It was the Think Centre, not Mr Ravi, that organised the vigil on May 6, in which Mr.Ravi, many members of the arts community and the public participated.
[Article first appeared in the Sunday Times, inbox column, 22 May 2005: Actions not publicity stunts]
I refer to the articles "Lawyer's publicity stunts' under fire" and "I'm just doing my job,says counsel", [The Sunday Times. May 15].
These articles give the impression that counsel M.Ravi, who tried to stop the execution of drug trafficker Shanmugam Murugesu, had focused his efforts on publicity rather than his job as a lawyer.
As someone who was present at the forum on the death penalty on April 16, and who has since followed Shanmugam's case closely, I must say such an impression differs substantially from my own.
It was, for instance, the Think Centre, not M.Ravi, that organised the vigil on May 6, in which Mr.Ravi, many members of the arts community and the public, including myself, participated.
Those of us there were moved by the story of Shanmugam, a working-class single parent of two teengage boys, who was sentenced to death for drug trafficking.
Mr. Ravi's priorities have always seemed clear to me: first, as a lawyer, fight the case in court; second, as a compassionate human being, support the family; third, as a citizen with a conscience, engage soceity about the death penalty.
It is a cruel irony that Mr Ravi's actions have received as much if not more attention than the story of Shanmugam and his family. and the issue of the death penalty. These are the more important issues at stake.
