US adopts domestic anti-terrorism law similar to PTA, says ex-State Dept. employee

by Shamindra Ferdinando

One-time US State Department employee Daya Gamage says the January 6 attack on the Capitol has prompted the US to adopt a bipartisan Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act (DTPA) of 2021 to investigate acts of domestic terrorism.

The retired political specialist pointed out how swiftly the US acted after the US Department of Justice indicated the need for domestic anti-terrorism law in the wake of the January 6 Capitol attack. Gamage saw the similarity of  the US response legislation to Sri Lanka’s Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) introduced by the then President J.R. Jayewardene at the onset of his first term.

The US media, in late January 2021, quoted US Rep Fred Upton as having said: “The attack on the U.S. Capitol earlier this month was the latest example of domestic terrorism, but the threat of domestic terrorism remains very real. We cannot turn a blind eye to it. The Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act will equip our law enforcement leaders with the tools needed to help keep our homes, families, and communities across the country safe.”

Media widely alleged that right-wing extremists had been among a mob of supporters of the then President Donald Trump, who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6. They interrupted the formal congressional certification of President Joe Biden’s election victory.

Author of ‘Tamil Tigers’ Debt to America’, Gamage said that the US move to have its own domestic terrorism law to neutralize threat of domestic terrorism should be examined against the backdrop of the US and its allies pushing Sri Lanka to do away with the PTA. The government, especially the relevant ministries should be mindful of the US response to the Capitol attack, Gamage said, expressing concern at the failure on the part of those responsible to take notice of the unprecedented development.

In the absence of a domestic terrorism law the U.S. cannot proscribe internal anarchists though it can ban foreign groups. The LTTE is one such group proscribed by the US in 1997. Experts are of the view domestic terrorism law would facilitate nationwide search warrants, expanded law-enforcement access to tax and educational records, and harsher sentencing.

According to documents available with The Island, the then Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in a letter dated Sept 20, 2016 informed the cabinet of the appointment of a committee to replace the PTA with a new Counter Terrorism Law. Premier Wickremesinghe said that he wanted the new law to be in full agreement with international human rights obligations while providing sufficient capacity to deal with terrorism here. Another document revealed how Premier Wickremesinghe chaired a Temple Trees meeting on Dec 16, 2016 attended by Justice Minister Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakse, Law and Order Minister Sagala Ratnayake, British HC James Dauris, French Amb Jean-Marin Schuh, EU delegation Chief  Tung-Lai Margue et al to discuss the new law.

Authoritative government sources told The Island in spite of the change of government a section of the international community was pushing Sri Lanka hard to repeal the PTA. The ongoing dialogue between Sri Lanka and the EU covered the contentious issue of introducing a new Counter Terrorism Law. Sources pointed out how the previous UNP-led administration tried to justify the introduction of a new Counter Terrorism Law due to their own failure to thwart 2019 Easter Sunday carnage. The then Premier’s Office vigorously campaigned for the repealing of the PTA. The UNP propagated that a new Counter Terrorism Law was required to thwart international terrorist groups targeting Sri Lanka. This assessment was made on the basis the ISIS carried out the Easter Sunday attacks under the existing PTA.

Dr. Wasantha Bandara of the Federation of National Organization (FNO) yesterday told The Island that the way the US handled the perceived domestic terrorist threat was a lesson to Sri Lanka. They acted in unison regardless of political differences though in Sri Lanka those in power and the Opposition could never agree on matters of national security. The Easter Sunday carnage underscored the continuing threat posed by terrorism and the need to be ever vigilant to face any eventuality.

Dr. Bandara pointed out that those allegedly involved in the Easter Sunday carnage were arrested in terms of the PTA. Among the arrested were lawyer Hejaaz Hizbullah whose detention was taken up in Geneva by the Core Group on Sri Lanka bent on punishing the country on the basis of unsubstantiated war crimes accusations.