New laws to prevent emergence of new terror groups: PM

• New legislation also to curb hate speech
• No ISIS, NTJ threats in country anymore

By Yohan Perera in Ampara  

New legislation including those to control hate speech is essential to prevent the emergence of new terrorist groups, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said yesterday at a ceremony held in Ampara to distribute Samurdi. 

“ISIS and National Tawheed Jamaat (NTJ) no longer exist in Sri  Lanka. However, new groups may emerge once again. Therefore, the country needs new legislation such as those to control hate speech, biometrics and laws to monitor and control those who enter Sri Lankan territory. Fresh counter-terrorism laws are needed to stop the emergence of new terrorist groups. We also need legislation to set up databases and to link with those of international institutions such as Interpol,” he said. 

He said some countries banned their citizens from travelling to other countries such as Syria. 

“Sri Lanka will also have to focus on such laws. Terrorist groups such as NTJ can emerge at any given moment. In some countries, individuals have planned and carried out suicide attacks on their own. However, there is no necessity for anyone to create a fear psychosis in Sri Lanka,” he said.  

On a different note, he said several media outlets were engaged in promoting hatred.

 
“Promoting hatred is detrimental as it will stop the Muslims from providing information to the security forces. They were the Muslim Ulamas who provided information on NTJ initially. It was possible to gather useful information hours after the Easter Sunday bombings,” he said.    

Will bring in legislation to control hate speech too