Strengthening anti terrorism laws the right decision

The Government has taken the right decision, towards the right direction, at the right time. While enabling the smooth functioning of the ongoing peace process, President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his Government have strengthened the laws to combat terrorism.

Terrorism is terrorism, irrespective of the part of the globe that it exists. No country could afford to tolerate terrorism, as it is a serious threat to law and order, political stability and economic growth.

Despite the LTTE's continuous provocations and murderous acts against unarmed security forces personnel as well as civilians, the Government has been making every endeavour to bring the Tigers to the negotiating table.

Though the Tiger leader Prabhakaran has often resorted to terror tactics, President Rajapaksa has consistently extended the hand of goodwill to them in a bid to find a lasting solution to the problem.

The President's kindness and thrust for peace should not be taken as a sign of weakness.

He is a leader who has courage, will power and the support of the majority among all the communities to combat terrorism. He is battling against terrorism, as any leader of a country ought to.

At the same time, the President has taken every possible measure to find solutions to the travails of innocent civilians in the North and the East, who have been victims of Prabhakaran's terrorism for the past three decades. President Rajapaksa has repeatedly stressed that the Government's war is only against terrorism and not against peace-loving Tamils, who have been living in harmony with the Sinhalese and the Muslims for centuries.

He not only stressed this point in his speech at the recent inauguration of the Weerawila International Airport Project, but also blamed the extremists in the South.

Though the Government has made a wise move by introducing tough anti-terror laws, it has kept the doors open for the LTTE, if they are genuinely interested in peace talks. That is why the Government did not ban them, even after the recent assassination attempt on Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa.

As the Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera has pointed out, it is "an incentive for the LTTE to come to talks".

The nation should feel proud of having a fearless Defence Secretary, in Gotabhaya Rajapaksa. His statement after surviving the assassination bid was a morale booster for all. As a man who has given true leadership in the Northern battlefront, the Secretary said he would not abandon his responsibility towards the country, in the face of such cowardly attacks by the LTTE and reaffirmed his commitment to the national need to defeat LTTE's terrorism.

The international community should not adopt a "deaf and blind policy" to the appeal made by the Defence Secretary to avoid any action that would demoralise and weaken the determination of our brave troops who are ready to risk their lives to make the dream of the President to build a new Sri Lanka, where all Sinhala, Tamil and Muslims can live happily in peace and harmony, a reality.

There can't be two types of policies to combat terrorism. Acts of terror may be different from country to country but the end result would be the same. Tough anti-terrorism regulations were enforced in the West after the infamous 9/11 attack in New York. It's high time Sri Lanka too strengthens local laws to combat the ever increasing acts of terrorism, be it by the LTTE or any other party.

Accordingly, without banning the LTTE outright, the government has decided to reactivate the provisions of the Prevention of Terrorism Act to face this cruel and senseless terrorism. But at the same time, the government has taken care to build a safety net to prevent an innocent person being deprived of his human rights.

As a man who has always strongly advocated the protection of human rights, President Rajapaksa has enforced these regulations in accordance with the United Nations Convention on Human Rights.

Thus, any person who has been accused of being an accomplice of a terrorist or being a member of a terrorist organisation is allowed the right of appeal to prove his or her innocence. As the President said in his recent address to the nation, all citizens should make a firm commitment not to allow anyone to take these new regulations lightly.

Whatever one's status may be, supporting terrorism is an act of enmity towards both the country and the nation. That certainly cannot be allowed. There should be no room to assist terrorism directly or indirectly anymore. All peace-loving citizens of this country should rally round the President in the nation's struggle against terrorism.

The Tamil community and all organisations which value democracy should not have any fears about the PTA regulations. These regulations will not curtail any rights in the workplace, field or university and would only help defeat the fascist LTTE terror tactics. At the same time, these regulations would usher in democratic politics to the Tamil community in the country.

People, irrespective of their ethnic backgrounds, should realise who the common enemy is. The battle should be against the common enemy, terrorism, which has devastated our beautiful country for over three decades.