Govt. should pass laws to control terrorism: Patali

The Government should take prompt steps to pass laws in order to control terrorism and its socio-economic background, Megapolis and Western Development Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka said yesterday.

“After the Easter Sunday terrorist attack people seem to lose confidence of the security in the country and feel the government’s inability to secure the security of the people. To help the operations of the security forces, the government was compelled to impose the state of emergency in the country,” the Minister said.

“While the government’s priority is the containment of terrorism, people are facing inconvenience in their day to day activities such as being subjected to checking when entering schools and work places, often affecting even their privacy,” he added.

He said experiences in the past had shown the importance of maintaining the democratic freedom of the people while providing security for them by security services.

“It is important to maintain an equilibrium in containing terrorism and to ensure democratic rights of people and sound economy of the country,” the Minister said.

Hence, he said Parliament should immediately engage in passing laws and establish necessary social convention to bring the country into a peaceful state putting aside party differences. (Sheain Fernandopulle)