Protests in SL’s northern, eastern provinces over anti-terror Bill

Colombo: Normal life was disrupted in Sri Lanka’s northern and eastern provinces on Tuesday due to widespread protests by the main Tamil party Tamil National Alliance against a new controversial anti-terrorism Bill drafted to replace a draconian counter-terrorism law.

The new Anti-Terrorism Act will replace the much-maligned Prevention of Terrorism Act of 1979. The PTA was introduced as a temporary arrangement to counter the campaign of separatist violence by the Tamil minority militant groups in 1979. On April 1, Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena told reporters that the new counter-terrorism law will be introduced later this month. The protests, organised by the Tamil National Alliance, were against the new

Anti-Terrorism Act, political sources from the two provinces said. In the northern Jaffna’s Tenmarachchi, Kodikamam and Chavakachcheri, life came to a standstill with all shops and business establishments shut in the three divisions, they said.

The government in mid-March gazetted a new bill which is set to replace the PTA. The PTA was widely used by the government troops during the LTTE’s armed conflict over three decades to set up a separate Tamil homeland in the north and east of the country.

International rights groups and Tamil parties have slammed PTA’s provisions that allow arbitrary detention for several years without charges being filed in courts. There have been instances of Tamils being held for involvement with the LTTE for over 20 years without being charged.