Jan. 8
GAZA STRIP:
Hamas executes 'collaborators', restricts Fatah movement
Since the aerial attack on Gaza began, Hamas has sought to suppress
individuals it believes endanger the group's fight against Israel and its
hold on power in the Strip, as well as public morale. Prime targets
include Fatah members, people convicted or suspected of collaborating with
Israel, and "common" criminals.
"Hamas rules with an iron fist even now," said one resident. A political
activist who says he supports neither Hamas nor Fatah said that given the
difficult conditions created by the ongoing shelling and ground invasion,
Hamas is likely to try to prevent collaborators or those suspected to be
from working with Israel.
Since the operation began on December 27, Hamas operatives have executed
several people it classified as collaborators. Members of the group have
confirmed the executions took place, and said the victims had admitted
giving information to the Shin Bet security service that resulted in the
deaths of Palestinians, or had already been sentenced to death by a
Palestinian military court but the sentences were delayed for various
reasons.
Independent sources said that among the dead were those not known publicly
to have been collaborators, as well as others long suspected of
cooperation with Israel, or those arrested and later released.
Estimates of the number of suspects executed range from 40 to 80, but amid
the prevailing conditions shelling, fear of walking the streets and media
blackouts it is virtually impossible to verify the numbers or identities
of the dead.
Executions are carried out secretly. In Rafah, for example, at least some
of the victims were killed in a caravan erected in the area formerly
occupied by the Rafiah Yam settlement, and the victims' relatives were
invited to take away the bodies.
Even in the current conditions, Hamas is continuing to arrest those it
suspects of criminal activity or Fatah membership, many of whom were
arrested on the eve of the IDF operation and fled detention when the
shelling began. No one knows where the detained are being held.
Independent sources and those linked with Fatah say Hamas' common methods
include confiscating cell-phones, beatings, house arrest and firing at a
suspect's legs.
Fatah members say Hamas is following a policy dictated from its leadership
and directed against Fatah as a whole. An official in the Hamas-run
Interior Ministry told Haaretz that the steps were taken only against
Fatah members who expressed "happiness" at the aerial attack and even
"distributed candy" in the streets as it began. An independent source
corroborated Hamas' account.
Fatah officials said last Thursday that notifications were sent to
organization members from the public security forces, under the direction
of Hamas's Interior Minister Said Siyam, confining them to house arrest
for 48 hours. Other Fatah members were ordered not to leave their homes
from 7 P.M. until morning.
Hamas is also targeting common crime, promising the public that prices
will not rise due to the closures of crossings into Gaza, nor will looting
be allowed from stores that have been shelled.
(source: Ha'aretz)
INDIA:
Renuka seeks death sentence for Noida rape accused
Reacting sharply to the Noida gang rape incident, women and child
development minister Renuka Choudhary on Wednesday said the accused must
be given death sentence, even as the National Commission for Women (NCW)
began an inquiry into the case and Congress questioned UP CM Mayawati on
the lax law and order situation in the state.
"My personal view is that the rape accused must be given death sentence,
because for the girl it is a life sentence," Choudhary said. Lashing out
at the UP chief minister, Choudhary said Mayawati should stop dreaming of
becoming PM when she was unable to handle law and order in Noida.
Chaudhary said none of the 5 accused should get bail. "How did they think
that they can do such a thing and get away? And when that question arises,
you start questioning the government," the minister said.
Choudhary added, "You have Nithari and Aarushi cases, you have Noida
rapes. And that is sad if you can't solve the problem."
Congress too latched on the opportunity to target Mayawati, saying the
Noida incident was a sign of the BSP chief neglecting state affairs for
her political ambitions.
Social justice minister Meira Kumar said "it was a pity" that women were
not safe in a state ruled by a woman. A Mahila Congress team led by chief
Prabha Thakur will visit Noida on Thursday to protest the crime and
complain against the laxity on part of authorities.
The Mayawati-centric attack on the sidelines of a convention of Congress's
women's wing comes after Congress has decided to pin down the BSP
government on law and order front. The party feels that BSP is vulnerable
on this front, especially after a PWD engineer's murder in Auraiyya by a
party MLA and workers.
Meanwhile, the NCW has asked Noida police for the medical examination
reports of the victim and the accused. It has directed the police to
submit the reports on Thursday. A three-member NCW team including members
Neeva Konwar and Wansuk Syiem visited the scene of crime and spoke to
police officials on Wednesday.
