Sri Lanka Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ali Sabry stated that he does not agree with certain points included in the proposed Anti-Terrorism Bill.
He mentioned this during a TV programme last night (10), where he emphasized that all members of the government are of the common opinion that the bill needs to be amended.
“There are some things in general that I cannot agree with. I mentioned them in the Cabinet," he said.
“The first thing is that I don’t agree with allowing a DIG to issue detention orders. It cannot be allowed. Either it should be vested with the Minister or at least that power should stay with the Defense Secretary"
“When the definition is considered…giving a broad definition to this is very dangerous. It can be misused," he noted.
Minister Sabry pointed out that they are all of the opinion that this should be implemented as a law which can be used as a line of demarcation and only on instances of terrorism, but not to be used as a generally accepted law.
In response to a question whether Sri Lanka has granted permission for China to establish a radar base in the Southern Province, as reported by certain sections of foreign media, the Minister claimed that no such request has been made from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs so far, and that therefore, any such approval has not been granted to China by the ministry.
Meanwhile, responding to another question as to under which provisions the IMF programme is going to be tabled in the parliament for a vote, he mentioned that parliament is the representation of the public in a representative democracy, due to which their consent will be sought.
“Then in the parliament, the people’s representatives can present their consent whether they like the programme or not, and if they are against it they need to present any alternatives," he said.
He also spoke on whether he will join President Wickremesinghe for his future political career.
“I’m not usually the one to leave the camp. But I don’t see anyone else for the leadership at the moment [except President Wickremesinghe]”.
“I have not worked with him. I have continuously worked against him. Now I am working with him for the first time. While working with him, I see that we had a wrong understanding about him…," he concluded.