RANJITH SOYSA

The Government of Sri Lanka has de-proscribed the Global Tamil Forum, Canadian Tamil Congress, Australian Tamil Congress, British Tamil Congress, Tamil National Council, Tamil Youth Organization and the World Tamil Co-ordinating Committee including a number persons who were proscribed as per special gazette of Sri Lanka on 21 st March 2014.

Further, a number of persons who were suspected to have involved   themselves in terrorism related offences and who were in custody under the Prevention of Terrorism Act too had been released by the Government.

Even though the Government has stated that the de-proscription was undertaken after evaluating security threats posed by the entities and individuals while the terrorist suspects were released as they were in the custody for a long time without being subjected to the legal proceedings, the twin steps taken by the Government will be detrimental to the national security and the unitary Sri Lanka.

The proscription of the LTTE/extremist Tamil related organizations and the individuals were initiated on the basis of a secret document found in May 2009, in a bunker in Mullivaliikkal formerly occupied by the LTTE leader of the international network, Castro. This list had names and address of 16 international Tamil organizations and 424 individuals who sent funds, arms and who were involved in anti Sri Lanka pro separatist Eelam propaganda. Hence, the proscription was imposed as consequence of an authentic LTTE document which outlined clearly the anti- Sri Lankan activities which co-ordinated the LTTE’ s crimes against the civilians, armed forces while attempting to create a separate country through terrorism. Further, the proscription was carried out under the internationally ratified UN Security Resolution 1373 which aims to prevent and supress the financing of terrorist acts and criminalizing the wilful collection and provision of funds for such acts etc.

The questions arising from the Government’s de-proscription are: Whether the proscribed organizations and the individuals have stopped collection of funds and whether they have given up in the attempts to challenge the national security by their demand for a separate country? By going through their record one can easily conclude that the very organizations which were de-proscribed are still continuing to celebrate the LTTE and its terrorist leader and continue to engage in vituperative campaigns against unitary Sri Lanka while demanding a separate state for the Tamil speaking people at the expense of the territorial integrity of Sri Lanka.

The Sri Lankan constitution specifically mentions under the article 157A that it is an offence to support, promote,  finance, encourage or advocates the establishment of a separate state within the territory of Sri Lanka, Therefore, all the entities and the individuals de- proscribed and who continue to subscribe to a separate country are indeed a danger to the unitary Sri Lanka.

With regard to the Prevention of Terrorism act which was enacted essentially to protect the national security, it necessary to study the existing legislation to protect the Nations in countries of our region such as India, Pakistan, Malaysia and Singapore and Thailand to realize the importance given to this issue. The laws in respect of protecting the national sovereignty and security in these countries are more stringent than Sri Lanka’s PTA. In India under the POTA the offences relating to the National security are liable to receive the capital punishment. In the USA. the suspects are held at Guantanamo camp without resorting to legal action for an  indefinite period, a story well known to many readers. Therefore, the suspects who are in custody under the PTA should be investigated properly before freeing them haphazardly in order to satisfy the international and the local groups. The foreign nations and their leaders who are demanding the changes to Sri Lanka’s PTA should be asked to examine their own laws honestly before preaching to Sri Lanka. It is indeed an open invitation to civil commotions and breaches of peace if the suspects who were involved in terrorism in Sri Lanka are freed in order to satisfy the parties whose main objective is to create instability in Sri Lanka.

The Government will be held responsible by the Nation and her People for irresponsible steps taken in not recognizing the vital importance of the issues facing the National Security and the Unitary State of Sri Lanka.