"We contacted the victim's family but the girl is under severe trauma and
we did not insist on meeting her. We will get her statement at a later
stage," Konwar said.
The victim, an MBA student, was allegedly kidnapped by 5 youth who raped
her. All 5 were arrested a day later.
NGO Shakti Vahini has pointed out that the non-existent law and order
situation in Noida was a cause of concern. Rishikant of Shakti Vahini
said, "We demand an inquiry by the WCD ministry. The situation is too
alarming now to be brushed under the carpet."
(source: The Times of India)
PHILIPPINES:
Death penalty pushed vs drug trafficking ---- Drug board action center
launched
The Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) wants to restore death penalty against
convicted drug traffickers, chairman Vicente 'Tito" Sotto III said on
Thursday.
In an interview after launching the DDB's 24-hour action center, Sotto
said he was constantly lobbying for the reimposition of the death penalty
after it was repealed by the 13th Congress.
However, Sotto said there would be "tough love" against drug users because
they were also victims.
In a separate interview, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA)
Director General Dionisio Santiago is also pushing for the return of death
penalty, but this time against drug pushers.
Santiago said this was "very urgent," since drug use in the country was a
"security threat."
"If you do not give any premium sa epekto ng [on the effects of] drugs,
then lets forget death penalty," he said.
Santiago added that the return of the death penalty versus drug pushers
would help in decreasing the number of drug-related incidents in the
country.
"May personal view is, unang-una mababawasan kasi matatakot [first of all,
the number of traffickers will decrease]. Yung mga Chinese kasi, kaya dito
yan nagpupunta kasi alam nila piyesta dito eh [It is a fact that the
reason why the Chines come here is because they know they can find a lot
of these illegal drugs here]. Unang-una, happy sila eh [First of all, they
are happy]. Sa China bitay sila eh [In China, they will be hanged]. So
kung bitay dito hahanap sila ng ibang lugar at mababawasan yung droga dito
[So to avoid being hanged, they will look for another place and drugs here
will be reduced]. Yang mga chemist nila hindi na papasok sa atin [Their
chemists will no longer enter the country]," Santiago said.
But he added that this was not an indication that he was anti-life.
"Kami naman hindi namin sinasabi na hindi kami pro-life. Pero ang
dinadamage naman nito buhay eh. Marami na ring namatay because of drugs.
Oo, pro-life kami [As far as we are concerned, we are not saying that we
are not pro-life. But what drugs are doing is that they are damaging life.
A lot of people have died because of drugs]. We want to impose this so
that we can save the greater majority," Santiago said.
Calls for the return of the death penalty stemmed from allegations of
bribery at the Department of Justice and the Philippine Drug Enforcement
Agency (PDEA) on a controversial drug case involving 3 suspects from
prominent families.
Reports surfaced that bribe money from P20 million to P50 million were
offered by people close to Richard Brodett, Jorge Joseph, and Joseph
Tecson to investigators and prosecutors in exchange for dropping the case.
The DOJ eventually dismissed the charges against the 3 who were arrested
by PDEA agents in a buy-bust operation in September 2008.
The House of Representatives has been investigating the controversy and
the Senate is set to conduct its own inquiry when Senator Francis
Escudero, chairman of the committee on justice, files a resolution at the
resumption of session on January 19.
Meanwhile, in an effort to curb drug addiction, DDB launched its 24-hour
action center dubbed as DIAL or Drug Information and Action Line. DIAL was
created to receive reports and complaints related to drug abuse and
provide assistance to the public on drug-related cases.
Equipped with a team of counselors, legal experts, and other
professionals, DIAL will receive reports or complaints about drug abuse,
which will then be forwarded to law enforcement agencies for prompt
action.
"Well-meaning citizens can now actively participate in preventing the
proliferation of illegal drugs by reporting pushers and users to the
action center, either by personally dropping by or calling its 24-hour
hotline," Sotto said.
Sotto assured that the identity of the complainant would be protected at
all times.
Services offered by DIAL included complaints about illegal drug
activities; research on drug facts and figures; counseling; and processing
of diagnostic and rehabilitation applications.
************************************
Estrada joins pro-death penalty calls
Former president Joseph Estrada has joined calls to revive the death
penalty -- only for convicted illegal drug pushers and users.
"Drug trafficking in itself is worse than a heinous crime because it
destroys the future of our youth," Estrada said in a statement, following
reports that several lawmakers might support a bill seeking death penalty
against violators of the anti-narcotics law.
