"The
Sri Lanka Prevention of Terrorism Act
contains
a number of disturbing provisions from the human rights point of view... A number of the
objectionable features of the Sri Lankan Act are similar to provisions of the widely
criticised 1967 Terrorism Act of South Africa. The South African Act defines a
'terrorist', inter alia, as a person who has committed or attempted to commit any act
which could 'cause, encourage or further feelings of hostility between the White and other
inhabitants of the Republic'. This provision has been criticised as unduly vague since
speeches or writings which criticise the apartheid system, for example, could be
considered terrorist activities under this defintion. The same criticism may be directed
against a similar section of the Sri Lankan Act [section2(1)(h)] which states that
"Any person who..by words either spoken or intended to be read... causes or
intends to cause commission of acts of violence or religious, racial or communal
disharmony or feelings of ill-will or hostility between different communities or racial or
religious groups shall be guilty of an offence under this Act"
Such a broad definition could be construed as encompassing the advocacy of a separate
state by the Tamils or criticism of policies which appear to be discriminatory against
minorities.
The South African like the Sri Lankan Act is retroactive. Similarly to the
Sri Lankan Act, it permits prolonged detention without access to legal counsel on
suspicion of commission of an offence...
The South African Terrorism Act has been called 'a piece of legislation which must
shock the conscience of a lawyer.' Many of the provisions of the Sri Lankan Act are
equally contrary to accepted principles of the Rule of Law.
While a substantial number of the provisions of the Terrorism Act are clearly contrary
to internationally acepted minimum standards for criminal procedure, they also appear to
be contrary to the provisions of the Sri Lankan Constitution which provides that every
person held in custody or detained shall be brought before the judge of the nearest
comptent court and shall be held in custody or detained only on the order of the
judge.(article 13.2)..
The Prevention of Terrorism Act was declared an urgent Bill and rushed through
Parliament without the opportunity for public discussion or debate or for any challenge to
its constitutional validity." - Virginia Leary: Ethnic Conflict and Violence in
Sri Lanka - Report of a Mission to Sri Lanka on behalf of the International Commission of
Jurists, July/August 1981
"These provisions (in the Prevention of Terrorism Act) are quite
extraordinarily wide. No legislation conferring even remotely comparable powers is in
force in any other free democracy operating under the Rule of Law, however troubled it may
be by politically motivated violence. Indeed there is only one known precedent for the
power to impose restriction orders under section 11 of the Sri Lankan P.T.A., and that -
as Professor Leary rightly pointed out in her Report - is the comparable legislation
currently in force in South Africa... such a provision is an ugly blot on the statute
book of any civilised country." - Paul Sieghart: Sri Lanka: A Mounting Tragedy
of Errors - Report of International Commission of Jurists 1984
"...The present government has enacted both permanent preventive detention
legislation and temporary emergency legislation...some of the terms and utilisation of
which bring Sri Lanka, a signatory to the International Covenant and Political Rights and
the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, into conflict with her
obligations under international law.." - Patricia Hyndman: Sri Lanka - Escalating
Violence and Erosions of Democracy: Interim Report to Lawasia Human Rights Standing
Committee, March 1985
"...Under this law, a person can be detained for 18 months without trial and
court decisions to transfer suspects to the custody of the judiciary can be reversed by
Parliament. The brutal manner in which the Act has been enforced, as well as the
widespread killings and torture by the security forces, have been investigated and
condemned by international human rights organisations such as Amnesty International and
the International Commission of Jurists, as well as other observers..."
-
Tamils of Sri Lanka: Minority Rights Group Report September 1983
