose Death Penalty On Drug Offenders”
Then offer presidential pardon to his convicted drug baron friends! So he will also have a cut in the cake!!!
/
Nathan / January 31, 2019
Eagle blind Eye,
Have you ever thought why we had a ruthless LTTE leader? Who created him?
We never had him in 56, 58, 77 or 83. If we had him in 1956 then there would not have had any problem in the country.
Who created the ruthless LTTE? It was an inevitable evil, created by absolute Sinhala Modakama. Still many have not understood their blunder and foolishness. They got mixed up with Buddhism, Racism and Patriotism.
The veerayas thought hitting and killing innocent unarmed civilians is patriotism and great nationalism. I do not know what the guys looted from these repeated violence thought? When LTTE came to the scene even Father of Latest Mother Lanka MR was hiding in the bunker in Colombo. Come on Eagle Blind eye please open up and start to think.
Regarding drug menace, we are doomed as a nation because corruption is so rampant and almost all the influential people are involved in this curse we will never be able to control this. An arrack bottle and a bath parcel in enough to get someone murdered. Life is so cheap. These jokers are unable to solve even a single crime committed by the political goons and how on earth are they going to solve the multinational drug syndicate that has taken firm grip in the Dhamma Deepa. The guys will pay these selfish, greedy, unpatriotic megalomaniacs in foreign banks.
Please don’t cry……….the country is in the hands of crooks well and truly.
/
pitysrilankan / January 31, 2019
Don’t bother about his speeches and comments….
he just preach something for the sake of addressing the crowd whatever he want…
Media must start to boycott from publishing his speeches and events he attends…
/
mike / February 3, 2019
pitysrilankan – On a different note, this bugger President Gamarala Shitsena, aka Sillysena, BP, WP, etc. made the following statement a few days ago :
“When I was Health Minister I never used a lift to go to my room located on the 3rd floor.” I wonder whether this bastard (MaithriBALA) remembers importing BALA drugs when he was Minister of Health under Medamulana Meeharaka Percy Mahendra Rajafucksha!!
/
Island-Man / January 31, 2019
When???
if you fail to do it immediately, you will lose the battle. The drug cartels in Colombia may shift their headquarters to Sri Lanka, as rebels are creating chaos in Colombia which is disrupting their supply chain..
Also we want to see the evil Swiss Kumar criminals who murdered Vithya beheaded or at least electrocuted.
/
JD / January 31, 2019
This comment was removed by a moderator because it didn’t abide by our Comment policy.For more detail see our Comment policy https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/comments-policy-2
/
nimal fernando / January 31, 2019
“Sirisena Renews His Pledge To Impose Death Penalty On Drug Offenders”
–
What about murderers and serial-killers? Are they OK?
–
Some of your best pals should be hanging ……. strange fruit
–
Talk, talk and more talk ………
–
and be gone in 10 months.
–
It would’ve been more believable if you pledge to appoint drug offenders as PM and ministers ………..
/
nalmen / January 31, 2019
let us see how many he will hang
so far its all talk but no action
recently a drug dealer was released on bail
/
Shevan / January 31, 2019
Let’s not take this serious.It is just like many other utterances this man makes from time to time without understanding the implications.Let us survive the next few months now that we have suffered since January 2015.Its too late for regrets (our own folly)
/
Raj-UK / January 31, 2019
Sirisena is, once again, showing his tough ‘credentials’ by playing to the gallery in the hope of staying in power. It is no secret that Sirisena is uneducated in every way with no proper understanding of Buddhism or the meaning of hypocrisy but I am surprised when people who consider themselves as guardians of Buddhism, are silent when one of the important precepts of Buddhism (I shall not kill) is compromised .
We can prosecute & pass judgement on an offender but we have no right to take a life, no matter the seriousness of the crime, particularly, if SL is supposed to be guided by Buddhist principals. History has proved that many innocent people have been sent to the gallows, so can we trust our legal system to be always impartial & always correct? Can our leaders who condone this act sleep at night peacefully if they are aware that innocent people may also be convicted in error? The Maha Sanga are quick to appeal to the President to pardon a thug in robes who blatantly threatened & used abusive language in a courtroom in public but are silent when human rights are at stake. Do theses people have any understanding of Buddhism, apart from the rituals that are even not in Buddhist teachings?
/
K.Pillai / January 31, 2019
Philippines President Duterte permits his Uniformed Services to ‘eliminate’ drug users. Even SUSPECTED Filipinos are terrorised into paying the bribe demands.
.
MS may instruct the Lankan Uniformed Services’ to carry the MR issued ‘Booklet on Human Rights’.
We may end up in the UNHRC radar yet again.
.
MS is tarnishing our reputation.
/
Spring Koha / January 31, 2019
In the same speech, the President reproached the National Archives for handing out valuable documents from the archives to ‘foreigners’. Apo Apachchia!
Luckily, the statue of Tara, found in the jungles of Polonnaruwa is safe and sound, in Room 33 of the British Museum, where it is guarded day and night, but otherwise on display for all to see in a splendid setting. Nobody will dare touch her for the sure certainty that they will return home minus a few digits.
This superb piece of work has been placed No.54 in the BBC A History of the World in 100 objects.
Trust the foreigner to look after our treasures better than we can.
/
Good Sense / February 1, 2019
I don’t think one should consider HE’s words that seriously. He engages himself in verbal pyrotechnics. What HE essentially does is to make a veiled allegation that his partners in government are not committed as HE is in combating the drug menace. The drug business is so lucrative that even the so called gentle are indirectly supporting it by preferring to be lured to calls of lending money at very high interest. It is extremely difficult to pinpoint and say such and such a person is a clean guy. Let’s give MY3 a deaf ear to his calls of execution until he actually signs a death warrant. Don’t be surprised if the process is found to be legally faulty and HE having his tail between his legs and whining like a beaten dog.
/
chiv / February 1, 2019
Thatha wants death penalty for drug peddlers , when he him self was caught raping a minor( the constitution). Also he is aware that some of his colleagues are the master minds behind these operations (import/export)
/
chiv / February 1, 2019
Within minutes after typing my last comment, I hear a politician is the master mind behind the cannabis supply in North. Few days ago massive haul of cannabis was confiscated in North and yesterday it was traced to this politician who was supposedly arrested. What will Thatha do now??? death penalty???? or take a cut. Any guesses ????
/