News
Enforcing death penalty no deterrent to country’s narcotic menace: Fin.Min.
Re-enforcing the death penalty for murder and drug trafficking, after a lapse of more than 40 years, will not be a solution, as only sprats, not big sharks, are being caught in the Law enforcement net. This was stated by Finance & Media Minister Mangala Samaraweera at a media conference on Friday, where he stoutly defended the fuel pricing formula, in the face of an attack leveled on the fuel price hike by former President and ex-Finance Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, recently.
The Minister alleged that several prominent members of civil society organisations were among heroin and narcotics dealers, and only the poor, young drug addicts are being convicted for drug trafficking and put behind bars. He noted that the drug menace cannot be eliminated by executing those already in jail for drug offences, as kingpins are hiding under the cover of civil and social service organisations and elite clubs.
Minister Samaraweera alleged that some of those kingpins were holding key positions in at least three leading civil society associations engaged in social and religious service. Capital punishment is a Legal penalty in Sri Lanka. However, there have been no executions since June 23, 1976, although death sentences were handed down continuously by the High and Supreme Courts for murder and drug trafficking convictions.
“Those who have been convicted for drug dealing are serving life imprisonment,” he said adding that rehabilitation of convicted youth was one of the effective solutions for drug addiction and trafficking. Minister Samaraweera said that he and several ministers opposed President Maithripala Sirisena’s proposal to resume enforcing judicial executions, but finally, they had to give their consent, to maintain collective responsibility.
Vehemently rejecting baseless criticism by former President Rajapaksa, who accused the government of manipulating the price of fuel, Minister Samaraweera noted that the recent fuel price hike was very much lower than the average petrol and diesel price, in comparison to the price of crude oil and dollar fluctuations during the Rajapaksa regime.
According to Mr. Rajapaksa, Sri Lanka had not experienced such a fuel price hike earlier, compared with increase of fuel prices within a period of about 8 weeks under the present regime. “Now the price of petrol is Rs 145 and diesel Rs 118, while today’s price of crude oil in the world market is around US$ 74 per barrel. In 2008, when Sri Lanka was buying crude oil at the much higher rate of US$ 97 a barrel, petrol was sold at Rs 120 and diesel at Rs. 70,” the former President claimed.
Minister Samaraweera alleged that the former President was trying to mislead the public by spreading lies with false data. He noted that the price of a litre of petrol during the last days of the Rajapaksa regime in 2015, was Rs 150, which is very much higher than the current price.
He challenged the former President to an open debate on the fuel pricing formula and oil price, as well as other economic and financial issues, to clear the doubts of the people. He recalled how ex-President Rajapaksa defied the Supreme Court order given by then Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva, now a close buddy of the Rajapaksas, to bring down the price of oil, during the hedging case.
“This was a gamble of former Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal,” he said, and added that, all the underhand deals of Cabraal will be exposed, soon as investigations on those deals have been completed.