"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
