Mahinda tells of an attempt to abolish PTA

The Leader of the Opposition, Mahinda Rajapaksa, claims that, currently, there is an attempt to change the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA).

According to him, the government, based on the needs of the international, is attempting to remove the Act and assign the conditions in the Act under the country’s common law.

He points out that the conditions under the Prevention of Terrorism Act can only be applicable under the emergency law. Yet, if these conditions are assigned under the common law, any police officer is able to prohibit anyone from holding public meetings or a function, he said.

This would distance democracy and human rights from the country and the people, he added.
 
Rajapaksa further said that all parties have a great responsibility to guide the country, deteriorating by the day, on to a better path.