President pushes tougher laws on terrorism

November 22, 2024

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President pushes tougher laws on terrorism ^Featured

September 13, 2019

President Maithripala Sirisena has called on Parliament to expedite the process of amending the rules and regulations and introducing new laws to prevent terrorism. The President made these proposals when participating in the progress review meeting of Parliament’s Sectoral Oversight Committee on National Security on Wednesday, a communique from the Presdiential Secretariat said. This is the first time in the history of the Parliament that a President has attended this committee meeting.

The President further pointed out to the Committee that the decisions taken on national security should not be postponed and it was very important to take the necessary decisions immediately. He emphasized that all responsible parties should commit themselves to ensure that the country does not have to face another catastrophe such as the April 21st terrorist attack again.

The President further stated that the Attorney General had informed him that it was in his discretion to participate in the Parliamentary Sectoral Oversight Committee. However, the President said, considering the importance of national security and as a leader who respects democracy, he decided to attend the Committee meeting.

The communique added: “Following the Easter attack, a group of MPs prepared and handed over a proposal. The Committee is tasked with addressing those issues and looking into the necessary legislative amendments and new legislation.

“The report will look into 15 major areas covering a wide range of topics including immigration, terrorist financing, web publication and false propaganda, cyber security and education.The committee is chaired by Member of Parliament Malith Jayathilake.Speaker Karu Jayasuriya and Parliamentarians Nimal Siripala de Silva Douglas Devananda, Dayasiri Jayasekera,Lasantha Alagiyawanna, Ajith P. Perera, Ashu Marashinghe and Secretary to the Ministry of Defense and the Commanders of the Security Forces were also present on this occasion.