"The amounts involved in the briberies that take place in this business
are so huge that government officials find it hard to resist. It therefore
becomes imperative for the law to impose the death penalty on these drug
traffickers to put a stop to drug trafficking," he said.
Estrada said the extreme penalty would be proper because it has even
become a "major cause of corruption of high government officials,
especially law enforcement officers."
"When there is a family member who is a drug user or addict, the whole
family is affected. The financial and emotional implications are severe,"
he added.
The calls stemmed from bribery allegations against alleged drug peddlers,
Richard Santos Brodett, Jorge Jordana Joseph, and Joseph Ramirez Tecson,
whose supposed emissaries tried to bribe with P50million PDEA and
Department of Justice officials in exchange for their freedom by
Christmas.
The three were arrested in Ayala Alabang, Muntinlupa and Araneta Center in
Quezon City, respectively in September.
Major Ferdinand Marcelino, PDEA agent, admitted before a House of
Representatives the bribery attempts.
Estrada said that during his administration, he ordered then PNP Chief and
now Senator Panfilo Lacson to crush drug trafficking.
"When I was president I gave explicit instructions to then-PNP Director
General Panfilo Lacson to crack down hard on drug syndicates. I fully
supported the DARE [Drug Abuse Research Foundation Inc.] program and the
information campaign among the youth," Estrada said.
(source for both: Philippine Inquirer)
*************
'Alabang Boys' case triggers calls for death penalty revival
The Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) and several lawmakers on Thursday called
for the restoration of the death penalty to convicted drug traffickers as
the controversy generated by the Alabang Boys" drug case has stunned the
nation.
"Si General Santiago ang nagpu-push nu'n sa traffickers. Dati ko nang
pinush yun (General Santiago pushed for death penalty for traffickers. I
have long been pushing for that)," Sotto said in an interview with
GMANews.TV.
Santiago made the call amid the controversy surrounding the drug case of 3
drug suspects from affluent families Richard Brodett, Jorge Joseph, and
Joseph Tecson. The trio have been dubbed as the Alabang Boys."
PDEA alleged that some P50 million changed hands to expedite their
release, but Department of Justice (DOJ) prosecutors handling the suspects
drug case have since denied taking any bribes into recommending the
dismissal of the charges against the 3 men.
Meanwhile, lawmakers both from the Senate and the House of Representatives
said they are willing to push for the passage of the bills earlier filed
respectively in both chambers seeking to bring back the death penalty.
Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri said in a radio interview that putting suspected
and convicted drug pushers behind bars does not seem to remedy the problem
of widespread drug syndicates in the country.
The senator said that even if peddlers are caught and isolated in
detention cells, they are still able to go on with their operations of
selling illegal drugs.
Convicted drug traffickers should be executed. Jail term doesnt work
because they could still operate inside prison facilities using mobile
phones," Zubiri said in Filipino.
He said he would push for the speedy passage of the bill he filed in May
2008.
His interest to expedite the revival of the death sentence came days after
Director General Dionisio Santiago, head of the Philippine Drug
Enforcement Agency (PDEA), suggested that such a punishment should be
handed down to convicted drug pushers.
The bill Zubiri was referring to was the one he filed on May 26 last year,
titled Senate Bill No. 2322 otherwise known as "An Act Reimposing the
Penalty of Death on Certain Heinous Crimes."
The death penalty law was passed in 1992 but was abolished 14 years later
in 2006 by President Gloria Macapagal right before she flew to the Vatican
City to have an audience with the Pope.
But calls for the revival of the penalty were triggered after the bloody
Rizal Commercial Banking Corp (RCBC) robbery-slay in May 2008, where 9
bank employees and 1 security guard were shot dead.
Zubiri said it was alarming why people accused of engaging in the illegal
drug trade are even allowed to be released from detention when the offense
itself is non-bailable to begin with.
"Illegal drug trade is a non-bailable offense and yet some DOJ prosecutors
have ordered the release of drug suspects, just like the case of the
Alabang Boys. This is alarming," Zubiri said in Filipino.
For his part, House dangerous drugs committee chair and Ilocos Norte Rep.
Roque Ablan Jr said he supports the revival of the death penalty for
convicted drug traffickers as he himself has a bill pending in the House
of Representatives seeking such.
In a phone interview with GMANews.TV, Ablan said drug syndicates from
countries such as China, Thailand, and Malaysia bring drugs into the
Philippines because of the absence of a death penalty.
