Category: News

Amnesty International (AI) has condemned Sri Lanka’s proposed Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), claiming that it ‘categorically fails on every human rights benchmark’.

This observation about the proposed Act was made by AI Asia Advocacy Director Carolyn Nash, who called upon U.S. President Joe Biden to send a clear message to his Sri Lankan counterpart, President Ranil Wickremesinghe, that the legislature in question must be ‘overhauled entirely or scrapped altogether’ if he, Joe Biden, valued the rights of the Sri Lankan people.

She further raised concerns that in the event both the administration and Congress continue to remain silent as this draft law advances, they will allow the Sri Lankan government to further cement its ability to suppress dissent.

“The proposed legislation is an insult to civil society in Sri Lanka, who have advocated for decades for legal reforms to protect human rights. This is far from a good faith effort on the part of the Sri Lankan authorities to improve or replace a bad law – it is an effort to shore up the government’s ability to target and silence their critics”, she said.

The government of Sri Lanka has been using the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) to detain and torture critics and minorities for over four decades.

International condemnation of the PTA led the government of Sri Lanka to commit to repealing the law. The ATA, published on 22 March, is the replacement legislation the government has proposed after another bill brought in 2018 was shelved after widespread condemnation.

Meanwhile, AI South Asia Researcher Thyagi Ruwanpathirana also highlighted several discrepancies within the proposed law, saying;

“The drafters of the ATA have not taken into account the benchmarks laid out by UN experts in order to come up with a counter-terror law that would start to bring the legislation in line with international law. The offenses in the anti-terror bill remain broad, vague, and subjective. They are ripe for abuse. Even offenses under Sri Lanka’s ICCPR Act are now made terror offenses.

It’s clear after the mass protests last year, the state has become even more willing to misuse counter terrorism offenses in order to target activists. This is reflected in new offenses created that seek to classify acts of civil disobedience as terror offenses.

This provision is dangerous and facilitates torture, especially in a context that is already rife with allegations of torture in custody”.

The ATA still retains certain PTA provisions to enable prolonged detention (up to one year without charge), which can be extended by the High Court on the request of the Attorney General.

It also provides the police with access to those who are already indicted and in judicial remand and enables suspects to be removed from remand custody for the purpose of conducting further investigations under the authority of an order made by a Magistrate.

The Bill empowers the military to carry out arrests without warrants,, and retains unchecked powers of the executive, including to proscribe persons and organizations without judicial oversight.

Penalties include the death penalty, which Amnesty strongly opposes.

Whilst stating that he together with MP Rauff Hakeem initiated an effort to bring UNP and SJB under one umbrella, MP Mano Ganesan said they had to abandon the idea since the SJB leadership did not respond.

“It is true that Rauff Hakeem and I had initiated a path to bring UNP and SJB under one umbrella. Later we had to abandon the initiative as SJB did not respond,” Ganesan told the Dailly Mirror.

“However the subject of “premiership” never popped up in our discussion. All media reports claiming that the President had sent messages to opposition leader Sajith Premadasa offering Premiership were false and baseless,” he added.

Director of the Asia and Pacific Department of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Krishna Srinivasan has stated that the debt relief Sri Lanka currently awaits is expected to contribute USD 17 billion to close the Balance of Payments (BOP) financing gap from 2023 – 2027.

Speaking at the World Bank Group and IMF Spring Meetings, Srinivasan stated the IMF aims to restore debt sustainability and the BOP pressures even after the programme ends.

Thus, he explained that while the debt relief programme will cover nearly USD 17 billion of Sri Lanka’s USD 24 billion financing gap, the rest of the funds are expected to be covered by International Financial Institutions (IFIs).

He noted, however, that the process according to which the restructuring will happen, or how the required relief will be provided, must be negotiated between Sri Lanka and its creditors, stating that the IMF ‘does not get involved’ in this process.

He explained that Sri Lanka will be required to negotiate the matter with its creditors, and the form in which the debt relief will be provided, including principle haircuts, extension of maturity and interest reductions.

Sri Lanka is expected to outline a blueprint later this month, which will provide a basis for engaging with their creditors pertaining to the debt restructuring process.

