Sri Lankan opposition leader, Sajith Premadasa said the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) "cannot be tinkered with" and joined calls for the legislation to be repealed.
In a letter to Tamil National Alliance parliamentarian M A Sumanthiran, Premadasa criticised the legislation and the proposed amendements the government announced earlier this year.
"The PTA contains major weaknesses, which we believe are irredeemable. These weaknesses have enabled the persecution of political opponents, journalists, lawyers, and human rights activists. Indeed, even twelve yeara fter the war ended, the PTA is being weaponised against these stakeholders," Premadasa wrote.
He added that "none of the many weaknesses of the PTA" are addressed in the amendments brough forward by the Sri Lankan government to 'reform' the legislation which has been used to arbitrarily detain Tamils and Muslims for months and often years without charge or trial, facilitating torture and other abuse. Tamil civil society and activists have been calling for the PTA to be repealed for decades.
Last month, Sumanthiran launched an island wide signature campaign demanding the Sri Lankan government to heed calls from the Tamil and Muslim communities to repeal the legislation.
Despite multiple pledges to the international community, successive Sri Lankan governments have failed to repeal the legislation, instead they have continued to use it. UN human rights experts said "the actions of the Sri Lankan Government call into question its commitment to reform. Sri Lanka has an immediate obligation to put forth solutions to address the human rights violations carried out under the PTA." they added.
