Power changes people, and Sri Lanka has seen its share of such change and the ill effects it brings for democratic governance. It is evident that the public has placed their trust in the National People’s Power (NPP), which carried the leftist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake (AKD) to change the island’s political landscape by electing him President, a month ago. However, the NPP’s shine may be wearing off, with the small caretaker Government scrambling to deal with day-to-day governance, while delivering election promises which they made. All this while they prepare for the Parliamentary Election, where the NPP is seeking to form a ‘strong government’. 

However, cracks are emerging from within the new governance apparatus, and the public is taking note, with some concerned that with the NPP being exposed to realities of governance, they too, like many political powers before them, will not effect the change they promised. 

The Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) has been a hotly debated piece of legislature in Sri Lanka, over the last 45 years. It has been a law, which some have credited with curbing terrorism, while others have lamented as a source of suppression, and in-humane practice of prolonged detention without charge. Since the end of the internal conflict in 2009, the call to repeal the PTA has been increasing, with both local and international polity and rights activists calling for the archaic law to be scrapped. Some have argued it is ineffective and outdated, calling for a more modern approach to counter terrorism, while some have outright rejected the need for such a specialised law. This, even though many nations, European and others have enacted special legislation to curb terrorism and violent extremism. 

Over the last decade various human rights groups, the European Union and the United Nations have been calling on Sri Lanka. In June 2021, the European Parliament adopted a resolution calling for the repeal of Sri Lanka’s PTA and inviting the European Union (EU) Commission to consider temporarily withdrawing Sri Lanka’s access to the Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) concession. Expressing deep concern over Sri Lanka’s “alarming path towards the recurrence of grave human rights violations” as listed by the most recent UN report on the country, the 705-member EU Parliament adopted the resolution with 628 votes in favour, 15 against and 40 abstaining. The then Sri Lankan Government, led by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa took some measures to review the PTA legislature, but stopped short of repealing it. The Rajapaksa regime mooted the possibility of introducing a draft legislature to replace the PTA, called the Counter Terrorism Act (CTA), which was also heavily criticised by rights activists, as being a rebranded version of the PTA. In August 2022, the then Government announced that plans are afoot to introduce a new law called the National Security Act, which the JVP, and its new avatar the NPP, has also called for the PTA to be repealed time and again, the public cried out that it was old wine in new bottle. Both the JVP and the NPP have called for the PTA to be repealed.  NPP General Secretary Tilvin Silva and member Dr. Harini Amarasuriya, incumbent Prime Minister of the caretaker Government, called out of the PTA to be repealed when the former Government used the law to detain several individuals who were part of the 2022 ‘aragalaya’ protest movement, and part of the student unions, which also protested. 

However, this week, the NPP’s Presidential Secretariat Director (Legal) J.M. Wijebandara backpedalled when asked about the PTA, told The Daily Morning that: “The issue was about the misuse of the PTA against civil activists and journalists, which we will not allow. It will only be applied based on credible intelligence information, and it will not be used for political revenge. When the Act is not misused, no issues will arise.” The statement by the Legal Director at the Presidential Secretariat, indicates a clear departure from the NPP’s expressed stance on the matter. Which begs the question; what other things that they promised to change, can be walked back? 

Wijebandara also said that there are several other pieces of legislation which are in the statute books, but are not implemented as per policy decisions made over time. "The law of our country includes the death penalty, but, as a policy, Presidents, who are the ones authorised to enforce it, refrain from enforcing it. Similarly, Presidential pardons are allowed in our law, but they are not granted to individuals convicted of serious crimes. The PTA is also one such legislation. It being there is not the issue." While, Wijebandara’s memory may have faded, it must be noted that former President Maithripala Sirisena sought to implement capital punishment despite the moratorium on the same while the Presidential pardon has been afforded to those convicted of premeditated murder with the pardon afforded to the Royal Park incident murder convict being one such egregious example – again by President Sirisena. 

While governance is a challenging experience, credibility of the governing party largely depends on their political will to effect change they promised. Will the NPP fall victim the same way previous governments did, once in power? It is up to the public to remind them to stay true to their promises.