The Government Printing Department has stopped all printing processes related to the 2023 Local Government (LG) election, Government Printer Gangani Kalpana Liyanage said.

She said the decision was taken due to the required funds not being released by the Treasury.

So far, postal ballot papers and other related documents have been printed at a cost of Rs. 50 million, she said.

She claimed that due to funds not being released, the department is unable to pay the allowances of the employees as well.

Several written requests have been made in this regard but there has been no response from the Treasury yet, she said.

The new Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) proposed by the Sri Lankan parliament, designed to replace the existing Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) of 1979, threatens to further exacerbate restrictions on the right to assembly and gravely curtail freedom of expression and press freedom, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) stated.

Issuing a statement, the IFJ said it joins its Sri Lankan affiliates, the Sri Lankan Working Journalists Association (SLWJA), the Federation of Media Employees Trade Union (FMETU), and the Free Media Movement (FMM), in strongly condemning the bill and urging Sri Lankan authorities to withdraw the proposed draft and repeal the punitive PTA.

On March 17, the Sri Lankan government announced its intention to replace the country’s current draconian terrorism act with the new ATA. The proposed legislation has been criticised by trade unions, human rights organisations, civil society, legal experts, and press freedom advocates, who have identified the bill’s potential to crack down on dissent and civic space amidst ongoing instability across the island.

The law would expand the legal definition of terrorist offences beyond international guidelines and include the infliction of serious damage to any place of public use, the obstruction of essential services, and participation in an unlawful assembly deemed by the government to be connected to ‘terrorism’. The law would also criminalise the distribution of materials or services that allow others to possess ‘terrorist publications’ and the publication of words or signs that may be understood by members of the public to conduct, encourage, or induce a terrorist offence, among many new and arbitrary charges.

Non-judicial detentions, previously only invocable by the Minister of Defence, could now be requested by a Deputy Inspector General Of Police, the third highest rank in the Sri Lanka police force. Abuses of power historically recorded under the PTA may be increased as law enforcement would be sanctioned to create ‘approved places of detention’ outside of Sri Lanka’s court structure, which has previously allowed for police torture of the arbitrarily detained. All arrests would occur before any formal charges were submitted.

The IFJ stated that under the proposed ATA, the president would have the power to invoke proscriptive orders, restricting organisations labelled ‘terrorist’ from accessing funds or maintaining membership. The president would also have the power to order curfews, declare places ‘prohibited’, instate rehabilitation programs, and obtain restriction orders that prohibit movement and activities, all conducted outside of the court system. The Attorney General may also compel those charged under the ATA to produce guilty testimonies, as the AG may relieve an individual charged under the act for up to 20 years if they conduct conciliatory actions.

The legislation has been announced after decades of local and international criticism surrounding human rights abuses, often directed towards journalists, and ethnic and religious minorities, that were conducted under the PTA by successive Sri Lankan governments. According to Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena, the bill is expected to be presented to the Sri Lankan Parliament in late April and could come into law as early as May 2023.

Dharmasiri Lankapeli, the General Secretary of the FMETU, said: “This so-called Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) has provisions more draconian and tyrannical in nature compared to its predecessor PTA. […] The government has been compelled to put off the presenting of the ATA bill to Parliament due to vehement opposition by people, including lawyers’ organizations, civil organizations, trade unions, and media organizations. We, the FMETU, call on all those who uphold the values of democracy and rule of law to rally against this government’s attempt to arm itself with oppressive powers against people.”

The FMM said: “Although the national security of a country is an essential issue for the sovereignty, territorial integrity and security of the citizen, Free Media Movement strongly condemns the government’s imposition of laws to deprive citizens of freedom of expression and speech under the guise of national security. The Free Media Movement raised its voice against the cases where the government tried to violate the freedom of expression of the citizens through the arbitrary laws brought by the government earlier, such as the Prevention of Terrorism Act. The Free Media Movement recognizes that many of the inhuman and arbitrary clauses in the proposed Anti-Terrorism Act are preventing citizens, especially human rights activists, from expressing their free opinion and criticizing the mal behaviour of state institutions.”

