Addressing Sri Lankan, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena pledged to repeal the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act of 1979 as well as to release all detained LTTE cadre, who have languished in prison for years.
The statement follows the passage of UN Human Rights Council resolution 51/L1, which calls for the extension and reinforcement of the capacity of the Office of the High Commissioner (OHCHR) to "collect, consolidate, analyse, and preserve” evidence that may be used in future war crimes trials. The resolution was passed by a vote of 20 votes in favour, 7 opposed, and 20 abstentions. This is the lowest number of member states that have backed Sri Lanka in a vote at the UN Human Rights Council since resolutions on accountability were first passed in 2012.
Despite this verdict, Gunawardena maintained that Sri Lanka was not internationally isolated and claimed that 20 countries had sided with the island through its abstention.
“Their decision at the UNHRC will not affect trade, aid or any other matter concerning Sri Lanka,” he added.
Repeal of the PTA
Speaking to parliament, Gunawardena announced that “the draft Bill to repeal the PTA has been approved by the Cabinet. It will be presented to the Parliament soon”.
This is not the first time that the Sri Lankan government has claimed that it will replace the decades-old legislation which was initially introduced in 1979 as a temporary emergency measure. The bill provided Sri Lanka’s security forces sweeping powers to arbitrarily detain people for prolonged periods of time, without charge and often in contravention of due process rights. The act has been disproportionately used to target Tamil youth and linked to cases of torture and enforced disappearances. More recently, the bill has been used against Sinhala anti-government demonstrators.
Last month saw an island-wide campaign against the PTA with 12 Tamil political prisoners staging a hunger strike around the anniversary of Lt Col. Thileepan’s sacrifice.
In August, Sri Lankan cabinet spokesman Bandula Gunawardena announced that the government would replace the PTA with a new National Security Act.
Read more here: Repeal the PTA: Island-wide signature campaign begins in Jaffna
Release of political prisoners
The Sri Lankan administration has also before that it will release all detained Tamil political prisoners but has yet to release a list detailing the number who continue to be detained under the PTA. Many of the political prisoners have been detained in Sri Lankan prisons for years and have suffered from debilitating health issues with little hope of reprieve.
Read more here.