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Right to life:
Murderer Vs. victim The right to
life applies equally to victims as well as murderers. Every right
has a corresponding duty. If one has a right to life he also has
a duty to ensure that he does not take any other's life. These do-gooders
do not seem to appreciate this. They will only appreciate this if
one of their kith and kin is affected. It has been
advocated that these murderers should be given just punishment.
Take the case of the Hamers. They were not murdered but butchered.
Could this have been done by humans? I would like
to ask this official, if one of her relatives had been gang-raped
and murdered whether she would have been satisfied if the murderers
were told, "You have been naughty boys. You must promise not
to do this again. I will look into what made you do this".
These do-gooders have their children sent to school well escorted
while their homes are guarded. But what about the common man? They
are left to the mercy of beasts whom the Human Rights Commission
wants to protect. The question
of the death penalty not having contributed to a decline in crime
can be answered by one question. What is the murder rate in Singapore
and West Asia? When the MEP
was in power, it abolished the death penalty and was called "Meruwath
Eallannethi Pakshaya", the party that won't hang even if you
murder. But what happened? The moment S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike was
murdered, the death penalty was re-introduced with retrospective
effect, just to ensure that the murderer paid the penalty! Preaching
mercy is easy until it hurts. That Sri Lanka
is recognized as an exemplary state with regard to the ratification
of international instruments of human rights may be acceptable to
those who do not know what is happening here. Human rights are rights
of all humans and not only of murderers and that is what all must
agree on. If the rights of the victims are to be placed second to
the rights of the murderers then there is something rotten in the
thinking. Everyone has
a right to life and that is a human right. And if anyone deprives
the right of someone to live, then he himself should lose the right
to live.
W.R. de Silva Ban the playing
of music on public transport Recently the
provincial government of the North-West Frontier Province in Pakistan
banned the playing of music on public transport in keeping with
its rigid anti-obscenity drive. It is presumed
that the underlying intention would also have been to make roads
safer for its users. It is time
our government gave serious thought to this growing menace and banned
the playing of music on public transport as thousands of passengers
and road users have been killed by music-mad drivers. They drive
their vehicles according to the rhythm of the trash cassettes they
amplify through their radios and not in conformity with the laws
of the country. They get intoxicated
by the uproar and even go to the extent of tapping on the steering
wheel to get a kick. It is not strange
that these drivers collide with oncoming vehicles resulting in the
loss of lives. To make matters
worse, some radio stations are openly supporting these 'merchants
of death' by encouraging drivers to follow their musical programmes.
Then they give
instructions by mentioning the distinctive number of the coach/passenger
van or private bus, to stop the vehicle so that their wandering
reps could board the vehicle and distribute their goodies. Most drivers
are, therefore, hooked to their radio to seize this opportunity
- notwithstanding the danger the vehicle poses to road users and
passengers. Playing music
on vehicles should be banned and severe punishment meted out to
errant drivers.
W.O.H. Indraratne Just punishment
for killer is the gallows Re-implementation
of the death penalty, she argues, ,will be in violation of certain
international conventions. She also says
there is no evidence anywhere in the world that the death penalty
has contributed to a decline in the crime rate. Conventions
need not be followed strictly, as they are temporary in nature.
As regards the evidence, may we compare the crime rate in Sri Lanka
when capital punishment was in force and now, when it is not enforced.
She urges the
strengthening of the investigative and prosecutional aspects to
apprehend criminals and give them just punishment. I agree with
her on the first part, but what does she mean by 'just punishment'?
Surely the just punishment for a proven killer is to send him to
the gallows. The Human Rights
Commission seems to be silent on the victim's right to life. The implementation
of the death penalty is mostly opposed by the cultured, the religious,
the literate and members of civil rights groups. They hardly get
involved in murder nor are they the victims. However, the
views of the man on the street are different - shoppers, pavement
hawkers, three- wheel and van drivers, white collar workers and
salesmen all want the death penalty to be implemented. Their argument,
in recent surveys, was that it would be a deterrent to grave crime
and merciless killing. Quoting the
rare case of an innocent person being sentenced to death, the privileged
class will argue against its implementation. But we should view
this from benefits accrued to society at large. A case in point
was related by my brother, who once worked for a Saudi bank. He described
how he got locked in a jewellery store, when its employees left
the counters unmanned to heed the call for prayer. Will this ever
happen in our country? If it did, the entire store would have been
ransacked. The reason for the items being left untouched was deterrent
punishment.
P. Lucian Fernando Where have all
the flowers gone? Punyakante Wijenaike Let there be
no more tragic accidents I have found
that basic precautions are not followed when people are taken on
boat rides at the Muthurajawela centre. The boatman
does not insist on safety jackets being worn. He also does
not have communication equipment. If a boat were
to get stranded in the middle of the swamp, the sad plight of passengers
is obvious. Children and
women on the boats would have to spend hours in the hot sun until
help comes. The hotels
at Nilaveli in Trincomalee also take many local and foreign holidaymakers
to the Pigeon Islands by boat. This ride too
is dangerous on the deep seas as the boatman does not make sure
that the passengers wear safety jackets. Are we waiting
for a disaster to happen to take action? The Tourist
Board, all hotels and boat clubs should instruct boatmen to insist
that passengers wear safety jackets. Let us all
work towards avoiding disaster and take the necessary precautions
and not feel sad and take action only after accidents take place.
Sinan Onais Bringing the
temple closer to the people May the noble
triple gem bless the most venerable monks who had the wisdom to
revive this long lost tradition. As pointed
out, Lord Buddha himself ventured out on Pindapatha and for so long
this practice had been forgotten. Even the poorest
of the poor will be able to gain some merit due to the courageous
decision to revive this tradition. In these days
when the people hardly manage to survive, giving Dana to monks in
a temple is somewhat a tough call. The other frustrating
issue is the "lists" sent by monks for a Dana where they
request star class delicacies. Pindapatha
will enable the common man to offer a meal to one or two monks without
incurring extra expenses. It will also
bring the temple closer to the people and strengthen the community.
May this be
an eye- opener to all monks in Sri Lanka to realize the true teachings
of Lord Buddha.
UW Plight of victimized
public servant Some retired
due to fear of being victimized and others (I retired at 47 after
complaining to the Fundamental Rights Commission in 1992) after
being victimized. A few of the victimized received compensation.
As the pension is decided on the salary at retirement and the years
in service, the loss to a person who has been victimized is greater
than that to a victim. Those who were unable to retire either resigned
or vacated their posts, losing pension rights. Institutions like
the Human Rights Commission and civil rights organizations ought
to take up all deserving cases and stress the necessity to rectify
anomalies.
Victimized 'Letters
to the Editor' should be brief and to the point.
Address them to: 'Letters to the Editor, The Sunday Times, P.O.Box 1136, Colombo. Or e-mail to editor@sundaytimes.wnl.lk or feature@sundaytimes.wnl.lk Please note that letters cannot be acknowledged or returned. |
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