The SLWJA said: “The SLWJA expresses grave concern regarding the Government of Sri Lanka’s proposed Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA). The SLWJA believes that the proposed ATA is even more dangerous than the PTA as it could label, delegitimise, and ultimately dehumanise those the government considers to be its political enemies. The SLWJA urges the Government of Sri Lanka to engage in meaningful dialogue with civil society and the international community to address the concerns regarding the proposed ATA.

The IFJ said: “The proposed Anti-Terrorist Act is a condemnable and dangerous alternative to the already flawed PTA, threatening to further undermine freedoms of expression, press, and assembly in Sri Lanka. If passed, journalists, media workers and their representative unions and organisations who are deemed critical of the Sri Lankan government face legal persecution under undemocratic and arbitrary ‘terrorist activities’. The IFJ strongly condemns the proposed ATA and urges the Sri Lankan authorities to immediately withdraw the bill and amend the existing draconian PTA.” (NewsWire)

Sri Lanka’s Election Commission has decided to call for a report on the political parties that have failed to submit their financial statements.

The Election Commission said this decision was reached on Tuesday (11).

The Election Commission said that a decision was made to call for a report as certain political parties have failed to submit their financial statements for 2021.

It added that the respective political parties were informed to submit the 2021 Financial Statements within 14 days, and the deadline was last week.

Accordingly, the Election Commission has decided to terminate the recognition awarded the said political parties to be recognized as accepted political parties in the country, due to the failure to submit the financial statements.

hanthi Pushparaja (Real name withheld), mother of three children who was taken to Oman promising a job as a house maid is one of those nearly 90 Sri Lankan women who went to the Middles East and ended up in Oman with no way to come back home. Shanthi’s husband who was living in the North and looking after the three children, died suddenly leaving no one to look after the three kids.

During father’s funeral two-year-old youngest son had gone missing and there is no news about him upto date. A family relative managed to handover two elder children to a children’s home. The agonising mother is pleading Sri Lankan authorities to allow her to return to Sri Lanka as now she has lost her husband and one of her children has gone missing.

This is one of the pathetic stories of Sri Lankan women who are stranded in Oman. A media report relating to a group of Sri Lankan housemaids revealed last November that nearly 90 women are stranded in Oman and some of them have been auctioned as sex slaves, one of the most disturbing factors in the modern world.

The tragic news had shocked the world and the United Nations’ Human Rights Council has initiated a probe through Tomoya Obokata, Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Slavery, including its Causes and Consequences and Siobhán Mullally, the Special Rapporteur on Trafficking in Persons. They have issued a report dated February 7, 2023 and sent it to Sri Lankan President, Ranil Wickremesinghe seeking some of the salient information relating alleged human rights violation. Even though Sri Lankan government was supposed to respond to the report within 60 days, so far no responses has been sent.

The two Special Rapporteurs who had signed the report has informed President Wickremesinghe about the information on the human rights abuses faced by the Sri Lankan women victims who were trafficked to Oman for the purpose of sexual or labour exploitation.

In their communication the UN Rapporteurs have informed Sri Lanka President that according to the information received there are reportedly some 90 Sri Lankan women who initially travelled to Oman on a tourist visa and who were trapped in shelters, including at a shelter run by the Sri Lankan Embassy in Oman. “It is alleged that several women have been subjected to trafficking in persons for the purpose of sexual exploitation or forced labour and servitude after having been promised employment as domestic workers in countries such as the United Arab Emirates”.

“Some of the women have allegedly been sold in auctions and held in private households where they are exposed to sexual and/or labour exploitation, insufficient food and inadequate sleeping facilities. Furthermore, it is our understanding that among the 90 women, some have been trafficked in groups through Dubai, where they had arrived on tourist visas and then were taken to Oman during the last two years. We understand that some had registered with the Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Bureau and others migrated irregularly to the Middle East.

“When seeking shelter at the Sri Lankan Embassy in Oman, some women have reportedly been asked for sexual bribery by a Sri Lankan diplomat who was working at the Embassy in Oman. The same Embassy official reportedly threatened to report women at the shelter to the Oman police if they did not give in to his demands”.

“We understand that the diplomat accused of deceiving, trafficking and sexually abusing women at the safe house of the Sri Lankan Embassy in Oman, was taken into remand custody in connection with the human trafficking allegations at the end of November 2022. He was reportedly suspended from service and his diplomatic passport was revoked but he was given bail onhis return to Sri Lanka. We understand that other individuals who were allegedly involved in the trafficking of women to Oman have also been arrested.

