Batticaloa protest demands full repeal of PTA, rejects proposed new bill

A protest was held in Batticaloa last week demanding the full repeal of the Prevention of Terrorism Act and rejecting the proposed Protection of the State from Terrorism Act, which the government intends to introduce as a replacement.

The demonstration on February 28 saw religious leaders, Members of Parliament, former MPs, local government leaders, vice chairmen and councillors, representatives of civil society organisations, relatives of the forcibly disappeared, university students and members of the public take part.

At the conclusion of the protest, a statement was read out for submission to the Commissioner of the United Nations Human Rights Council, the  United Nations Resident Coordinator in Sri Lanka, ambassadors of United Nations member states, the European Union and the International Monetary Fund, to be forwarded to the Secretary General of the United Nations.

Protesters stated that the ruling National People’s Power had pledged to abolish the PTA prior to coming to power and urged the government to honour that commitment without introducing new legislation in its place, chanting “Repeal the PTA fully — no PSTB”.

The Prevention of Terrorism Act has long been condemned by Eelam Tamils as a tool of state repression used to detain individuals without charge, suppress political dissent and facilitate torture and enforced disappearances in the Tamil homeland. Civil society organisations have warned that the proposed replacement legislation risks retaining the core features of the existing law under a different title.

In a separate intervention, the Eastern Journalists Forum wrote to the Ministry of Justice requesting that the government “completely repeal the Prevention of Terrorism Act and immediately abandon the current draft law to protect the country from terrorism.”

The Forum warned that the draft law contains “extremely severe repressive and anti-democratic provisions” and argued that it would be best to remove it immediately.

It noted that the draft law does not contain a clear definition of ‘terrorism’ and observed that even criticising government actions, engaging in peaceful protest activities, or expressing opinions that are undesirable or unwelcome to the rulers have been interpreted as ‘anti-state activities’.

The Batticaloa protest forms part of a growing mobilisation across the North-East, with demonstrations, signature campaigns and public meetings recently held in Jaffna, Mannar and other districts opposing both the existing security framework and its proposed successor.

For families of the disappeared and survivors of detention under the PTA, the continued existence of sweeping security legislation remains a stark reminder of impunity and militarisation in the Tamil nation of the North-East.

As the government moves forward with consultations on the proposed Bill, the large turnout in Batticaloa signals sustained resistance in the Tamil homeland to laws widely viewed as instruments of structural discrimination and state repression.