I will not support death penalty – PM
Posted on June 30th, 2019
Courtesy Adaderana
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe says that he cannot support the death penalty because harming lives is against the policy of the United National Party (UNP).
The UNP, as the main party in the government, the Opposition led by Mahinda Rajapaksa, Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) are all against the decision to reinstate the death penalty.
The Prime Minister further said that he expects to discuss this issue, first, with the Cabinet of Ministers and then with the President and the Speaker.
The Prime Minister expressed these views at an event held in Monaragala District, today (30).
Further speaking, Wickremesinghe said that Sri Lanka supported the United Nations (UN) resolution on the death penalty in 2016 when Maithripala Sirisena was President and Wickremesinghe was the Prime Minister.
Sri Lanka once again agreed to support the resolution when the UN re-reviewed the resolution on December 17, 2018. At that time, the President was Maithripala Sirisena while Mahinda Rajapaksa held the premiership”, he pointed out.
Late President J. R. Jayawardena first suspended the death penalty; succeeding Presidents R. Premadasa, D.B. Wijetunga, Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga and Mahinda Rajapaksa followed through the decision, he added.
June 30th, 2019 at 6:30 pm
What a hypocrite the present UNP leader is. When the 1988-90 JVP uprising was there he had no compunctions along with some in the UNP in killing Sinhala Buddhist youth estimated to be around 80-90,000. Most of them were kids just trying to prevent JR from passing the 13th amendment which is still affecting Sri Lanka to this day. There was no Amnesty International, no UN observer, no NGOs watching over everything that was being done, no human rights charges against the people who were involved in killing such a large number of people. It is said that the present leader of UNP specialized in torture and set up a torture house at Batalanda housing scheme in Kelaniya. The commission appointed to inquire into the matter recommended that his civil rights be removed. Yet today he is pretending to be this saintly character and even the UNP is pretending to be so Buddhistic as to not want any criminal drug dealers hung for their crimes. I feel sick to my stomach when I see his display of complete hypocrisy. Because he has no compunctions about selling Sri Lanka to foreigners he is protected and lauded by international press and even the local newspapers some of which are owned by him.
July 1st, 2019 at 12:57 am
Of course not.
Which political clan can support the punishment of convicted drug dealers! Politicians may not be grateful to the people but they certainly are grateful to some individuals. Otherwise the drug menace would not engulf the nation so badly.
Sirisena’s bold move must be commended (if he carries it out). I have serious doubts if Sirisena will actually do it.
In that event, he’s no different to other politicians who oppose it.
July 1st, 2019 at 1:19 am
Of course the traitor chief die hard catholic token Buddhist bay gal karaya mega thief mega thakkadiya walking
crime bomb (against Sinhalese Buddhists, Sri Lanka and Buddhism only) Batalande wa(n)dakaya Pol Pot r@n_
leech wickama Sinhala killer is dead against it. Why? It knows it could face death penalty one day for the
murders (Sinhalese Buddhists only of course), mega treacheries, mega robberies, mega lies etc. etc. Sri Lanka,
Sinhalese Buddhists, Buddhism in grave danger while the wa(n)dakaya at the helm. Women are the only thing
safe with the wa(n)dakaya.
Batalande wa(n)dakaya is a mega crime bomb and worries if it can’t jump the country when the yama palana
ship finally sinks, the fate awaiting for the mass murderer. Instrumental in killing 1000s of Sinhalese Buddhists with
its catholic police top brass and catholic deshapaluwan during the bheeshana samaya. It might most probably
escape justice in this life, but for 100s of 1000s lifetimes wa(n)dakaya is condemned to spend in the animal
kingdom.