A photograph of the PTA, shared by one of the men who was arrested last week.
Sri Lanka’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and the Terrorism Investigation Division (TID) have arrested at least two Sinhalese men, in a spate of arrests related to the sharing of LTTE-related content on social media.
The arrests of the Sinhalese men however come amidst reports that they shared material critical of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and of Tamil nationalism.
The arrests were carried out under charges of incitement, promoting a proscribed organization, and spreading false information through social media. Sri Lankan authorities invoked Section 120 of the Penal Code and Section 27 of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) to detain the suspects – a law that the president previously said he would repeal but is yet to do so.
Investigations into the matter are ongoing, with law enforcement reiterating their stance on cracking down against activities deemed a threat to public order or national security.
Previously, Tamils were detained for years under the PTA, including journalists over charges linked to the ‘promotion of terrorism’. Many have been for Tamil nationalist or commemorative posts. The arrest of at least two Sinhalese men over sharing content related to the LTTE however, seems different in context to the longstanding and continued arrests of Tamils under the PTA.
Political and social activist Kelum Jayasumana, one of the Sinhalese men who was arrested by the Computer Crime Investigation Division under S. 120 of the Penal Code, said in a Facebook post that had a “friendly” conversation with the CID officers who came to his house.
He went on to state that he questioned whether the sharing of Christian Fathers with the Tamil Eelam flag was a crime or whether the holding of the Tamil Eelam flag was instead. Jayasumana continued to claim the Sri Lankan government is “turning a blind eye to the madness of celebrating a terrorist organization” in the North, referring to Maaveerar Naal commemorations that took place last week. The date, November 27th, is when Tamils around the world light lamps and lay flowers to remember Tamil fighters who were killed in the independence struggle. Thousands took part in ceremonies across the North-East.
The Sri Lankan government is now using the PTA to “hunt down its opponents,” claimed Jayasumana.
Kelum Harshana was another man named to have been arrested and brought before Fort Chief Magistrate’s Court. However, he was granted bail, and his lawyer said the court ruled there was no evidence of terrorism promotion.
Last week Sri Lanka police arrested a young father from Jaffna over a Facebook post. Manoharan Kajendroopan, from Inuvil West, Chunnakam, for reportedly uploading a photo of LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran on Facebook.
