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Ministerial Comm. on Easter PCoI, Nat Security SOC reports: No ban on Bodu Bala Sena

11 Apr 2021

  • No witness protection law reforms 

  • Video evidence for overseas witnesses rejected 

  • Over 75 recommendations for immediate implementation  

  • Police disciplinary inquiries into negligence/dereliction of duty  

  • Madrasas to be regulated, not banned  

  The six-member Ministerial Committee appointed to study the reports of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI) into the Easter Sunday terror attacks and the Parliamentary Sectoral Oversight Committee (SOC) on National Security has categorised several recommendations contained in the reports including the ones to ban the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) and to make several amendments to the Assistance to and the Protection of Victims of Crime and Witnesses Act, as unimplementable.   Ministerial Committee Secretary and Presidential Secretariat Director General (Legal) Hariguptha Rohanadeera said that one proposal was to ban several organisations, including the BBS.   “Several organisations have been proved to have been involved in criminal activities including Zahran Hashim’s group which was behind the Easter Sunday bombings. The recommendation to ban these organisations involved in criminal activities was approved. However, no approval was given to ban the BBS since there are no criminal elements in it,” Rohanadeera told The Sunday Morning.   This week, the Attorney General (AG) authorised the ban of 11 Islamist organisations with alleged links to extremist activities.   Meanwhile, amendments to the Assistance to and the Protection of Victims of Crime and Witnesses Act were not approved as the Committee said that this is not needed at this particular juncture. A recommendation to allow giving evidence via video technology for witnesses who are overseas was also not approved. A proposal made to make voting mandatory for Sri Lankans has also been rejected. “The proposal suggested imposing hefty fines if anyone failed to cast their vote. Though it is in use in some countries, the Committee said that this was not practical in Sri Lanka at present, especially when it comes to paying fines,” Rohanadeera noted. The Ministerial Committee has categorised the recommendations of the two reports into the three groups of unimplementable due to being impractical, implementable with changes, and directly implementable.   He said that as many as approximately 78 recommendations have been identified as ones that can be implemented immediately.   Some of the recommendations that are to be implemented immediately are compensating the victims of the Easter attacks, completing the restoration of the Zion Church in Batticaloa, and instructing the Police Department to conduct disciplinary inquiries over the inaction of police officers in connection with the Easter attacks.   He added that the designated institutions have been instructed or assigned to go ahead with implementable recommendations.   “In terms of the education system, recommendations have been made to regulate madrasa schools (where Islamic education is conducted) and not to ban them. Through regulation, action can be taken against these schools if they teach Wahhabism, which rejects other religions.”   The Telecommunications Regulatory Commission has been instructed to implement the proposal on regulating the allocation of telephone frequencies.   Proposals related to religions have been referred to the relevant ministry, he said.   Meanwhile, Rohanadeera said that the AG has been handed over proposals that relate to taking legal action. “The issue is that there are a large number of witnesses and about 1,600 statements. When taking legal action, the AG has to be able to prove it beyond a reasonable doubt. Therefore, he has a difficult task ahead of him. It will take some time for him to go ahead with these,” Rohanadeera said.   The Committee was chaired by Minister Chamal Rajapaksa and included Co-Cabinet Spokesmen Dr. Ramesh Pathirana and Udaya Gammanpila as well as Ministers Rohitha Abeygunawardena, Johnston Fernando, and Prasanna Ranatunga.   


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