Govt. must amend PTA and stop hunting social media bloggers

Government should introduce an amendment to the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) to prevent arresting people for making posts in social media, Former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe proposed over the weekend.

This is one of the few proposals which Mr. Wickremesinghe came out with when he was asked questions on various issues faced by Sri Lanka during a webinar organized by a UNP-led youth group “Parapura” on Saturday.

“An amendment should be brought into PTA where a person could be arrested only if he/she is engaged in terrorist activities. Apprehending people for making a post in social media should be avoided. “Also, either Supreme Courts could propose amendments to PTA where Parliament could discuss and decide on necessary amendments to the legislation,” he said.

Coming up with another proposal, Mr. Wickremesinghe said Batticaloa Airport could be made use of to develop the domestic air travel industry if its runway is expanded, the former Prime Minister said over the weekend.

“Aviation industry had fallen because of the current pandemic situation. However Sri Lanka could benefit from the aviation industry if the government worked with India and even with the Maldives. We started negotiations with India during our regime. We discussed with India to develop Palali Airport. We also focused on introducing regional air traffic from India to Mattala. Our aim was to bring in Indian tourists to Kataragama temple. But these talks have stopped now. Also the Batticaloa Airport could be made use of, if the runway would be extended,” he said. 

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