“We are concerned at these reports of trafficking in persons, violence against women and forced labour, committed against migrant women from Sri Lanka, and the involvement of at least one Government official in trafficking of persons between Sri Lanka and Oman, as well as the abuse of women at the shelter run by the Sri Lankan Embassy and the inadequate conditions and lack of protection reported at the shelter. We are also concerned at the lack of access to effective remedies for these victims, and the limited information available on the investigations undertaken and international cooperation to date” the report indicated.

The situations described may be defined as trafficking in persons for the purposes of sexual exploitation and/or forced labour as per the definitions set forth in article 3 of Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children (the Palermo Protocol), supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, acceded by Sri Lankan Government on 22 September 2006, and article 2 of the Forced or compulsory labour is defined in the International Labour Organization (ILO) Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29), ratified by Sri Lankan Government on 5 April 1950.

The human rights violations reported also constitute indicators of forced labour as established by the ILO, including the following: Abuse of vulnerability; deception; restriction of movement; isolation; physical and sexual violence; intimidation and threats; retention of identity documents; withholding of wages; debt bondage; abusive working and living conditions and excessive overtime.

Reiterating the major setback relating to the management of Sri Lankan migrant workers sometime by the respective Sri Lankan foreign missions themselves, the report reminded some of the concerns expressed by Tomoya Obokata the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery. He visited Sri Lanka in November 2021.

On a report issued following his visit Mr. Obokata had pointed to gaps in the current migration management system in Sri Lanka. “many women who worked as domestic workers in various destination countries reported instances of abuse and exploitation in the workplace, ranging from the withholding of identity documents and wages to long working hours and physical, verbal and/or sexual abuse. While the primary responsibility for addressing these abuses rests with destination countries, there appears to be insufficient support provided by Sri Lankan embassies and consulates. Not all officials are said to be trained adequately, and there are reports of migrant workers being turned away after seeking assistance.

While there are established shelters in some destination countries, these have been regarded as insufficient. The situation has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to a large number of workers being stranded without access to adequate institutional support.” In the same report, the Special Rapporteur also urged the Government to ensure the protection of migrant workers from exploitation and abuse.

Considering the urgency of the matter relating to Sri Lankan migrant workers harassed and stranded in Oman, two Special Rapporteurs had urged Sri Lankan government to safeguard the rights of the female in compliance with international instruments.

Acting under the mandates provided by the Human Rights Council, to seek to clarify all cases brought to their attention, they had sought observations of the Sri Lankan government of the following;

1. provide any additional information and any comment Sri Lankan may have on the above mentioned allegations.

2. provide details, and where available the results, of any investigations, prosecution or criminal charges, and other inquiries carried out in relation to the allegations, and the methods of international cooperation with the country of destination (Oman);

3. indicate what measures are taken to ensure the safe and voluntary return of the women victims of trafficking in persons for purposes of forced labour and sexual exploitation to Sri Lanka and how these measures ensure a safe and voluntary return; with ongoing measures of social inclusion, assistance and protection;

4. indicate which channels/protocols for reporting human rights violations to Sri Lankan Embassies exist and how Sri Lankan Government is ensuring that complaints can be submitted safely, without fear of retaliation , and what training is in place for diplomatic and consular officials on the prevention of misconduct such as exploitation
and abuse; identification of victims of trafficking and on assistance and
protection obligations, in particular for women migrant workers;

5. elaborate how the victims of trafficking and their families in Sri Lanka are protected from retaliation after having reported the trafficking and abuse suffered;

6. indicate what types of assistance (regarding access to health services, food, legal and socio-social support, etc) victims of trafficking and labour/sexual exploitation receive at the shelter run by the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Oman;

7. provide information on the measures being taken to ensure compliance with the State’s obligation of due diligence to prevent trafficking of women migrant workers, including through addressing the gender dimensions of risks of trafficking in persons and to ensure early identification, effective access to protection, and access to effectives remedies, including to compensation;

8. provide information on measures taken to monitor offers of employment, to ensure that work contracts are valid and protect women’s rights on a basis of equality with men in countries of destination, and to provide assistance to women workers on arrival at their destinations, in accordance with the obligations states for countries of origin in CEDAW GR no.26.

