The executive director of the Campaign for Free and Fair Elections has reiterated their call on the government to repeal the controversial Prvention of Terrorism Act, saying Sri Lanka can’t become a nation with a rule of law until it is abolished.
In a statement released on Monday, Rajith Keerthi Tennakoon said the Minister of Justice Wijedasa Rajapakshe stated that repealing the PTA is not a priority for the government, whenthe issue was raised by CaFFE.
Pointing out that the repeal of the act is likely to have support in parliament, the organisation said it believes “removal of the PTA should be in the agenda of the Parliament in the coming two months”.
“[Without] the removal of the PTA we can’t prevent a repeat of the tragedy because PTA leads to attacks on personal freedoms, including freedom of expression and association, which in turn leads to rebellion,” the statement further said.
“What is transpiring now is an attempt to ignore PTA while talking of establishing a domestic mechanism. In addition some so called human rights champions are planning to drop the abolition of PTA from the agenda. As a human rights defender which has not shifted its agenda on personal freedoms, we believe that those who strive for human rights in Sri Lanka should not drop the repeal of PTA from their agendas. In addition we believe they should unite against the government if it intends to continue the PTA.”
CaFFE calls for repeal of anti terror legislation (26 August 2015)