The Hon. Kaveenthiran Kodeeswaran

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Chairperson of Committees, today we debate matters under the Public Security Ordinance. Although some arrangements are brought to meet essential needs, before coming to power this Government promised to repeal the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and not to bring any equivalent law. Yet the PTA continues, allowing greater scope for human rights violations and denying justice to people.

¶ 02 Recently, together with disaster laws, the PTA was also applied during the “Ditva” disaster—an unfortunate situation. Was the PTA necessary for this disaster? No. These provisions can end up being used to suppress legitimate demands even when people seek justice and fairness. Disaster recovery is now in its final phase—compensation, restoration, and rehabilitation. For such work, there is no need to introduce or rely on these emergency provisions now.

¶ 03 The Leader of the Opposition, Sajith Premadasa, stated that in a country where Buddhism is afforded the foremost place, monks are being suppressed. I wish to ask him: are monks the only ones facing issues? Why not treat all religions equally? Is there one justice for Buddhist monks and another for Hindu priests, Christian clergy, and Muslim moulavis? He emphasized protecting monks and suggested that even if they err there should be no punishment. We find this position unacceptable.

¶ 04 This Government has done notable things, especially in combating drugs and tackling bribery and corruption. We should commend that. However, the PTA remains a law that brings injustice to our people; all steps must be taken to repeal it.

¶ 05 Next, on public security: there are serious delays in issuing and renewing passports via our missions abroad. Many of our migrant workers apply through Sri Lankan embassies and high commissions to renew expired passports, but missions fail to process them on time. Even after one or two years, renewals are not completed, causing severe hardship—people cannot travel for bereavements, education, urgent needs, or visa renewals. There are also reports of fraud at missions, with intermediaries extracting Rs. 600,000–700,000 to “facilitate” processing.

¶ 06 We need a proper database, modern digital monitoring, and a ranking/priority system to oversee mission performance, curb irresponsibility, corruption, and administrative irregularities, and eliminate delays. A country’s embassy is its face; today that face is stained by corruption and negligence. The Government must ensure prompt, proper service.

¶ 07 In Ampara District, in areas like Thirukkovil and Alayadivembu, paddy harvesting is underway. Farmers have worked hard, but there are no proper warehousing facilities, no orderly purchasing arrangements, and no fair price. “Ditva” reduced yields; now farmers cannot even sell what little they harvested at a fair price. This has persisted across governments. The Government must immediately set a just, fair price and commence prompt procurement of paddy to protect farmers. Thank you.