Protection of the State from Terrorism Bill - The facade of ‘System Change’

SRI Lanka does not need another anti-terror law.

- By Ambika Satkunanathan

The Suppression of Terrorist Bombings Act, Prevention of Hostage Taking Act, Convention on the Suppression of Terrorist Financing Act, Offences Against Aircraft Act and several other laws criminalise ‘terrorist’ activities as required by a 2004 United Nations Security Council Resolution (1566): a resolution that necessitates member states to have laws in place to counter ‘terrorism’.Activists, human rights organisations, and the current President himself before being elected argued that Sri Lanka needs to repeal the current draconian, and often misused Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA).

The Protection of the State from Terrorism Bill (PSTB) presented by the Government of Sri Lanka for public comments in December 2025 is a carbon-copy of the 2022 Anti Terrorism Bill (ATB) produced by the Ranil Wickremesinghe Government, which was basically a carbon copy of a 2018 Counter Terrorism Bill (CTB) proposed by the Yahapalana Government (in which Wickremesinghe was Prime Minister).

The National People’s Power (NPP) Government that was elected to effect ‘system change’ is recycling drafts of former governments that the NPP themselves, when in opposition, said they would scrap if they were to be elected.

There is no international, UN convention-based definition of ‘terrorism’. However, 26 UN Security Council resolutions set out several actions that constitute terrorism. The contours of terrorism set out in UNSCR 1566 are similar to the constituent elements of the widely accepted model definition of terrorism formulated by the UN Special Rapporteur on Protecting Human Rights while Countering Terrorism.