Nusakambangan Island
In the first place, the death penalty belongs to the past,
just as torture and slavery. Since the 1948 trumpet call in the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, “Everyone has the right to life, liberty and
security of person”. In the words of the Preamble, the Universal Declaration is
“a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations”. This includes
Indonesia, and applies to you its president. Our call to you is not
interference in the affairs of you and your country; our appeal is to our
shared humanity which transcends all national boundaries. Your order to kill
our brothers and sisters, offends our humanity, lessens its value, and takes
side with others who defy the world by taking human life for whatever reason.
You are transgressing against international law, which in a
world where the death penalty has still been granted some legal tolerance,
still grants exception to execution for premeditated homicide, but not for drug
related crimes.
Your use of the death penalty is ineffective; there is no
proof that execution deters crime, even to a marginal degree.
The world indeed suffers from a plague of drugs and it is
our common challenge to find remedy for this curse on civilization. Please pay
heed to the countries which have learned at the cost of countless lives that
Capital Punishment is not the solution. The problem of drugs is a challenge
which must depend on a concerted effort of all countries, who unite on the
affirmation of the value of every life. It is also the task of every country to
use all the resources of its beliefs, cultures, and traditions to counter the
awful threat of drugs, a problem embedded in an addiction to gratification and
a commercialism that pervades all. Play your part in this struggle to save our
peoples from the plague of drugs and their trade.
Halt your preparations for death, the world holds breath as
you get ready your island of death: “Any man’s death diminishes me, because I
am involved with Mankind” John Donne
Please sign the protest at:
Please sign the protest at:
