Article 7: All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.
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We are all equal before the law, and we are entitled to equal protection of the law without discrimination – but, how can Tamils be treated equally before the law when laws are created that discriminate them, and when lawmakers are the ones who treat Tamils with inequality.
When something often goes wrong, who do you call? The police? Well, I remember being taught from a young age to dial 9-1-1 when I was in trouble and needed help, or saw someone in trouble who needed help. I had this idea that the police were the good people, and they always would come to the rescue. But then I grew up, and started looking around the world and realized that law enforcers are sometimes the very first ones to break the law, and to discriminate. Why? Because they are able to do so without fear of punishment, because they are the enforcers.
Some of you may have heard of the ‘Stanfor, conducted by Philip Zimbardo. For those of you who want to read more, links are provided below on the study. Zimbardo tried to prove that when average people are given positions of absolute power, positions where they have the power to strip another’s dignity and control another’s life, they would abuse their power, and behave inhumane ways. They would carry out acts of control and dehumanization when given absolute power, where their moral values would become irrelevant.
To test his theory, he set up a mock prison experiment, where 24 emotionally stable participants were chosen; 12 of them were randomly assigned as guards, and 12 of them were randomly assigned as prisoners. The guard group was dressed in intimidating military style uniforms, wooded batons, and sunglasses (to prevent eye contact with the ‘prisoners’). The prisoners group was dressed in cheap clothing, tied to a chain, and were identified by number only, not name. They also only were served simple food, and provided basic sleeping mattresses. While none of the participants for actually guards or prisoners, they were put in a mock prison where they took either one of the roles.
What happended? Well, those who had to act like prisoners, quickly became attached to their roles of absolute power and began to dehumanize, humiliate, and punish the victims – to the point where many of those who acted as prisoners actually began to suffer emotional and mental distress. The study was called off because of the extent of violence the guard actors portrayed. These guards forced the prisoners to exercise when told to, forced them to sleep on the cold hard floors, subjected them to sexual intimidation, denied their access to the bathrooms, and forced them to clean toilets with their bare hands when they were allowed to do so. This study shows that absolute power given to policemen can do more harm than good, and the Tamils in Sri-Lanka have been victims of abuse by the lawmakers and enforcers in Sri-Lanka.
Here is an example of police brutality against Tamils in Sri-Lanka: Tamil man drowned during violent police attack [France 24] A 26-year-old man with mental health problems was drowned during an attack by three policemen in October 2009. Full Article. Clearly, this man was not treated equally before the law, it was in fact the law enforcers who caused immense suffering to him.
“Nine journalists had been killed and another 27 assaulted over the past three years [in Sri-Lanka], while independent activists say more than a dozen journalists have been killed. A newspaper editor critical of the government’s military campaign was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in January. Several others have been arrested using draconian anti-terrorism laws.” Full Article Those who are critical of police brutality and the Sri-Lankan military are silenced, often by the police and military themselves.
What do you do when it is the lawmakers and law enforcers themselves who are breaking the law and discriminating citizens?
Credits:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5j1e4H88kKwyc8rXvUls7gLOMzt9Q
Tags: Speak Out
