Fighting fire with fire in the deep South
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Last week, five men received the death sentence for their role in the insurgency in the far South. But will such a sentence do any good?
I have never agreed with state executions. Like abortion, the death penalty is a violation of human rights and, as such, never justifiable.
Indeed, by killing these men, the authorities run the risk of making things worse for people in the far South. Their deaths could be seen as vengeful act and provoke a tit-for-tat response from the insurgents. Another ill-judged action was to give more weapons to civilians in the South. As has happened before, these could fall into the hands of insurgents and be used against soldiers and civilians.
Whether by vengeance or through nonsense solutions, we are pouring fuel on already-explosive tensions.
Aiyada Klinaon
