{"id":79112,"date":"2022-08-22T00:45:27","date_gmt":"2022-08-22T04:45:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=79112"},"modified":"2022-08-22T23:51:01","modified_gmt":"2022-08-23T03:51:01","slug":"arrest-and-detention-of-three-university-student-union-activists-under-the-draconian-prevention-of-terrorism-actpta-results-in-widespread-critism-of-wickremesinghe-govt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=79112","title":{"rendered":"Arrest and Detention of Three University Student Union Activists under the Draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act(PTA) Results in Widespread Critism of Wickremesinghe Govt"},"content":{"rendered":"


\nBy<\/p>\n

Meera Srinivasan<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Sri Lankan police on Monday confirmed the detention of three student activists under a dreaded anti-terrorism law, four days after arresting them at a protest held in capital Colombo.<\/p>\n

Local and international rights advocates have slammed the move, accusing the government of construing dissent as terrorism, even as Sri Lanka\u2019s controversial Prevention of Terrorism Act comes under sharp focus yet again.<\/p>\n


\nSri Lankan civic activists concerned over \u2018witch-hunt\u2019 by state<\/strong><\/p>\n

On August 18, the police arrested nearly 20 protesters at a march held in Colombo, organised by the Inter University Students\u2019 Federation, where participants highlighted many issues, including \u201cstate repression\u201d and the spiralling cost of living.<\/p>\n

While a majority of those arrested were soon granted bail, Federation convener Wasantha Mudalige, student activists Hashan Jeewantha and Galwewa Siridhamma \u2014 who leads the universities\u2019 monk federation \u2014 were in police custody for over 72 hours, amid reports of their detention under the PTA. As lawyers struggled to obtain information on the students\u2019 whereabouts, rights activists, members of the political opposition, and international human rights watchdogs were quick to condemn the move.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Mr. Mudalige was a prominent voice during the \u2018Janatha Aragalaya\u2019 [people\u2019s struggle] that spanned four months and dramatically dislodged former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in July. The IUSF and other student groups played a key role in sustaining the peaceful anti-government agitations demanding \u201cGota go home\u201d, and seeking \u201csystem change\u201d, often braving water cannons and tear gas unleashed by the police.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was the protest [Aragalaya] that prompted President Gotabaya to resign; it was the protest that paved way for Ranil [Wickremesinghe]\u2019s presidency. They recognised the protest as constitutional when it suited them,\u201d Joseph Stalin, general secretary of the Ceylon Teachers\u2019 Union, told The Hindu. \u201cHow did the protesters suddenly become terrorists now? <\/p>\n

If President Wickremesinghe terms the students\u2019 resistance as terrorism now, doesn\u2019t that mean he too came to power using terrorist means?\u201d contended Mr. Stalin, who is out on bail following his recent arrest for participating in a protest that allegedly violated a court order.<\/p>\n

Amid the spate of arrests in recent weeks, government critics and rights advocates have accused authorities of pursuing a \u201cwitch hunt\u201d targeting dissidents.<\/p>\n

Spotlight on PTA again<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sri Lanka\u2019s PTA, which rights activists term \u201cdraconian\u201d and want repealed, was enacted in 1979 under President J.R. Jayawardene, primarily to crush Tamil youth\u2019s armed struggle against state discrimination. It became a permanent law in 1982. \ue808Modelled largely on South Africa\u2019s Apartheid-era legislation and British laws used against Irish militancy, the PTA was also used against insurgent Sinhala youth during the second JVP uprising in the late 1980s, and more recently against Muslims, following the Easter Sunday terror attacks of 2019.
\nAccording to human rights defenders, over 100 Tamils are in detention under the PTA on charges of belonging to or helping the LTTE. More than 200 Muslims were arrested after the 2019 serial bombings. Some 30 PTA detainees were granted bail in recent months.<\/p>\n

In a letter to the Inspector General of Police on Monday, the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka said it was \u201cdeeply concerned about the resurrection of the PTA by the police on suspects who do not fall within the definition of the Act.\u201d \ue808\u201cIt has been brought to the notice of the HRCSL that the recent iteration of the PTA has been grossly manipulated to exert tyranny through undemocratic methods and justify the wrongful arrest of protesters,\u201d the Commission noted.<\/p>\n

Amnesty International\u2019s South Asia Director Yamini Mishra said: \u201cUsing a draconian anti-terror law to crackdown on protesters is a new low for the Sri Lankan government. This weaponising of an already highly criticized law, which should be repealed immediately, is a testament to how the authorities are unwilling to withstand any form of criticism and are systematically stifling dissenting voices.\u201d<\/p>\n

The PTA allows for detention of suspects for up to a year without charge, which is \u201cin violation of international law\u201d, she pointed out in a statement issued on Monday, hours after police confirmed that President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who is also the Defence Minister, signed the student leaders\u2019 detention order for 90 days, effectively approving their detention without judicial oversight for the period<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the next generation is silenced for protesting for basic needs, we threaten democracy. We must protect those that exercise this right instead of persecuting them by weaponising the PTA,\u201d Leader of Opposition Sajith Premadasa said in a tweet on Saturday. In a meeting with President Wickremesinghe on Monday, he \u201cstressed grave reservations\u201d on the use of the legislation, he said in tweet.<\/p>\n

In February this year, the UN Human Rights Chief reiterated her call for a moratorium on the use of the PTA in Sri Lanka until it is replaced by legislation that \u201cfully complies with the country\u2019s international human rights obligations\u201d.\ue808<\/p>\n

A month later, the Rajapaksa administration amended some provisions of the PTA. Briefing the UN Human Rights Council in June, then Foreign Minister G.L. Peiris claimed the amendments would make a \u201csubstantial improvement of, and a profound impact upon\u201d, the existing law, besides \u201cfurthering\u201d human rights and democratic freedoms. Law enforcement authorities, he assured, would henceforth use the legislation only in instances of \u201cextreme necessity\u201d, as there was a \u201cde facto moratorium\u201d on arrests being made under the PTA.<\/p>\n

Courtesy:The Hindu<\/em><\/p>\n

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By Meera Srinivasan The Sri Lankan police on Monday confirmed the detention of three student activists under a dreaded anti-terrorism law, four days after arresting them at a protest held in capital Colombo. Local and international rights advocates have slammed the move, accusing the government of construing dissent as terrorism, even as Sri Lanka\u2019s controversial …<\/p>\n

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