Sri Lanka Deradicalisation Law, Ban on Face Veils

Dear Reader,

 This is the third Saturday of the month and hence I will be discussing about news relating to nationalism in a South Asian nation. 

The nation I will feature in today's post is, Sri Lanka. 

In the last two months there have been several initiatives taken by the Sri Lankan government relating to the national security threat posed by terrorism.

1)

Promulgation of the Prevention of Terrorism (Deradicalization from holding Violent Extremist Religious Ideology) Regulations No.1 of 2021 which was published on 12th March, 2021.

The regulations will refer those individuals who have surrendered or have been arrested on suspicion of an offence under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) or the Emergency Regulations No. 1 of 2019 to a rehabilitation programme. 

The regulations state that any individuals using words or signs to cause acts of religious, racial or communal violence, disharmony or feelings of ill will, shall be rehabilitated in Reintegration Centres for upto two years.

This individual must have surrendered to, or been taken into custody by a police officer, or by any army officer, or to any other public officer or any other person or body of persons so authorized by the President by Order.

These Reintegration Centres shall be approved by the Secretary of the Ministry of Minister and upon such approval the Commissioner-General of Rehabilitation shall publish the category and place of the Centres approved by the Secretary. 

These regulations have safeguards for the surrendees and detainees. According to Regulation 5 subregulation 1, any person other than a police officer to whom any individual surrenders or is detained by shall be handed over to the officer in charge of the nearest police station within 24 hours.

Regulation 5(2) states that where there is suspicion that the surrendee or detainee has committed the previously mentioned offence, the Police Officer in charge of the station shall submit a report to the Minister for consideration as to whether such individual shall be detained, for conducting an investigation. Only if the Minister approves shall the person be detained.

If during the investigation it is proven that such person has committed such an offence then the matter is referred to the Attorney - General (AG) for appropriate legal action. If he believes that the individual should be rehabilitated instead of instituting criminal proceedings against him such surrendee or detainee shall be produced before a Magistrate with the AG's written approval. The Magistrate may make an order sending the individual to rehabilitation for a maximum period of 1 year at a Reintegration Centre.

At the end of the period specified in the Magistrate's order, the individual may be released or may continue his rehabilitation for another 6 months. If an extension is given the aggregate of such extensions cannot exceed 12 months.

The provisions of this Regulation show that its intent is to encourage the offenders to surrender so that they can be rehabilitated which will be better for them than a criminal trial and possible sentence. 

The mainstream media in my country and others, even the more nationalistic ones like WION, have portrayed these regulations as being oppressive and cruel. However I do not agree. 

These regulations have several safeguards to prevent anyone from being wrongfully detained, by requiring the approval of several authorities in order to begin the rehabilitation process. Therefore if any person is at first wrongfully arrested, then one of the authorities whose approval is necessary for his rehabilitation to begin, will likely be able to find doubts regarding his guilt and thereby prevent his rehabilitation and end his detention. It is true that some innocent people will still be detained. But that is inevitable and will most likely be the exception rather than the norm.

This will help in Sri Lanka's fight against terrorism. The people this regulation applies to have not committed any violent act yet but have only expressed an intent to do so. They can still be deradicalised away from the path of terrorism. By rehabilitating such people you can actually make them productive citizens and deprive terrorist organizations of foot soldiers, thereby weakening them. 

This regulation will help preserve Sri Lanka's national security. 

Sources:

(a) https://www.icj.org/sri-lank-de-radicalization-regulations-should-be-immediately-withdrawn/

(b) https://www.newswire.lk/2021/03/13/gazette-issued-with-new-gulations-to-rehabilitate-those-arrested-over-extremist-activities-sinhala-tamil-english/

2)

Ban on Face Veils in Public Places.

On 27th April the Sri Lankan Cabinet cleared a proposal to ban the wearing of all face veils in public places for national security purposes.

This is being done because of the Burqa worn by Muslim women. 

The proposal was made by the Minister of Public Security Sarath Weerasekara in March. He said that it prevents people from identifying the wearers of such veils which allows terrorists to intermingle with the public and carry out their activities. It prevents security cameras from identifying the wearers as well. 

He also noted that the Burqa was not worn by Sri Lankan Muslim women originally and that its spread is a sign of religious extremism.

I agree with this proposal. Burqas cover the whole body and either the whole face or up to the eyes. They can be used by terrorists to prevent identification by people. They are therefore a security threat and should therefore be banned. 

I also agree with the Minister that it is a sign of religious extremism. It is not a part of South Asian Islamic culture to wear the Burqa. I am from India and 10 to 15 years ago I never saw Muslim women wearing Burqas. It is part of Arabic Islamic culture and is a symbol of oppression. Muslim women are forced by their communities - if not their governments - to wear them. 

The fact that it is spreading in Sri Lanka and South Asia as a whole is due to the influence of Saudi Arabia on the Madrassas in the subcontinent. It is proselytizing a more radical version of Islam called Wahabism that is turning Muslims against their fellow citizens of different religions and hence must be opposed.

This decision by the Cabinet will help restrict the activities of terrorists.

Sources:

(a) https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/sri-lanka-cabinet-clears-proposal-for-burqa-ban/article34423704.ece

(b) https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9516933/Sri-Lankas-cabinet-APPROVED-burqa-ban-two-years-ISIS-killed-260-people-churches-hotels.html#comments

I believe that both of these measures are necessary for Sri Lanka to succeed in its efforts against Islamic terrorism. After the terrorist attacks on Easter in April 2019, the government cannot afford to go soft on these groups.

 These decisions will not hurt law abiding, patriotic Muslims, Hindus or any other Sri Lankan. But they will have a significant impact on terrorist organizations.

Thank you for Reading.