Govt. contemplating new legislation after revocation of high security zones

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By Editor_1
Anti-government protestors scuffle with the police during a demonstration in Colombo on Saturday (24).  Sri Lanka police dispersed hundreds of demonstrators, a day after severely curtailing protest rights in response to months of unrest sparked by the island nation's sharp economic downturn -ISHARA S. KODIKARA / AFP

COLOMBO – Sri Lanka President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s administration will likely bring in new legislation aimed at “protecting the basic rights of the people”, cabinet spokesman Minister Bandula Gunawardena said, days after the government revoked a controversial return to war-time high security zones.

President Wickrememsinghe, in a gazette notification issued on September 24, declared several areas in Colombo as high security zones (HSZs) under the Official Secrets Act.  The legality of the move was widely questioned, after which the decision was revoked on Saturday (Oct 1).

A privately owned English language weekend paper reported the next day that the Ministry of Public Security and the Secretary to the Ministry of Defence had sought the declaration of HSZs, citing possible security threats from some protestors and that the president had signed the documents assuming the officials had ensured their legality.

Minister Gunawardena, addressing the weekly cabinet press briefing on Tuesday (4) said the government has a responsibility to uphold the fundamental rights of all citizens including all stakeholders of the constitution, the executive and the judiciary.

“Parliamentarians are also citizens of this country. They too have basic human rights,” he said.

The minister was alluding to the wave of retaliatory mob violence that rocked the country on May 9 after supporters of then prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa launched an unprovoked attack on peaceful protestors. One government MP was killed in the violence that ensued and the residences and offices of several MPs were torched to the ground in a series of arson attacks.

Gunawardena said the government accepts that nonviolent protests must be permitted, but the state has an obligation to intervene when public property is damaged and the rights of others are violated.

The Constitution guarantees the right of all citizens to live in their own homes and move freely, Gunawardena said, but warned, “If anything gets in the way of those basic rights, the government will act”.

He said the cabinet of ministers had discussed whether new laws should be brought in to protect such rights, noting that in no other part of the world has a country with a parliamentary system of government earned such a black mark through the kind of violence that erupted in Sri Lanka.

The minister also defended the move to declare HSZs, though the president himself revoked them.

“Even when tourists are coming in, some have personally called me and asked whether there will be people outside the airport, whether there will be unauthorized people checking their passports, and whether there will be fuel,” he said, adding, “To improve tourism and investments, Sri Lanka should be a place of nonviolence.”

-economynext.com

 

Editor_1
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