Cabinet clears publication of proposed anti-terror legislation as Government says controversial provisions in the PTA have been addressed
The Government has moved formally towards replacing Sri Lanka’s much-criticised Prevention of Terrorism Act, with Cabinet approving publication of the proposed new anti-terror legislation before it is placed before Parliament.
Cabinet Spokesman Nalinda Jayatissa said controversial aspects of the existing PTA, including concerns surrounding the definition of terrorism, had been addressed in drafting the replacement legislation. The Bill has been prepared following the work of a technical expert committee and has received Attorney General clearance.
The real examination, however, begins once the wording is subjected to public and legal scrutiny.
For decades, the PTA has attracted criticism over detention powers, due process and the possibility of abuse. Replacing the name on the legislation will therefore mean little unless the substantive powers of the State are themselves recalibrated.
The question for Parliament will not merely be whether Sri Lanka requires effective laws against terrorism. Few would seriously dispute that.
It will be whether the replacement law provides the State with the powers genuinely necessary to protect the public without recreating, under another name, precisely the safeguards deficit that made the PTA so controversial.
For a Government which has spoken repeatedly of changing the manner in which the State exercises power, this could prove an important test.
