Dear friends, Please come to the convention against Death Penalty being held in Trivandrum this November 28. We are looking for participation and sharing from individuals and organisations representing diverse movements.
In solidarity... *ESTABLISH MORATORIUM ON THE USE OF DEATH PENALTY* * PEOPLE’S CONVENTION * * 28 NOVEMBER 2011 THIRUVANANTHAPURAM-- VJT HALL *A broad based people’s convention in demand of moratorium on the execution of death sentences in the wake of strengthening protests against death penalty in the country is held on 28 November 2011 at VJT hall Thiruvananthapuram. Various civil society groups, prominent personalities and like minded social-political activists will attend the convention which is organized by activists against capital punishment. In Prologue to the convention, local level gatherings of democrats will be held in different parts of the state. After the Tamil Nadu legislative Assembly adopted a resolution demanding the commutation of the death sentence awarded to the convicts in the Rajeev Gandhi assassination case, Jammu Kashmir Assembly too has come forward with a similar resolution regarding the death sentence awarded to Afsal Guru in the parliament attack case. This is quite an unprecedented development in the country. The land of Kerala has the legacy of abolishing death penalty in 1940s. In continuity with this step, members from here had also voiced, in the constituent assembly, their demand for the enactment of a progressive law for the nation-wide abolition of death penalty. In 2005, Vadhasiksha Virudha Samithi(Council Against Capital Punishment) submitted a mass representation, ‘human right memorial’ before the central and state governments , which urged them to abolish death penalty and to take legal and policy measures to protect the human rights of prisoners including the right to live. The Samithi also launched campaigns and agitations on this demand. Though the demand that Kerala legislative assembly should adopt a resolution against death penalty on the basis of human right memorial is yet to be realized, these campaigns and agitations were able to usher in certain steps for considering the human rights of prisoners. These steps include the restoration of the system of releasing prisoners after they had served a certain period of life-imprisonment. However, no signs of a positive policy shift to oppose death penalty were seen in the political and governmental spheres. Nevertheless, a new scenario is now evolving in the country. In relationship to particular cases, Political parties, legislative assemblies, states and peoples are joining the protest bloc created by human rights activists and civil rights activists against the continuing practice of death penalty in the country in spite of the fact that it has already been abolished in most of the countries of the world. In this country, there are hundreds of prisoners in the death row sentenced to capital punishment. As for the political and governmental spheres, a new situation is evolving. These spheres are forced to move towards a revisionary engagement with the colonial and undemocratic ideologies regarding the legal abolition of death penalty. The governments ought to immediately adopt an approach of constructive response to this new situation at practical level. It is from this position that the public convention demanding moratorium on death penalty is being held. In the new context when the correctness, rationale and authenticity of capital punishment are undismissably called into question, different collectives and individuals can come together in practice at the same time keeping their ideological differences. All those who distrust the human infallibility in matters of crime and punishment can be viewed as part of this movement. We request all political parties, social organizations, groups, individuals, and individuals who share a sense of democratic justice to cooperate with this public convention and related activities. With greetings K. Girish Kumar Convener Organizing Committee People’s convention 9947787523 -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth?hl=en-GB.
