No to the death penalty

I understand that Indonesia has carried out five executions since August last year, three for drug-trafficking and two for murder. Moreover, there are over sixty people currently under the death sentence.

Many people perceive the death penalty to have a deterrent effect on potential offenders. Needless to say, drug-trafficking, murder, and of course terrorism, are serious crimes, and all deterrents against them that are likely to be effective should be considered.

A UN survey (1988, updated 2002) on the relation between the death penalty and homicide rates suggests, however, that the death penalty does not act as an effective deterrent. And as far as terrorism is concerned, executions can create martyrs whose memory then becomes a rallying point for their organisations. For people prepared to sacrifice their lives for their beliefs, such as suicide bombers, the prospect of execution (if the suicide is aborted) could act as a further incentive.

It is also true that in recent years there has been an effort in Indonesia to reform key institutions such as the police and the judiciary. But continuing problems with such institutions, including corruption, make the retention of the death penalty especially worrying. There is a strong risk that people will be sentenced to death for crimes they did not commit.

Joanne Wilkes
Auckland, New Zealand.

AI against death penalty

Amnesty International is campaigning to abolish the death penalty in several countries, particularly in Indonesia. Amnesty’s report can be viewed at: http://web.amnesty.org/library/pdf/ASA210402004ENGLISH/$File/ASA2104004.pdf.

The death penalty is a violation of the right to life. And more importantly, innocent people can be executed in error, as has occurred in the USA, and could happen in Indonesia.

Personally, the day my country abolished the guillotine was a day of pride. I hope Indonesia will join the world movement against the death penalty.

C Journeau, Amnesty International
Aix en Provence, France

Religious tolerance

In early September 2005, Indonesian judges sentenced three women to three years each in prison for allowing Muslim children to attend a Christian Sunday school program. Rebekka Zakaria, Eti Pangesti and Ratna Bangun were found guilty of ‘deception, lies or enticement’ causing a child to convert to another religion (maximum five-year prison sentence).

The Sunday school teachers, described by friends as ‘ordinary housewives’, had instructed the children to get permission from their parents before attending the program, and those who did not have permission were asked to go home. None of the children had converted to Christianity.

When the verdict was announced, the courtroom crowd erupted with shouts of ‘Allahu akbar’ (‘God is great’). As they have done throughout the trial, Islamic extremists made murderous threats both inside and outside the courtroom.

In Ireland, I see many Indonesian women wearing Islamic dress and they are free to do so. I myself have respect for all humanity. However, it grieves me that in Indonesia, human rights are apparently only available to those who live according to the Islamic faith.

PJ O’Duinne
Ireland