Saddam's execution wrong: Lanka

New Delhi, Jan 18 (UNI) Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera today came out strongly against the execution of Saddam Hussein, saying that despite the cruel and despotic nature of the Iraqi dictator's rule, taking life for life was wrong.

Two days ago, US President George W Bush had said that the Iraqi government had fumbled the execution of Saddam by making it look like a revenge.

''Saddam Hussein was a despot, but taking life for life is wrong.... In that context, the execution was totally wrong,'' Mr Samaraweera told reporters after delivering the 14th Lal Bahadur Shastri Memorial lecture here.

''Regardless of the cruel and despotic nature of his rule, the question remains whether his execution will ultimately contribute to the healing process the people of Iraq so deparelety require,'' he said during his lecture on 'Forging a Radical Center: A Response to Extremism and Intolerance'.

Mr Samaraweera said there had been no evidence that capital punishment reduces crime or violence in any country. Rather, successful investigation and fair and swift judicial process remained the most effective deterrent.

''Countries where the rule of law and independence of the judiciary and the police are not firmly established are open to manipulation of the law by those in power. The weak and the ordinary go to the gallows while the powerful and well connected go scot-free,'' he said.

''The recent execution of Saddam Hussein can be taken as an example.'' Quoting Mahatma Gandhi, he said an eye for an eye will only make the world go blind.

UNI