webfact Posted October 10, 2018 Share Posted October 10, 2018 EU ambassadors encourage Thailand to end executions By PRATCH RUJIVANAROM THE NATION File photo CAPITAL PUNISHMENT is for authoritarian countries and not democracies, delegates from the European Union stressed yesterday as they urged Thailand to abandon prisoner execution. On the occasion of the European and World Day against the Death Penalty, the European Union in Thailand held a panel discussion on the topic “The Global Trend towards Abolishing the Death Penalty: Implications for Thailand”. The discussion aimed to underline the ethical problems surrounding capital punishment, along with its inefficiency in preventing violent crimes and ensuring justice. In his opening remarks to the meeting, the European Union’s Ambassador to Thailand, Pirkka Tapiola, said the EU was one of the major supporters of the campaign to end capital punishment and was working constructively towards that goal with other members of the global community. Despite the global trend now moving towards ending capital punishment, Tapiola said there was a negative development in June when Thailand – which had long refrained from executing prisoners – resumed the practice. “Capital punishment is not the way to go,” he stressed. “Throughout the world, two-thirds of the global community has already abolished capital punishment, because it not only infringes on the most fundamental principle of human rights – the right to live – but it is also ineffective at preventing crime.” In contrast to many people’s view that severe punishment such as the death sentence could scare criminals and reduce the crime rate, studies have proven that the death penalty cannot guarantee a safer society. “We can see the examples in Europe, where all countries except for Belarus have stopped executing prisoners, yet many European states have a very low crime rate,” he |said. Emilio de Miguel Calabia, Spain’s Ambassador to Thailand, spoke of his country’s experience as it set out to abolish the death penalty. Spanish citizens saw capital punishment as an inhumane practice, which is only preserved in authoritarian countries. That was because the last execution in Spain took place in 1975, back in the fascist era of Francisco Franco’s dictatorship. After Spain became a democratic country, the Spanish Constitution of 1978 ended capital punishment for ordinary crimes before, in 1995, the country abolished the death penalty for good, Calabia said. “Thailand can look to the good example of its neighbour Cambodia as a role model – Cambodia has a progressive Constitution that guarantees all Khmer citizens the rights to life, personal freedom and security in its Article 2,” he said. Totally abolished death penalty According to Amnesty International, 106 countries globally had totally abandoned the death penalty for all crimes by last year, seven had stopped executing prisoners for ordinary crimes and 29 had abolished the death penalty in practice, although not officially. Within the Southeast Asia Region, only Cambodia, Philippines and Timor-Leste have totally abolished the death penalty. Even though Brunei, Laos and Myanmar have retained the right to impose capital punishment, they have not |executed anyone during the last 10 years. Amnesty International reported that more than 2,590 people were executed in 53 countries last year, with most of the cases in China (more than 1,000 cases), while Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Pakistan were among other countries executing the most prisoners. Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30356206 -- © Copyright The Nation 2018-10-11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AhFarangJa Posted October 11, 2018 Share Posted October 11, 2018 4 hours ago, webfact said: CAPITAL PUNISHMENT is for authoritarian countries and not democracies, I see a flaw in your argument in the first sentence....... democracy. A system of government in which power is vested in the people, who rule either directly or through freely elected representatives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardColeman Posted October 11, 2018 Share Posted October 11, 2018 5 hours ago, webfact said: but it is also ineffective at preventing crime. Certainly effective at preventing crime by the person executed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lvr181 Posted October 11, 2018 Share Posted October 11, 2018 5 hours ago, webfact said: “Thailand can look to the good example of its neighbour Cambodia as a role model Really? You gotta be kidding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkkgriz Posted October 11, 2018 Share Posted October 11, 2018 The EU is a democratic system? Somebody should remind them. Unelected bureaucrats telling other countries what to do. Seems kind of authoritarian. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phkauf Posted October 11, 2018 Share Posted October 11, 2018 Thailand should actually follow China and Vietnam's model - Executions of public officials caught for fraud, bribery and other crimes related to their government jobs. We can start with the officials caught stealing money from the schools and poor. This will be a significantly greater deterrent than the old "Inactive Desk". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue bruce Posted October 11, 2018 Share Posted October 11, 2018 What about the rights of the innocent people who have been murdered ????? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hockeybik Posted October 11, 2018 Share Posted October 11, 2018 2 hours ago, RichardColeman said: Certainly effective at preventing crime by the person executed. It is a punishment not a deterrent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reenatinnakor Posted October 11, 2018 Share Posted October 11, 2018 It is a punishment not a deterrent. No. Like what he said.... It is a deterrent since it stops the perpetrator from doing it again. Sure, others might do it, but it's still one less person that can do it. Sent from my LG-H990 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thian Posted October 11, 2018 Share Posted October 11, 2018 1 hour ago, bkkgriz said: The EU is a democratic system? Somebody should remind them. Unelected bureaucrats telling other countries what to do. Seems kind of authoritarian. And on top of that they let loads of terrorists in the Eu who are planning terrorist attacks to kill the original europeans. I wished they also used the death punishment more often in the EU of which i'm a member. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
britishrepublican Posted October 11, 2018 Share Posted October 11, 2018 The EU is a joke. Europe needs capital punishment more that ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connda Posted October 11, 2018 Share Posted October 11, 2018 He should ask the Thai people to stop killing foreigners. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZeVonderBearz Posted October 11, 2018 Share Posted October 11, 2018 America, land of the freeeeeeee!!!! They're not in the EU but do love to play the democracy card. EU should have a word with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zzaa09 Posted October 11, 2018 Share Posted October 11, 2018 5 hours ago, Thian said: And on top of that they let loads of terrorists in the Eu who are planning terrorist attacks to kill the original europeans. Comes around, doesn't it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hockeybik Posted October 11, 2018 Share Posted October 11, 2018 7 hours ago, reenatinnakor said: No. Like what he said.... It is a deterrent since it stops the perpetrator from doing it again. Sure, others might do it, but it's still one less person that can do it. Sent from my LG-H990 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app Obviously the death penalty deters the perpetrator but it should be considered as a punishment of the guilty and not as a deterrent to others that may commit the same crime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brewsterbudgen Posted October 11, 2018 Share Posted October 11, 2018 It would be nice to think the Thai government will listen and heed their advice, but I somehow doubt it. Sent from my SM-G930F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lvr181 Posted October 12, 2018 Share Posted October 12, 2018 19 hours ago, Hockeybik said: Obviously the death penalty deters the perpetrator but it should be considered as a punishment of the guilty and not as a deterrent to others that may commit the same crime. It should be both. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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