By Maheesha Mudugamuwa
The gazette notice banning the National Thowheed Jamath (NTJ) and Jamathei Millathu Ibraheem (JMI) is expected to be issued this week.
Secretary to the President Udaya Seneviratne told The Sunday Morning that the Government would issue the gazette notification tomorrow (Monday).
He said that the Secretariat was waiting for approval in writing from the newly-appointed Defence Secretary Shantha Kottegoda in order to issue the gazette.
The decision to issue the gazette tomorrow was taken at the National Security Council (NSC) meeting held on Friday night, Seneviratne said.
Military Spokesman Brigadier Sumith Atapattu said that President Maithripala Sirisena had already signed the relevant documents and handed them over to the Presidential Secretariat, but the process was on hold as the Intelligence Services wanted to ban a few other organisations together with the initially mentioned ones.
Following requests by various civic groups including Muslim organisations, the President's Media Division issued a press statement on 27 April saying that the President had taken steps to ban the NTJ and JMI using the powers vested in him, under the Emergency Regulations No. 01 of 2019. And as a result, all activities of both organisations and their property would be frozen under government regulations.
However, an authoritative source confirmed to The Sunday Morning that even though there were several requests made by the intelligence units in the country requesting to ban a few other organisations, the heads of all government law enforcement authorities had agreed to gazette the NTJ and JMI as an initial step and later add other organisations.
Last week, President Sirisena has issued the gazette notification amending the emergency regulations to include the ban on garments covering the face.
Amendments to the emergency regulations made by the President under Section 5 of the Public Security Ordinance (Chapter 40) stated: "No person shall wear in any public place any garment, clothing or such other material concealing the full face which will in any manner cause any hindrance to the identification of a person."
Meanwhile, clarifying the legal situation of the suspects of the Easter Sunday attack arrested prior to the enactment of the emergency regulations, Brig. Atapattu said that the existing laws at that time were enough to take legal action against them and there was no legal implication on effecting the emergency regulations on those who were arrested prior to the enactment.
The gazette notice banning the National Thowheed Jamath (NTJ) and Jamathei Millathu Ibraheem (JMI) is expected to be issued this week.
Secretary to the President Udaya Seneviratne told The Sunday Morning that the Government would issue the gazette notification tomorrow (Monday).
He said that the Secretariat was waiting for approval in writing from the newly-appointed Defence Secretary Shantha Kottegoda in order to issue the gazette.
The decision to issue the gazette tomorrow was taken at the National Security Council (NSC) meeting held on Friday night, Seneviratne said.
Military Spokesman Brigadier Sumith Atapattu said that President Maithripala Sirisena had already signed the relevant documents and handed them over to the Presidential Secretariat, but the process was on hold as the Intelligence Services wanted to ban a few other organisations together with the initially mentioned ones.
Following requests by various civic groups including Muslim organisations, the President's Media Division issued a press statement on 27 April saying that the President had taken steps to ban the NTJ and JMI using the powers vested in him, under the Emergency Regulations No. 01 of 2019. And as a result, all activities of both organisations and their property would be frozen under government regulations.
However, an authoritative source confirmed to The Sunday Morning that even though there were several requests made by the intelligence units in the country requesting to ban a few other organisations, the heads of all government law enforcement authorities had agreed to gazette the NTJ and JMI as an initial step and later add other organisations.
Last week, President Sirisena has issued the gazette notification amending the emergency regulations to include the ban on garments covering the face.
Amendments to the emergency regulations made by the President under Section 5 of the Public Security Ordinance (Chapter 40) stated: "No person shall wear in any public place any garment, clothing or such other material concealing the full face which will in any manner cause any hindrance to the identification of a person."
Meanwhile, clarifying the legal situation of the suspects of the Easter Sunday attack arrested prior to the enactment of the emergency regulations, Brig. Atapattu said that the existing laws at that time were enough to take legal action against them and there was no legal implication on effecting the emergency regulations on those who were arrested prior to the enactment.