The measure, which was presented last month, intervenes on the regulations approved in 1979 against the Tamil uprising, but maintains wide margins of arbitrariness. Civil society fears that they will be used to repress all forms of protest. The card. Ranjith strongly criticized the measure that the president wants to take to Parliament.
Colombo (Asia News) – The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) has asked the country’s president, Ranil Wickremesinghe, not to take the controversial reform of the anti-terrorism law to Parliament. Presented last month, the measure would interfere with the regulations approved in 1979 against the Tamil uprising, which is still in force despite the fact that the civil war ended 15 years ago. It was the UN that requested that it intervene in 2021, but the reform that Wickremesinghe wants to enact maintains wide margins of arbitrariness at the hands of the police forces. Sri Lankan civil society fears that they could be used to suppress any form of protest.
“The bill, in its current format, should not be submitted to Parliament until a national dialogue – with broad participation – is concluded and its recommendations are accompanied by a clear action plan,” the Human Rights Commission wrote in a letter to the head of state. This dialogue “will demonstrate the Government’s commitment to guarantee and continue building peace and harmony among citizens.” The HRCSL stressed that to really address the issue of the anti-terror law, it is essential to further assess the results of the peace and reconciliation process, which affects not only communities in the north and east of Sri Lanka, but also that were affected by the uprisings in the south in the 1970s and 1980s.
Numerous religious leaders in the country have also demonstrated against the anti-terrorism bill in recent weeks, including the Archbishop of Colombo, Card. Malcolm Ranjith. “The death penalty has been reduced throughout the world, but still the Sri Lankan government has included it in this bill,” the cardinal had declared on April 4. “If the president wants, he can also ban a political party through the new law. The bill was introduced to control protests.”
