Sri Lanka to exchange draconian counter-terrorism legislation with new nationwide safety Act

Sri Lanka on Tuesday introduced that it’s going to quickly substitute the controversial Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) with a brand new safety legislation, amid worldwide condemnation over Colombo’s use of the draconian counter-terrorism legislation to detain pupil activists.

“PTA has been there since 1979. The justice minister informed the cabinet that a new National Security Act would be drafted by deleting the undesirable parts of the PTA,” Cabinet spokesman and minister Bandula Gunawardena advised reporters.

The improvement comes a day after the US and the European Union on Monday expressed concern over the detention of three pupil activists underneath its draconian counter-terrorism legislation for taking part in protests, which led to the resignation of former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

“Using laws that don’t conform with international human rights standards – like the PTA – erodes democracy in Sri Lanka. We encourage the government to uphold the rights of the people to express their views,” US Ambassador to Sri Lanka Julie Chung tweeted.

The European Union additionally voiced its concern.

“Concerned about reports on the use of the PTA in recent arrests as we refer to information given by the (Sri Lankan) government to the international community about the de-facto moratorium of the use of PTA,” an EU assertion mentioned.
Mary Lawler, US particular rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, has additionally expressed concern over the usage of PTA to detain the scholars.

The three college students – Mudalige Wasantha Kumara, Hashan Jeewantha and Buddhist monk Galwewa Siridhamma – of the Inter-University Students Federation (IUSF) have been detained since August 18 when the IUSF staged an anti-government demonstration.

The Sri Lankan police on Sunday started a probe into their attainable hyperlinks to an anti-government conspiracy and inciting violence and arson assaults throughout the nation amid widespread protests over the worst financial disaster.

The Bar Association of Sri Lanka has requested the President and the legislation enforcement authorities to chorus from utilizing the PTA and instantly rescind the Detention Orders.

The Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) in a press release mentioned it’s deeply involved at the usage of the provisions of the PTA to arrest and detain individuals who’ve been concerned in protests towards the Government.

The rights group, Amnesty International, too mentioned protesters should not be detained underneath the PTA.

On Monday, the police mentioned that three pupil activists have been detained underneath PTA. The detainees had been transferred to the southern jail at Tangalle on Tuesday.

The police mentioned the IUSF activists are wanted to be detained to probe the alleged anti-government conspiracy within the background of current incidents of violence since 9 May.

After months of protests over Sri Lanka’s unprecedented financial disaster, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled to the Maldives from Sri Lanka on July 13, then flew to Singapore, the place he introduced his resignation because the president a day later.

The anti-government protesters accused the Rajapaksa household, which has dominated Sri Lanka’s political scene for almost 20 years, of plunging the nation into the worst financial disaster for the reason that nation’s independence in 1948 via mismanagement and corruption.

Sri Lanka is underneath strain from the EU to reform the controversial PTA, which permits detention as much as 90 days with out being charged with provisions for additional extension of the time.

The European Parliament in June 2021 had known as for the repeal of the PTA and urged the EU Commission to think about briefly withdrawing Sri Lanka’s entry to GSP+, a favoured commerce concession for the island’s exports.

Senior EU officers visited the island nation in October final 12 months and mentioned the PTA, recalling that its modification was a key dedication in readmitting Sri Lanka to the GSP+ in 2017.

GSP+ preferences for Sri Lanka had been withdrawn in 2010 on account of important shortcomings within the nation’s implementation of three UN human rights conventions. Sri Lanka was readmitted to GSP+ in May 2017.

The EU’s GSP+ commerce concession permits Sri Lankan exports to Europe with out taxation. This has been a giant increase to Sri Lanka’s attire and fishing industries.

The EU stays Sri Lanka’s largest exports companion adopted by the US and India. Over 80 per cent of Sri Lanka’s exports to the EU are eligible for GSP+ concessions.