20 December 2023 12:01 am Views - 284
Our country faces a major drugs-related problem. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) estimates that there are currently about 45,000 regular users of heroin and about 600,000 users of cannabis in our country. It is further estimated that between 1–2 % of heroin users are injecting drug users (IDUs).
A study by the Community of Physicians in 2011 revealed, 16% of Sri Lankan adolescents had used at least one illegal substance during their life, and this number has continued to grow.
The total number of drug-related arrests was 67,900 from January to October 2022. Of the drug-related arrests, 35,765 (52.6%) offenders were arrested for addiction to Heroin and 25,114 (36.9%) for Cannabis addiction. In addition, 232 arrests were for addiction to Psychotropic substances, with 21 arrests for Cocaine and 40 arrests for Hashish addictions, from January to October 2022.
Of these, the Colombo District reported 38 percent of the total drug related arrests followed by 14 percent from Gampaha and 11 percent from Kurunegala.
Given this background it was not really surprising that Public Security Minister Tiran Alles recently announced that a special operation targeting drug-related activities and underworld characters was set to commence. The Minister added, he would not tolerate anyone attempting to deter operations against drug cartels and the underworld.
Unfortunately he made unsubstantiated charges against ‘famous lawyers’ whom he claimed were in the pay of drug dealers and underworld figures.
While the Minister’s anger towards drug dealers needs be applauded, one cannot help but be aghast at his painting of lawyers as being on the payroll of drug dealers and underworld figures. Whether one likes it or not, in a democratic society, members of society are deemed innocent until found guilty in a court of law. Lawyers, famous or otherwise, are duty-bound to defend persons accused of crime.
Dr. Colvin R. De Silva was one such famous criminal lawyer who defended several of the famous/infamous accused. Using his advocatory skills, he had his clients released. Thus to accuse lawyers of being in the pay of underworld characters and drug dealers is infantile.
Rather it is the fault of prosecutors for not investigating and being ill-prepared when presenting facts before Courts.
While one and all must support the war on drugs, we need to draw a line in the accusations we make against citizens who are only fulfilling their role in a democratic society. Accusing lawyers who appear on behalf of drug users and even drug lords, brings to mind a dangerous and murderous precedent set by former Philippines President, Duterte.
In his campaign to exterminate the drug menace in the Philippines, Duterte unleashed the military, police and numerous paramilitary outfits with the right to kill anyone whom they suspected of being users, pushers, dealers or drug lords.
During the 44th session of the UN Human Rights Council in June 2020, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) estimated that at least 8,663 people had been killed in Duterte’s two-year anti-drug campaign.
The ‘Guardian’ reported, at least 122 children, including a one-year-old, were killed during Duterte’s ‘war on drugs’. Ellen Tordesillas of Vera Files, a non-profit fact-checking group has put the total number of those killed during Durterte’s ‘war on drugs’ at, at least 20,000 deaths.
Our Public Security Minister needs to ensure that incidents such as those which occurred during the 1988-89 era, where tens of thousands of young people accused of insurrection were abducted by the police and armed forces from their homes and disappeared, do not recur during this new war on drugs and the underworld.
While eradicating the drug menace is a necessity, the killing of drug users or purveyors cannot be condoned. Drug addiction occurs as the result of trying out a drug, peer pressure, curiosity, occasional consumption and eventually getting addicted to it.
We need to eradicate the causes of drug addiction and not the victims.