Death penalty
IN a 10 January statement, Amnesty International has expressed concern over reports that the death penalty may be resumed in Sri Lanka after 24 years. In the face of rising crime, the Sri Lankan Cabinet decided in March 1999 to reintroduce the death penalty and since then pressure within the government to implement the decision has been mounting. Reports say new Justice minister Batty Weerakoon is determined to bring back the death penalty. Under current law the death penalty may be imposed for murder, abetment to suicide, treason and drug trafficking. Amnesty says if Sri Lanka resumes executions, it would be against international trend towards abolition. So far 108 countries have abolished the death penalty and on 18 December 2000 a petition for a moratorium on the penalty, signed by three million people, was presented to the UN Secretary General. Amnesty has urged the government to consider a commission of inquiry into rising levels of crime which would propose effective measures.
According to reports, 90% of the crimes are related to unemployment, poverty or political rivalry. The war is a major obstacle in the path to solutions. The World Bank refers to the constraints imposed by war as one of the reasons for poverty reduction remaining below expectation.
Colombo University Sociology Professor Siripala Hettige says some 35,000 Army and police deserters are the main reason for the rise in crime. Many of them have retained their weapons and are readily available for contract killings and robberies. According to the police, 1,385 murders, unrelated to the ethnic conflict, were committed in 1998 and the following year 1,711 were killed. In the first six months of 2000, there were 608 murders and 4,000 robberies.
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