9. provide information on measures to strengthen cooperation between the Government of Oman and your Excellency’s Government in cross-border trafficking cases;

10. specify what policies and other measures are in place regarding the prohibition of misconduct of Sri Lankan diplomatic personnel and to what extent monitoring and oversight is carried out by the Government;

11. specify what measures are being taken to ensure safe and regular migration for employment opportunities for women, prior to departure from Sri Lanka;

12. specify what measures are taken to support the role of civil society in prevention of trafficking in persons from Sri Lanka, particularly of women migrant workers, and in identification, and protection of victims of trafficking and other forms of exploitation, including through survivor-led initiatives and programmes.

Two Special Rapporteurs who urged Sri Lankan government for all necessary interim measures be taken to halt the alleged violations and prevent their re-occurrence and in the event that the investigations support or suggest the allegations to be correct, to ensure the accountability of any person responsible for the alleged violations. While sharing the same report with the Government of Oman, they further assured that any response received from Sri Lanka would be made public within 60 days.

According to the information received by Daily Mirror Sri Lanka, even after 60 days has not so far responded to the communication by two Special Rapporteurs.

More than 50 women and their family members who have stranded in Oman had complained to the Women Action Network seeking justice for the agonising plight they are going through.

“This is a big racket. There are Sri Lanka men who are working as sub-agents in Oman and rotating these women from house to house,” said Shreen Saroor who is the Co-Founder of Women’s Action Network, an organisation working for the right of women.

“The agents would not give the passports of these women and the women even don’t know that they have overstayed. Once a women had run away from one house and when she got onto a taxi and asked to be dropped at Sri Lankan embassy she was handed over to a police station by the driver,” Saroor described the desperate situation of Sri Lankan women in Oman.

Responding to a request made by Ms. Saroor, Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Bureau (SLFEB) said that it has taken appropriate mearures to address the issue encountered by the female workers.

“However still many Sri Lanka females are going through informal channels to Oman violationg the rules and regulations wth regard to migration industry risking their lives,” The SLBFE also has stated that it had repatriated nearly 100 female workers from Oman and out of them, the SLFEB had paid return air ticket cost for more than 40 individuals.

The response signed by Deputy General Manager- Foreign relations for Chairman also said that with regard to suspected Third Secretary, Employment and Welfare, E. Kushan, the domestic inquiry is conducted by the orgnaisation.

Agents should be held responsible; SL Ambassador in Oman
Responding to the incident of group of victim housemaids being stranded in Oman, Sri Lankan Ambassador at Muscat in Oman, said that they are at a safe house run by the SLFEB. He said following sending off of suspected third Secretary E. Kushan, now there is a lady officer as in charge of the safe house.

He said that the main problem faced by the Embassy right now is sending back those who had come on visit visas.

“When a person on visit visa overstayed (more than one month),10 Rial or around Sri Lankan Rs. 8500 per day has to be paid as a penalty. We appealed on behalf of those overstayed and Omani government was good enough to cancel and repatriated around 200 people within this year alone,’ the Ambassador said.

“But people who come on employment visa it is a contract between the employment agent and the employer. If he files a case against the housemaid who wants a premature termination of the employment contract, it causes a huge financial loss to the employer. It is a dispute between the house maid and the employer.But in this instance the SLFEB should ensure that the agent should be responsible for the contract and not the housemaid. If the housemaid wants to return or terminate her job, the agent should be asked to pay from his commission. Instead what is happening right now is agent is seeking big sums like Rs. One million from the family of housemaid and harassing her and the family members. There should be a mechanism to return the commission taken by the agent and release the housemaid,” he said.

The Ambassador insisted that the Sri Lanka police should be strict with these foreign agents who harass the housemaids and their families.

He also said that the SLFEB’s decision not to allow those unregistered workers to safe house facilities has created a big problem for the embassy. “If a housemaid come and say she doesn’t have a place we have to provide an accommodation and we have a responsibility to help them”.

Attempts to contact Labour and Foreign Employment Minister Manusha Nanayakkara failed.