President Maithripala Sirisena has signed death warrants for four drug offence convicts, lifting a four-decade-long moratorium on capital punishment in Sri Lanka. They will be executed “very soon”, he told reporters on Wednesday.
“I have signed the death warrants of four convicts. They have not yet been informed about it. We don’t want to announce the names yet because that could lead to unrest in prisons,” Mr. Sirisena said. “Once they are informed, it is within their rights to appeal for clemency,” he added, addressing local media heads and foreign media representatives here.
His remarks come even as the ‘National Drug Prevention Week’ is being observed from June 23 to July 1. Mr. Sirisena, who has vowed to combat the menace of drugs, in March announced that he had fixed a date to execute drug offenders.
Observing on Wednesday that over 2,00,000 people in the country were affected by substance abuse, Mr. Sirisena said 60% of those in prison were drug offenders. “Rehabilitation centres and prisons are unable to tackle such huge numbers,” he said.
‘Political drama’
Speaking on a range of subjects, spanning domestic politics, foreign relations and national security, Mr. Sirisena rubbished a parliamentary panel probing Easter bombings as “a political drama”.
The Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) has been recording testimonies from top security officials, politicians, religious leaders and bureaucrats on the terror attacks. Days after some evidence pointed to serious lapses in the security establishment — accused of having failed to act despite prior warnings — Mr. Sirisena sought to stop proceedings. With the Speaker and the MPs on the panel resisting, the sittings have continued.
“The PSC is a drama... it is rehearsed at Temple Trees every evening,” he said, referring to the Prime Minister’s official residence. “Then it is enacted in Parliament.”
Further, he reiterated his earlier call to abolish the 19th Amendment, a 2015 legislation that clips executive powers of the President, and termed it “a curse to the country”. He cited the 19-A as the reason for “two drivers” for one vehicle, referring to himself and the Prime Minister as two centres of power.
