• Anti-Terror Bill, CBSL Bill, Electronic Broadcasting Authority Bill under scrutiny   

A collective of Opposition Parliamentarians has appointed several committees to look into several allegedly undemocratic laws such as the proposed Anti-Terrorism Bill, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) Bill, and the Electronic Broadcasting Authority Bill that have been brought by the Government, The Daily Morning learnt.

Speaking to The Daily Morning yesterday (1), Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) Opposition MP Imthiaz Bakeer Markar said that three separate committees have been appointed in this regard under the chairmanships of Opposition MPs Prof. G.L. Peiris, Prof. Charitha Herath, and Eran Wickramaratne. He also said that the committee appointed to study and report on the newly proposed Broadcasting Authority Bill will be chaired by Prof. Herath who had once served as the Secretary to the Ministry of Mass Media. “The other members of the committee are Wickramaratne, Dr. Harsha de Silva, former Minister of Mass Media Gayantha Karunatilleka, and myself,” he said. 

Meanwhile, another two committees have been appointed to study the Anti-Terrorism Bill and the CBSL Bill, chaired by Prof. Peiris and Wickramaratne, respectively. “Prof. Herath is acting as the convener of the committee appointed to study the newly proposed Broadcasting Authority Act while Wickramaratne and Prof. Peiris are members. The committee appointed to study the CBSL Bill will also look into making an economic roadmap for the country and prepare a plan to bring all parties together for this collective,” he said.

However, Parliamentary Opposition political parties, the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka, the Bar Association of Sri Lanka, and many rights advocates have raised concerns regarding the above-mentioned laws, and have claimed that the proposed Bills are brought in order to curtail fundamental human rights and the financial sovereignty of the CBSL.