Fiji's military thugs have murdered again. Sakiusa Rabaka Ligaiviu was detained by the army last month as a suspected drug dealer. He and his friends were taken to a reservoir, stripped, and beaten so severely he suffered from headaches and seizures and required brain surgery. He returned home again last week, but collapsed and died, apparently of a haemorrhage from his beating.
This is not a political killing. Instead, it is a consequence of the military's illegal policy of "rough justice" and random beatings. But it is still murder, and those responsible should be prosecuted for it. Unfortunately, as the military granted itself immunity after the coup, the chances of that happening are exceedingly remote.
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4 comments:
There was an interview on Nine to Noon this morning with the mother of one of the killed men. I didn't hear it but it may be up on their interweb now?
Posted by Span : 2/27/2007 12:21:00 PM
On the other hand, it is a bloody good way of getting rid of drug dealers.
Posted by Insolent Prick : 2/27/2007 01:23:00 PM
IP: Yeah, who cares about evidence, trials, appeals, or indeed the law (which permits the death penalty only for those in the military)?
This was a murder, pure and simple. And I'm appalled that anyone would approve of it. Human rights are in part a matter of consistency - you can not demand a right for yourself while denying it to others. In this case, you can not claim the right to be protected from extrajudicial killing while supporting the killing of others. I doubt you would be happy if you or a member of your family was dragged from their home in the middle of the night and beaten to death in this way - and if so, this morally requires you to oppose it when it happens to others. Otherwise, you are nothing but a hypocrite demanding special treatment for yourself.
Posted by Idiot/Savant : 2/27/2007 02:08:00 PM
It'd be a bloody good way of getting rid of wingnuts too.
Wingnuts are much worse than drug dealers - taking drugs is a choice, but when the right wing takes over you don't have any choice about living under their f...ed up government.
Posted by Anonymous : 2/27/2007 06:42:00 PM
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