Govt will decide on PTA or new Anti-Terrorism Bill in its place after new Parliament convenes

• Public Security Minister Vijitha Herath told the weekly Cabinet briefing that it would not be repealed or amended at this juncture

By Kelum Bandara  

Despite pressure being mounted from the opposition, the new government will consider any decision on the current Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) or the Anti-Terrorism Bill introduced by the previous government only after the next Parliament convenes, a top source said.  

The government has come under fire from former MP of ITAK (Ilankai Tamil Arashu Katchchi) M.A, Sumanthiran for invoking the PTA in dealing with the suspects arrested in connection with the security threat at Arugam Bay.  

However, Public Security Minister Vijitha Herath told the weekly Cabinet briefing that it would not be repealed or amended at this juncture. Also, he said it would not be abused.  

The last government initiated work on the repeal of the PTA to be replaced with the Anti-Terrorism Bill. It was challenged in the Supreme Court. After that, the then government brought about fresh changes to the original draft. However, it was not enacted .  

A source familiar with the process said the current government does not have a fully-fledged Cabinet to look into the PTA or the enactment of the counter terrorism bill introduced by the last government.  

“Once the next Cabinet is formed and Parliament convened after the general election on November 14, the government will look at these laws and decide on the next course of action,” the source said.   

The PTA was enacted in 1979 and it was widely used mainly in dealing with LTTE terrorism. However, after the war ended on May 19, 2009, there were calls for the repeal of it. Yet, successive governments did not repeal it despite pressure from various quarters including the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC).