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The insecurity of 'high security'

26 Sep 2022

  The news that President Ranil Wickremesinghe, in his capacity as Minister of Defence, declared a number of areas in Colombo as high security zones under Section 2 of the Official Secrets Act No. 32 of 1955 came as a shock to the country. To make matters worse, with this announcement came a number of conditions for various activities in these zones, including public gatherings. Many questioned the necessity of the President’s decision and also the intentions behind it, while the obvious speculation among the people is that this is the next step of the Government’s crackdown on protestors. Given the history of the present Government’s use of a multitude of legal and other grounds to curtail protests, some of which are called anti-democratic and illegal, such sentiments are not at all irrational. There are serious questions about the legality of this decision, especially with regard to certain provisions of the Official Secrets Act, which are said to have been used to take the aforesaid decision, and also the original objectives of those provisions. In this regard, the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) expressed its stern disapproval, stating that the President’s order seeks to significantly curtail the liberty of citizens without any reasonable or legal basis. It also added that the implementation of the relevant legal provisions of the Official Secrets Act may result in violation of freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, and movement, which it said are important aspects of the right of the people to dissent. Most importantly, the BASL questioned the said decision’s consistency with the provisions of the Act. In addition, irrespective of the Government’s justifications as to why the President declared such an expansive list of areas as high security zones, the people feel threatened. According to what has been discussed on social media platforms in this regard, many seem to believe that this is a step towards militarisation through increasing high security zones, which people say the former Government was unable to do during its tenure but is now implementing through the present Government. At the same time, various activists have expressed their fears, citing the manner in which the President, his Government, and the security and law enforcement forces under this Government dealt with protestors, which involved disregarding local and international laws and good practices, and even the fundamental rights of citizens.  At the same time, there are concerns as to whether the Government is misusing the Official Secrets Act, in a context where it is facing severe criticism from local and international groups for excessive, arbitrary, and harmful use of the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act (PTA), especially to suppress dissent. That too is a valid concern, given the history of the use of the PTA in oppressing peaceful protestors.  The country has not been given a proper explanation as to why increasing high security zones in this manner was necessary. However, the people are awaiting answers, and they are unlikely to accept security concerns as a good enough reason. Unlike the Government, which appears excessively obsessed with addressing so-called security threats, the people know full well that what has crippled the country is not security threats, but an economic crisis and the proper political will to resolve it.  It is no secret that what the Government fears is threats against itself, not security threats in the country, or threats to the people. If a government feels threatened when people take a stance against its incompetency, what it should do is to win over the hearts of the people, not oppressing them with such fear-inducing methods.  


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