• Gen Secy. Range Bandara claims Bill more ‘democratic than PTA’ as it curtails Prez’s arbitrary powers

United National Party (UNP) General Secretary Palitha Range Bandara yesterday (19) said that the UNP will endorse the new Anti-Terrorism Bill as it has understood that this Bill is more democratic than the current Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act, No. 48 of 1979 as amended (PTA).

He said this when he was inquired by The Daily Morning about the UNP’s position on the proposed Anti-Terrorism Bill.

“Compared with the PTA, the new Bill is very democratic. According to the PTA, the Defence Minister has the ability to issue detention orders (DOs) after someone is arrested. After the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution, the President must also be the Defence Minister. The Presidency is a political position. Through this new Bill, this power has been assigned to a Magistrate and a Deputy Inspector General of Police. DOs can be issued only if the Magistrate is satisfied with the charges presented by the Police against the arrested person. So, that’s why we say that rejecting this Bill is indirectly a rejection of the Court,” he said.

Speaking further, he mentioned that no one will oppose such a democratic Bill except those who have the intention of engaging in terrorist activities in the future. “The opposition to this new Bill shows that the people of this country trust President Ranil Wickremesinghe more than the Judiciary or the Police. That is why they oppose this Bill which grants more power to the Judiciary. This is because this Bill has limited many of the arbitrary powers of the President. That is why our Party believes that this Bill must be passed. We are providing all the necessary support for this. If anyone is not willing to support, they can go to the Supreme Court once the Bill is tabled in the Parliament for debate,” he said.

Several media outlets had reported that the much criticised Bill will be taken up in the Parliament on 25 April. The Bill is mooted by the Government as a replacement for the PTA. According to Minister of Justice, President’s Counsel Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, the Bill which was postponed from its anticipated day of tabling in the Parliament to the end of April, will now be tabled on 25 April. The Bill, which has drawn criticism from many quarters, recently saw the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna call for the piece of legislation to be reviewed due its “undemocratic nature”.