Counter terrorism amidst State terrorism 

The Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) is a draconian relic of the J.R. Jayewardene administration that haunts this country for over 40 years. What was intended to be a temporary provision to deal with the emerging security threats in the north and east of the country in 1979 has ended up becoming a permanent weapon in the hands of consecutive administrations. 

The PTA did not stop the outbreak of war in 1983 nor curb terrorism that ensued. Instead, it became a means for arbitrary arrest, secret detention, torture and custodial murder. Rather than preventing terrorism, the Act contributed to radicalising and alienating whole communities against the State and providing a tool for State terrorism.  

The latest attempt to repeal and replace this much dreaded piece of legislation comes in the wake of numerous international pressures that have serious consequences. The European Union in particular has made reforms of anti-terrorism laws a primary condition for its continuation with the GSP plus trade concessions. This is an economic benefit Sri Lanka can ill afford to lose at this juncture. The United Nations, international human rights organisations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch along with multilateral and bilateral partners have also exerted considerable pressure on the current and previous governments to change this law. As a result, from 2015 there have been attempts to do so. 

The Yahapalana administration with Ranil Wickremesinghe as the prime minister, worked on the Counter Terrorism Act. Despite some progress and extensive consultations at the drafting stage the proposed Bill never saw the light of day due to infighting within the administration. This Bill died a natural death in the wake of the Easter Sunday attacks in April 2018. The current administration of President Ranil Wickremesinghe is due to present the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) to replace the PTA. Rather than being an improvement from the PTA this new Act will further empower the authorities to systematically violate fundamental human rights of the people of Sri Lanka.

The proposed Bill will expand the definition of terrorism to include crimes such as property damage, theft, or robbery, and restrict the rights to freedom of assembly and speech. Its definition of terrorism is vague and overbroad and can include peaceful protest or acts that, while criminal, do not rise to the level of any reasonable definition of terrorism. Offenses include participation in certain “unlawful” assemblies if the aim is to “intimidate” the public or “wrongfully” compel the government to act in a certain way, as well as “theft” or “robbery” of government or private property, even if these acts are not intended to cause death or serious harm. 

The Government is currently facing strikes, including by public sector workers. In 2022, the authorities used counterterrorism powers to arbitrarily detain three student leaders involved in the protests that toppled Gotabaya Rajapaksa from the presidency. The proposed bill also grants police and military sweeping powers to stop, question, search, and arrest anyone, or seize any document or object without a warrant, if they believe they have “reasonable grounds.” The military, which is not trained in law enforcement, would have 24 hours to transfer a detainee to police custody, placing detainees at greater risk of abuse.

The Sri Lankan military and the police are accused of carrying out over 100,000 extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances since 1971. The actual figures could be much higher. Such acts have been carried out with impunity. Unlike in many other countries any anti-terrorism legislation must take account of that despicable history and context of State terror. While it has taken more than 40 years to repeal the draconian PTA it should not be allowed to be replaced by a far worse piece of legislature that will further curtail the freedoms of the people and allow the continuous weaponisation of the law by the ruling administration.