Tue 30 May 2006
Yesterday the courts passed down the sentence of capital punishment on two notorious individuals (plus five of their associates). Where does DP as an organisation stand on the issue of capital punishment?
I have read DP’s mission statement, and the About Us section of the main site in which the phrase “human rights” occurs 6 times in the first two paragraphs and once in the footer. The context is about upholding them. The footer text (small print!) reads like this:
Drishtipat is a non-profit, non-political expatriate Bangladeshi organization committed to safeguarding every individual’s basic democratic rights, including freedom of expression, and is opposed to any and all kinds of human rights abuses in Bangladesh.
From the above statements it seems to me that DP would be against capital punishment. However from recent forum exchanges I have some doubts (although I understand forum views are not the views of the outfit itself..)
Amnesty International, the big grand daddy of human rights organisation, has this to say about capital punishment:
The death penalty is the ultimate, irreversible denial of human rights…..It violates the right to life. It is irrevocable and can be inflicted on the innocent. It has never been shown to deter crime more effectively than other punishments.
As an organization dedicated to the protection and promotion of human rights, Amnesty International (AI) works for an end to executions and the abolition of the death penalty everywhere. (http://web.amnesty.org/pages/deathpenalty-index-eng and http://web.amnesty.org/pages/deathpenalty-stats2005-eng )
So will DP as an organisation be opposing this capital sentence? The About Us statement is quite explicit about what needs to be done: 1. Highlight specific incidents of alleged human rights abuse through its website and listserver
May 30th, 2006 at 4:32 am
That’s a very good point. Personally I am anti capital punishment. Would like to hear on DP’s take on this.
May 30th, 2006 at 6:40 am
Wise man think alike
Shafiur. I was going to write about the same issue but I am happy that I was a little too late. You put it better than I could have done.
Lately there is an alarming rise in deaths caused by the state machinery both by judicial and extra judicial means.
While I am personally against capital punishment, the thought of working on this issue in Drishtipat platform never came to my mind.
Historically Drishtipat has worked on unpopular human rights issues i.e issues those are overlooked or avoided by major Bangladesh based orgs. Drishtipat so far intended to embark on smaller projects those, if repeated by a collective force will have significant implication.
The issue of capital punishment is a major national policy issue, banning of which may need constitutional amendment. An issue of that magnitude may not be the most suitable venture for Drishtipat at this moment.
Having said that, I feel that Drishtipat at least can take up projects that will raise awareness on this issue. The projects can include documentary, press statement, symposium etc. I hope a chapter will take the interest and become the lead on this project.
May 30th, 2006 at 6:54 am
We also need to discuss whether Bangladesh is ready for banning capital punishment.
Killing is a widely used political tool in Bangladesh. Shameless partisanship and blatant disregard to the law by the ruling class has also been in our political culture.
While death sentence has repeatedly failed to show it’s deterrent effect, Long term prison sentences will make a mockery of justice.
Some examples are the recent presidential pardon of a lower tier fugitive BNP activist, stepwise dropping of all the cases against BNP leadership, pardon of Azam Khan by Ershad several years after he was awarded life imprisonment for killing AL leader Moyezuddin, rumor of the return of Joynal Hazari, Shameem Osman during the caretaker government etc.
May 30th, 2006 at 8:54 am
What is Drishtipat’s stand on RAB killing?
May 30th, 2006 at 10:03 am
Rumi, that is all fine so long as DP accepts the principle that the death penalty is unacceptable (at least that is what I would argue for). Executive pardons and political interference in the judicial process are independent of that principle.
Yes I have no problems with the focus that DP aspires to develop, and the work DP is currently engaged in. Certainly scarce resources need to be used appropriately. However, again the principle needs to be established. Dp’s credentials would be compromised if it does not have a resolute position on issues such as these.
Forgive the ignorance but does DP meet annually to consider such things? Even virtually? Or vote on resolutions like other organisations?
May 30th, 2006 at 5:51 pm
You are giving us more credit than due. We are not a replacement of a deshi version of Amnesty. We don’t publish alerts on every single issue of abuse that happens in the country. Being a volunteer driven organization, it just does not have the capacity to be like that. We started as an organization that will be concrete implementable project focused. Of course, there are lot of issues we don’t cover. That is not intentional rather its more of a capacity issue for a voluntary org. In regards to your question about whether we discuss these issues: We do meet once a year and we try to formalise our process, do our project review. But no, we don’t talk too much about issues beyond our control or issues that are abstract. My view is too much discussions on controversial matters takes up time and energy that could be well used on a concrete implementable project. But we all have our individual views and when we see the need and see that we can add value, we do something about it collectively.