Govt to replace PTA with new counter-terrorism law

Foreign Affairs minister Mangala Samaraweera said that the government is in the process of repealing the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and introducing new counter-terrorism legislation that is in line with contemporary international best practices. He was addressing the 20th Meeting of the Governing Council of the Community of Democracies in  Geneva,yesterday.

"With the steps that the Government of Sri Lanka is taking towards democractization, respect for human rights, reconciliation and development, we wish to make Sri Lanka a post-conflict democratic success story, and we look forward to your support in this endeavour," he said.

Recalling the Resolution titled ‘Promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka’ which was co-sponsored by the government, with other members of the UN Human Rights Council, last  year, Minister Samaraweera said this is a manifestation of the government's firm commitment to uphold the human rights of people, and take measures for truth-seeking, justice, and reparations aimed at ensuring non-recurrence. 

"The design of mechanisms that we have undertaken to create for these processes will be informed by public consultations,"

"Flaws in our systems and weaknesses can lead to disillusion with politics among people. This is natural.  But maintaining the sustained interest of the public is important for a democracy to thrive as the people are an integral part of a democracy. Without fundamental human rights, strong institutions, right education, economic development, ensuring constant safeguards against corruption and robust checks and balances, democracy will always be in peril. And we must help each other in our mutual effort to safeguard and strengthen our respective democracies," Minister Samaweera said.