Sri Lanka's new counter terrorism draft bill to be tabled in parliament this month: PM Gunawardena

Colombo: A new counter-terrorism draft bill to replace the much-maligned Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) of 1979 with new legislation called the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) is to be introduced in the parliament later in April, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena said on Saturday.

Sri Lanka is replacing the PTA with a new legislation called the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) after the former law was roundly condemned for its draconian nature where people were allowed to be detained without being charged for indefinite periods.

Sri Lanka faced international calls to repeal the PTA which was enacted in 1979 as a temporary measure to counter the rising Tamil separatist militancy.

“The new bill will be presented in parliament in the third week of April. It will replace the PTA,” Gunawardena said.

On March 17, the 97-page ATA was published in the government gazette. It aimed to replace the PTA which is often being criticised as a tool used by successive governments to crush dissent.

The European Union 2016 has been urging the Sri Lankan government to repeal the PTA and bring in new counter-terrorism legislation in line with international standards.

The EU has linked its GSP+ export tariff concessions to Sri Lanka modifying its counter-terrorism Act. The opposition and rights groups have already objected to the ATA, saying that it does not differ much from the PTA.

They hold that ATA could be used to crush democratic protests and political opposition while the security forces are conferred powers to crack down with judicial procedure to brand any dissent as terrorism.

Sajith Premadasa, the main opposition leader, told reporters: “We see this as undemocratic and authoritarian because it targets political opponents, trade unions and the public”.

Mano Ganesan, a minority Tamil political leader, questioned the need for a new counter-terrorism law when the country is currently free of any acts of terrorism.

Critics charge that the ATA would be more harmful than the PTA. Sri Lanka, which currently is reeling under its worst economic crisis, has witnessed several activities that have threatened its national security.

The nation saw the end of the Tamil insurgency in 2009 after the killing of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam leader Velupillai Prabhakaran. A fresh security threat dented the country’s security after the Easter suicide attacks in 2019 that killed 290 people.

With inputs from agencies.

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