By: Greg Donaldson
Impunity Watch, Asia

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — On the last day of August, President Mahinda Rajapaksa requested that the Sri Lankan Parliament allow the emergency powers given to his government to expire. The regulations, which have been in place since 1971, gave the government unrestrained power to search, arrest, and detain.

Many sources claim that this broad governmental power led to many people being tortured, unlawfully detained, and forced to disappear. The majority of the victims belong to the political party known as the Tamil Tigers.

The Sri Lankan government has come under heavy criticism since the government defeated the Tamil Tigers in a twenty-six year war that ended two years ago. Instead of allowing the emergency powers to expire at the conclusion of the war, the government clung to the powers until last month.

While allowing the emergency powers to expire appears to be an act of good faith by the government, many are calling this action deceitful and a “bait and switch” by the government.

The 1979 Prevention of Terrorism Act and several other laws still exist which give the government power to detain individuals up to eighteen months without trial. Furthermore, proposed legislation will allow the regime to keep the over 6,000 people currently held under the expired emergency powers act.

“The Sri Lankan government announced that the state of emergency is over, but it is holding on to the same draconian powers it had during the war,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch.

Many groups and journalists have cautioned the world that the Sri Lankan government’s power has not changed since the emergency regulations expired. A local journalist wrote “we hope that the government will not hoodwink the international community by publicizing that the country’s emergency laws have been abolished.”

The outgoing attorney-general, Mohan Peiris, told BBC that the expiration of the emergency powers should lead to the release of long term prisoners. However, he later told other journalists that “no suspects will be released and there is no change even though the emergency has been allowed to lapse.”

Peiris continued to explain that the government would create more legislation that would allow the secretary of defense or the president to pass emergency laws as needed. An example of this occurred on August 6 when the president granted the military search and arrest powers. It is unclear how short or long this decree will last.

Sri Lankans are relieved that the state of emergency and the war are over, but the world is keeping its eye on the government.

For more information, please see:

Associated Press — Rights group says Sri Lanka still uses abusive detention laws despite end of war — 8 September 2011

BBC – Human Rights Watch condemns ‘draconian’ Sri Lankan laws – 8 September 2011

Daily Mirror – Laws that promote democracy and development – 7 September 2011

Human Rights Watch – Sri Lanka: ‘Bait and Switch’ on Emergency Law – 7 September 2011