Opposition and SJB Leader Sajith Premadasa yesterday called for the establishment of a special task force to protect Sri Lanka’s remaining tuskers, together with a dedicated wildlife hospital, and a rapid-response mechanism to treat injured elephants.

Speaking in Parliament, Premadasa said stronger wildlife protection and emergency treatment systems were needed to prevent further losses of the country’s iconic tuskers following the death of Kavanthissa.

He proposed that the task force include experienced Wildlife officers, including Chathura Gunaratne and the investigation team, led by ASP Rohan Olugala, who were involved in an arrest connected to the Kavanthissa incident.

Their expertise should be used to strengthen efforts to protect endangered elephants and combat crimes against them, he said.

Premadasa also proposed establishing a dedicated wildlife hospital, equipped to treat seriously injured wild animals, particularly elephants requiring specialised medical care. Modern diagnostic equipment, mobile laboratories, emergency treatment units and a rapid-response system should be provided, he said.

He pledged the Opposition’s support for securing foreign funding and other resources for such facilities and proposed bringing in foreign veterinary specialists for complex cases. He also called for greater cooperation between Wildlife authorities, universities and other relevant institutions.

Noting shortages of wildlife veterinarians and other trained personnel, Premadasa urged the government to strengthen staffing and medical facilities at the Department of Wildlife Conservation.

He further proposed that environmental organisations and civil society representatives be included in the expert committee appointed to investigate Kavanthissa’s death, saying their participation would enhance transparency and accountability.

The deaths of Kavanthissa, Bhathiya and Thekka Raja should be used to improve treatment protocols and emergency response systems, the Opposition Leader said.

Protecting Sri Lanka’s remaining tuskers required practical reforms, stronger veterinary capacity and coordinated action, rather than responding only after an elephant had died, Premadasa said.

Proposed law raises concerns over workers’ rights, media freedom and EU trade benefits

(UCAN) Sri Lanka’s proposed anti-terrorism law has raised concerns over workers’ rights, media freedom and trade benefits, prompting media groups to challenge its constitutionality in the Supreme Court.

The Protection of the State from Terrorism Bill (PSTA), gazetted on Sept. 22, to replace the long-criticised Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), has drawn warnings from human rights groups, trade associations and United Nations bodies over provisions, they say, retain abusive powers.

The Joint Apparel Association Forum (JAAF) warned that the proposed law could jeopardise Sri Lanka’s European Union GSP+ trade concession, which gives eligible developing countries preferential access to European markets.

The group said the Bill’s broad powers and limited judicial oversight could threaten trade benefits that support hundreds of thousands of jobs and undermine Sri Lanka’s application for renewal of GSP+ status in 2027.

“GSP+ is not a gift but grants Sri Lankan goods duty-free EU access, conditional on compliance with 27 international conventions covering human rights, labour rights and environmental protection,” JAAF said in a statement on Oct. 18.

The Association said the Bill would empower armed forces personnel to stop, search, arrest and detain people for 48 hours, without requiring monthly parliamentary renewal of those powers.

Detention orders could remain in force for up to 72 hours before judicial review, while initial detention could last two months and be extended to one year, JAAF said.

Enacted temporarily in 1979, the PTA granted sweeping powers of arrest and detention. Its use has disproportionately affected Tamil and Muslim minorities, journalists, rights activists and religious leaders, prompting international calls for its repeal.

Niroshani Manel, 52, a worker at the Katunayake Free Trade Zone, said the proposed law could threaten job security, wages and working conditions while discouraging workers from demanding fair treatment.

“I have worked in a factory for 20 years to support my husband and two schoolchildren, and the government must protect the jobs and livelihoods of women like me,” Manel, a Catholic, told UCA News.

She said workers needed stronger protections to ensure formal employment contracts, gender equality and opportunities for labour representation, particularly amid international scrutiny of working conditions.

Sri Lanka’s free trade zones and affiliated export-oriented manufacturing industries employ about 140,000 workers.

Rights activists warned that the Bill’s broad and vague language could allow ordinary protests, labour strikes, public criticism and trade union activities to be classified as terrorism-related offenses.

Transparency International Sri Lanka, an independent civil society organisation, urged the government to withdraw the Bill, citing concerns over broad definitions of terrorism, expanded executive powers, administrative detention and restrictions on fundamental freedoms.

Media rights groups filed a petition in the Supreme Court, on Oct. 17, challenging the Bill’s constitutionality.

Udaya Kalupathirana and Hana Ibrahim, members of the Free Media Movement’s executive committee, argued in the petition that Section 15 criminalises withholding information without adequately protecting confidential sources and whistleblowers, threatening investigative journalism.

Sections 19, 20, 24 and 61 grant broad search and arrest powers and allow authorities to designate restricted zones, potentially obstructing media coverage of protests, human rights abuses and alleged violations of fundamental rights, Kalupathirana, a prominent rights activist, told UCA News on Oct. 19.

He said the Bill seriously infringed constitutionally guaranteed equality, freedom of expression and sovereignty. He added that enactment would require a two-thirds majority in Parliament, and public approval, through a referendum.

Civil society groups, including Christian priests and nuns, protested outside the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo, on Oct. 13, saying the government had pledged, during the election campaign, not to introduce such legislation, Anglican priest Father Marimuthu Sakthivel said.

“We are fighting in the streets to defeat these repressive government laws, and we will defeat this Bill through the power of the people,” he said.

According to the decision arrived at the Committee on Parliamentary Business, a 13-member committee has been nominated, chaired by  the Deputy Chairperson of Committees, tasked with providing leadership and overseeing the implementation of actions assigned to the Parliament under the National Anti-Corruption Action Plan 2025–2029.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the Committee on Parliamentary Business held on September 25, 2026.

The nominated Members of Parliament are: Harshana Nanayakkara, Sunil Watagala, Kaushalya Ariyarathna, J. C. Alawathuwala, Anuradha Jayaratne, Shanakiyan Rasamanickam, Oshani Umanga, Prageeth Madhuranga, Chandima Hettiaratchi, Darmapriya Wijesinghe, Dewananda Suraweera and M. Nizam Kariapper.