Prez urged to repeal PTA, not replacement it with another

The National Shoora Council (NSC) has urged President Anura  Kumara Dissanayake to honour the election pledge and repeal the  Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act (PTA) without  replacing it with a new Anti -Terrorism law, as no such mandate was  sought from the people in the ruling party’s manifesto, a statement from  it said.   

The NSC has also pointed out in its letter to President  Dissanayake that over a dozen new laws had been enacted during the last   25 years, with wider powers being vested in the executive and the  police.   

The Muslim civil society has also said that sixteen years  have elapsed since terrorism was wiped out and that today there is no  sign of any terrorism in the country.   

The National Shoora Council (NSC) is a consultative body of  premier Muslim organisations in Sri Lanka with a national reach and  includes citizens of repute. The NSC was established in 2013 following a  series of Islamophobic attacks on the Muslim community from 2012  onwards and which led to several devastating anti-Muslim riots in the  country.   

The National People’s Power (NPP) pledged in its recent  presidential and general election manifestos to repeal the PTA  unequivocally, but it did not declare in the manifesto or in its  election campaigns that any other new law would replace the PTA! If the   pledge were to replace the PTA with another law, the NPP would have  said so clearly.   

‘Repeal of PTA’ was the pledge, while ‘replacement of the  PTA’ was never even talked about or placed before the people! You are  well aware that the abuse of the PTA by the country’s then executive  from 1979 onwards contributed significantly to the 1983 anti-Tamil  riots, as well as to the growth of violence and terrorism in the island  nation. Sri Lanka got pushed into a costly war that lasted for over  thirty years.   

The PTA instead of eliminating violence, multiplied  terrorism and economically bankrupted the nation while enriching the  arms-producing countries.   

You are also no doubt aware that after the war ended in May  2009, the PTA was not used to restrain the majoritarian hate campaigns  that were unleashed from 2012 onwards, initially against the  Christians and soon thereafter against the Muslims. The Muslim  community endured several violent attacks on their businesses, Mosques,  and homes from 2014 onwards. Over 25 Mosques were attacked in 2018  alone, months before the Easter attacks.