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Public Security Ministry says HSZs required to run administration
View(s):BASL challenges declaration,vows legal action
Any offence committed in the newly declared High Security Zones (HSZ) will enable police to take up the case in the High Courts, a senior official of the Public Security Ministry said.
He said the measure was taken to ensure that administration was continued without interruption.
“All locations declared as HSZs are required to maintain the country’s administration. We cannot afford to witness a disruption of administration as observed earlier this year,” he said.
The Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) reacting to the move said that the Official Secrets Act’s Section 2 permits the designation of any building, ship, or aircraft as a forbidden location but does not provide the Minister the authority to designate a sizable portion of the country as a High Security Zone.
Through an Extraordinary Gazette on Friday, President Ranil Wickremesinghe designated a number of locations in Colombo as High Security Zones, including the President’s House, the Presidential Secretariat and the Supreme Court complex.
Accordingly, no person shall conduct or hold a public procession of any kind on a road, ground, shore, or other open area located within the High Security Zones without first obtaining the written consent of the Inspector General of Police or the Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police in charge of the Western Province.
The BASL expressed its profound concern regarding the designation of some Colombo neighborhoods as High Security Zones and asked whether the alleged presidential decree also aimed to enact new offences not covered by the main Act.
The order appears to cover several areas in Colombo including the areas ordinarily used by the public. It also covers several areas in Hulftsdorp in the vicinity of the court premises, the BASL statement said.
“It is also extremely concerning that the alleged order sets strict bail requirements by stipulating that anyone detained in connection with an offence covered by the stated orders may only be granted bail by a High Court. Such clauses are absent from the Official Secrets Act, which instead grants a Magistrate the authority to release a defendant on bail under Section 22,” the BASL said.
The BASL also noted that, as a result, the alleged decree tried to drastically restrict the citizen’s freedom without any justifiable or legitimate justification.
In violation of the freedom of expression, the freedom of peaceful assembly, and the freedom of movement—all crucial components of the right of the people in Sri Lanka to dissent—draconian provisions for the detention of those who violate such orders are being imposed under the guise of a purported order under Section 2 of the Official Secrets Act, according to the BASL.
As a result, the BASL declares that it will carefully review the provisions and take the necessary legal measures to protect people’s Fundamental Rights.
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