Friday, September 17, 2004

POTA Put Away

BBC Reports that the Indian Parliament is repealing the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA), through which many, many people have been killed in police encounters, and scores have been questionably detained.

India has problems with internal terrorism that are much more severe than anything the United States has faced. Vigorous anti-terrorist actions are required; the the state needs the power to maintain its integrity. (And indeed, there is already talk of a new bill to amend the old Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.) But POTA has been used very badly.

Good riddance.

1 Comments:

Nitin said...

Amarjeet,

If all laws that were abused were repealed, India's criminal statutes would not even fit one A4 sized sheet of paper.

The Indian government's repeal of POTA is subterfuge - its elements will be inserted into the older Unlawful Activities Act.

Petty criminals are brutalised by India police every day. The irony of the anti-POTA outrage is that terrorists, whose offences are more serious, get away because of the liberals of Indian society; while their less dangerous counterparts continue to suffer in lock-ups.

Isolating POTA alone without reforming the entire law-and-order jut allows terrorists to get away much easily, making a mockery of the whole thing.

9:23 PM  

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