The report of the Committee of Officers appointed to review the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act No. 48 of 1979 was presented to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa at the Presidential Secretariat this afternoon (15).
The Committee Chairman Defence Secretary General (Retd.) Kamal Gunaratne presented the first copy of the report to the President.
The Committee of Officers was appointed on 24 June 2021 to make recommendations to the Cabinet Sub-Committee appointed by the President to review the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act, No. 48 of 1979, taking into account the discussions that have taken place among different parties regarding various aspects of national security.


The Committee chaired by Defence Secretary General (Retd.) Kamal Gunaratne also includes Secretary to the Ministry of Justice M.M.P.K. Mayadunne, Secretary to the Ministry of Public Security Major General (Retd) Jagath Alwis, Inspector General of Police C. D. Wickramaratne, Head of National Intelligence Major General (Retd) Ruwan Kulatunga, Legal Draftsman Dilrukshi Samaraweera, Additional Secretary to the Ministry of Justice Piyumanthi Peiris, Additional Solicitor General Nerin Pulle, Deputy Legal Advisor at the Foreign Ministry Thilani Silva and Deputy Director at the Foreign Ministry Mahesha Jayawardana as other members Ms. Jeewanthi Senanayake, Senior Assistant Secretary to the President, served as the Secretary of the Officers’ Committee.

Recently, Government of Sri Lanka has apprised the European Union (EU) of progress in specific areas of reconciliation, as part of its regular engagement and dialogue with the organization. Accordingly, the Foreign Ministry on 25 June, informed the European Union EU of action underway to revisit provisions of the Prevention of Terrorism Act, No 48 of 1979, with the study of existing legislation, past practice, and international best practices.

Concerns have been raised in the European Parliament on Sri Lanka’s draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) as the law is not in line with the conventions that Sri Lanka has to implement under the Generalized Scheme of Preferences (GSP+) granted to Sri Lanka.