Steps will be taken to reduce the 72-hour detention period proposed in the Prevention of Organized Crime Draft Bill to 48 hours, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said.
He made the remarks while addressing the special interfaith convention held today (05) to mark the completion of one year of the “Ratama Ekata” national anti-drug operation.
Meanwhile, the President also said that the relevant Bill will be amended to remove provisions relating to tattoos and offences under the Excise Ordinance.
President Dissanayake stated that he and his associates had opposed the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) for a long time and that, having been among those affected by the Act, they did not approve of using such legislation to combat organized crime.
However, he stated that a law was necessary to combat organized crime and that the Government had therefore presented a new Bill to the Parliament for this purpose.
The President further said that the Government was willing to hold discussions with human rights organizations regarding the criticisms and proposals raised concerning the Bill, stressing that the Government had no intention of suppressing the public or violating their rights.
Speaking on the matter, President Dissanayake stated:
"For a long time, we used the Prevention of Terrorism Act to deal with organized criminals.
"Personally, we have been opposed to the Prevention of Terrorism Act for a long time. We were also among those who suffered under the Act. Therefore, we acknowledge that such legislation is not appropriate for this purpose.
"We need a law to combat organized crime. We have now presented a Bill to Parliament for this purpose.
"There are two groups opposing this Bill who seek to protect the privileges of organized criminals. We do not take those groups into consideration.
"There is another group that raises concerns about human rights in our country. We are also willing to engage in discussions with them.
"We have absolutely no intention of suppressing the public or violating their rights through this legislation. What we need is a law to combat organized crime. Our responsibility is to formulate such a law.
"The proposed Bill is currently before the Supreme Court, where it is being examined. Those who have challenged the Bill before the court have primarily raised certain concerns.
"One of them relates to the period of detention. Under this Bill, the detention period is 72 hours. There have been proposals that this is too long. We are willing to amend it and reduce the period to 48 hours. We are ready to listen to such concerns.
"Another matter under discussion is tattoos. This is a mechanism for identifying organized criminal groups. However, if this is not necessary in our country, we do not need that provision. We are also willing to remove it."