"Lahat ng mga drug (groups) are either Chinese, from Thailand, Malaysia
Hong-Kong. These are countries with death penalties and they come here
because they know that without any death penalty maski na ma-raid lugar
(walang) death penalty)," Ablan said.
Ablan, an 8-time congressman, said drug cases in the country decreased
when convicted drug dealer Lim Seng was executed shortly after Martial Law
was imposed by the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos.
"Mula nang namatay si Lim Seng nawala, hanggang marami na naman ang
gumagawa ng drugs sa ating bayan (Since Lim Seng was executed drug cases
decreased, until it increased again here). The only reason why they're
doing it here because we don't have any death penalty," said Ablan, whose
committee is conducting an inquiry into the Alabang Boys controversy.
But another senior lawmaker, Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, said "sensational"
crimes like the case of the Alabang Boys do not justify the revival of the
death penalty.
"Sensational and sensationalized crimes do not warrant retrieving from the
legislative archives a penal statute which is cruel and inhuman," Lagman
said in a statement.
Lagman said one of the main reasons for the abolition of the death penalty
in 2006 was the lack of empirical evidence showing that it effectively
deters criminality.
The 5-term lawmaker added that police officers, investigators, prosecutors
and judges must do their work regardless of the imposable penalties.
*************************
Strict law enforcement, not death penalty, deters criminals solon
Oppositionist Sen. Francis Escudero on Thursday thumbed down calls to
restore the death penalty for convicted drug traffickers, saying that it
is the strict law enforcement that deters criminals, not stiff penalties.
In a weekly news conference at the Senate, Escudero said: "Seryosong mga
problema ito at hindi death penalty ang solusyon kundi pagpapatupad ng
batas kung saan kapag ikaw ay nagkasala, ikaw ay tiyak na maparurusahan."
["These are serious problems and death penalty is not the solution but the
implementation of the law where those who break the law will be
penalized."]
The death penalty law was passed in 1992 but was abolished 14 years later
in 2006 by President Gloria Arroyo right before she flew to the Vatican
City for an audience with the Pope Benedict XVI.
Calls for the revival of the penalty were triggered after the bloody Rizal
Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) robbery in May 2008, where 9 bank
employees and 1 security guard were shot dead.
This was revived Thursday by the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) and several
lawmakers amid the controversy generated by the "Alabang Boys" drug case
which has stunned the nation.
********************
Muntinlupa congressman to file bill reviving death penalty
Amid calls for the revival of the death penalty, Muntinlupa Rep. Rozzano
Rufino Biazon on Thursday said he would file next week a bill seeking to
bring back execution as punishment for drug traffickers.
In a text message to GMANews.TV, Biazon said he supported from the
Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and the Dangerous Drugs Board
(DDB) for the revival of the abolished law, adding that he would file his
bill on Monday.
"It covers those who sell drugs and those who finance and earn from the
drug trade," Biazon said.
He said the death penalty for traffickers must be reimposed because drug
negotiations continue even though the traffickers are put behind bars.
The PDEA chief, Director General Dionisio Santiago himself, is aware that
drug businesses thrive despite the imprisonment of some personalities in
the trade since Santiago himself was once a director of the New Bilibid
Prison in Muntinlupa, Biazon added.
"Unlike murderers or rapists who may be reformed, drug lords have the
capacity to live comfortable lives in prison while business goes on. They
knowingly earn from the misery of others," Biazon said.
Muntinlupa City includes the Alabang area, where three young suspected
drug pushers tagged as the "Alabang Boys" - Richard Brodett, Jorge Jordana
Joseph, and Joseph Tecson - are said to hail from.
Earlier, Ilocos Norte Rep. Roque Ablan Jr., chair of the House Dangerous
Drugs Committee, said he had a pending bill seeking to revive death
penalty.
Not all lawmakers, however, favor the death penalty's reimposition, with
Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman saying one of the major reasons why capital
punishment was repealed in 2006 was because it had not proved to be a
deterrent against criminality.
The "Alabang Boys" controversy broke out amid allegations that emissaries
for the suspects' families offered bribes to prevent PDEA officials from
filing charges against the 3. The families also allegedly bribed Justice
prosecutors into dismissing the case against the suspects.
Brodett, Joseph, and Tecson are currently under PDEA custody. The Justice
Department is set to finish in less than 2 weeks the automatic review of
the Dec. 2, 2008, resolution penned by state prosecutor John Resada
recommending the young suspects' release.
(source for 3 above: GMANews.TV)
