News
President arming himself with dictatorial powers under proposed Anti-Terrorism Act, FSP says
By Saman Indrajith
The Frontline Socialist Party says that in the guise of doing away with the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act the government is planning to bring in a more draconian Anti-Terrorism Act.
Addressing the media at the party’s headquarters in Nugegoda, FSP Educational Secretary Pubudu Jagoda said that the PTA would soon be replaced by an ATA which would give draconian powers to the President.
“The President will have powers to ban any organisation at will. He will have the discretion to fix the terrorist label on any individual or organisation and have him or her arrested and detained. He could even attach the terrorist label on any society or group. Thereafter not even a lawyer would be able to speak against it, for those who speak against it too would be identified as people aiding and abetting of terrorism,” Jagoda said.
“The police and military too will be given discretionary powers enabling them to use those powers arbitrarily. Apart from the courts only the President has powers to issue detention orders under the provisions of the PTA. IUSF convener Wasantha Mudalige and other student leaders Ven. Galwewa Siridhamma Thera and Hashan Jeewantha were detained after the Galle Face Aragalaya by using those provisions. The President ordered their detention. As per the proposed provisions of the ATA, a DIG too could issue such detention orders. How many DIGs do we have now and in what manner would they use such power? Where is the guarantee that these DIGs would not abuse that power? Simply, a DIG would be able to detain any person for three months and the courts would not be able to do anything if the proposed ATA becomes law,” Jagoda said.
“This ATA coming in place of PTA would be similar to swapping chilies for ginger as our ancient adage goes,” Jagoda said, adding that all those who cherish democratic values must stand against the ATA.
The National Building Research Organisation (NBRO) has issued landslide early warnings to Kandy, Kegalle and Nuwara Eliya Districts.
Accordingly level I landslide early warnings have been issued to the Divisional Secretaries Divisions of Pasbage Korale in the Kandy District, Yatiyanthota and Deraniyagala in the Kegalle District and Ambagamuwa in the Nuwara Eliya District.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe convened a discussion at the Presidential Secretariat on Thursday afternoon (08) to address the Action Plan for Reconciliation and instructed the relevant departments to expedite the drafting of legislation necessary for the plan’s implementation.
The progress of initiatives within five key areas -legislation, institutional activities, land issues, prisoner release, and power decentralization, was also reviewed.
The discussion encompassed several important topics including the implementation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), the establishment of a National Land Council and the formulation of a National Land Policy.
Additionally, the President emphasized the need for enhanced operations of the Office of Missing Persons (OMP), including digitization efforts and the issuance of Certificates of Absence for individuals who had previously disappeared without trace.
In an effort to accelerate trade facilitation commitments and bolster the business landscape in Sri Lanka, a high-level review of the National Trade Facilitation Committee (NTFC) was conducted at the Presidential Secretariat on Wednesday (7).
The review focused on assessing the progress of trade facilitation commitments and scrutinizing the performance of the NTFC Secretariat. The private sector also voiced their views on expediting actions to ensure the completion of measures ahead of the projected timeline of 2025-2030.
In order to streamline compliance and optimize performance, several directives were issued during the meeting. Firstly, it was decided to establish the NTFC Secretariat under the supervision of the Ministry of Finance. Secondly, immediate measures to be taken to address the staffing requirements of the Secretariat and lastly, the budget allocated for the NTFC Secretariat in 2023, currently under the Department of Customs, was to be transferred to the Ministry of Finance to prioritize pending actions such as the development of the NTFC website and progress reporting system.
During the meeting, deliberations took place concerning the proposed National Single Window, a system aimed at simplifying and expediting trade processes. The participants agreed to expedite the submission of the proposal in a sequential manner to ensure its swift implementation.
Landslide Early Warnings issued to Kandy, Kegalle and Nuwara Eliya Districts
Expedite Action Plan for Reconciliation – President
National Trade Facilitation Committee Secretariat to be established
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