Prevention of Terrorism Act Govt. toughens up against communalism, extremism

• Reaffirms government’s stance against  communalism  and extremism, stressed that these issues would not be tolerated
• Reiterates that the government’s position on the PTA remains unchanged
• Says recent incidents appear to be part of a deliberate effort to promote extremism and revive the LTTE agenda

By Darshana Sanjeewa Balasuriya

Asserting that it is committed to scrap the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), Cabinet spokesman Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa said that the government will not hesitate no matter what, to repeal existing laws and regulations to prevent any attempt to fuel communalism.   

In response to a question at the weekly Cabinet briefing regarding repealing of the PTA against some social media users, he said yesterday that the government is committed to repeal the PTA to replace it with another. He said that the government must continue with existing laws, such as the PTA, to address individuals promoting communalism and extremism in the country.   

The Minister reaffirmed the government’s stance against communism and extremism, stressing that these issues would not be tolerated.   

“The people have voted for the NPP without regard to ethnicity, race, or religion, and it is the responsibility of the government to prevent extremism from being used for specific agendas,” he said. Under the NPP government, he assured, extremism would never be allowed to flourish.   

“Extremism could lead to violence, and we cannot allow that to happen. Until new laws are being formulated, immediate action must be taken using existing legal frameworks,” the minister told the weekly Cabinet briefing.   

He reiterated that the government’s position on the PTA remains unchanged.   

“We said that we will repeal the PTA and new legislation will be introduced. However, in the interim, the police will continue to use the existing laws to address issues related to extremism,” he said.   

In response to the arrest of social media activists under the PTA, Jayatissa said that recent incidents appear to be part of a deliberate effort to promote extremism and revive the LTTE agenda.   

Last week, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and the Terrorism Investigation Division (TID) arrested four individuals for disturbing public peace by promoting LTTE Mahaviru commemorations. The suspects have been arrested under the Penal Code and the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) on charges of inciting violence and spreading false advertisements and videos promoting the activities of a banned organization.   

Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa also criticized the government for allegedly using the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) to suppress social media freedom, despite promising to abolish the controversial legislation before coming to power.   

“We will implement laws against those attempting to use extremism for political gain,” he said.   

The government will not tolerate racial politics or religious extremism in Sri Lanka, he said.  

He further said that if existing laws prove inadequate for ensuring national security, the government would introduce new measures to combat extremism.   

However, he assured that these laws would not be used to curtail freedom of speech. “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression, but this should not include promoting racism or extremism,” he said.