Tamil leaders take anti-terror law fears to UK envoy

Monday, 2 November 2026 05:55 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Tamil political leaders last week met British High Commissioner Andrew Patrick to convey concerns that the Government’s proposed anti-terrorism and organised crime laws could be used against minority communities, with the envoy expressing deep concern over the anti-terrorism legislation, according to the Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization (TELO).

TELO Leader and Democratic Tamil National Alliance (DTNA) MP Selvam Adaikkalanathan and TELO Vice President and Spokesperson and DTNA Deputy National Organiser Guruswamy Surendran discussed with the High Commissioner the risks posed to the country, and to minority communities in particular, by the Protection of the State from Terrorism Act (PSTA) and the Organised Crime Bill presented to Parliament by the Government.

The TELO leaders said the proposed laws could be used to suppress, or facilitate the arbitrary and targeted arrest of, those campaigning on long-standing issues, including the demand for a permanent political solution for Tamils in the Northern and Eastern Provinces, land grabbing, enforced disappearances, war crimes, human rights violations, the need for a justice mechanism and the repeated postponement of Provincial Council elections.

They noted that while UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) reports had called for the repeal of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), the Government was instead attempting to introduce alternative legislation that posed a significant threat to Tamils and the country as a whole. They also said the continued delay in holding Provincial Council elections had left their regions without a provincial administrative structure, which in turn facilitated land grabbing by State institutions.

On the wider political climate, the TELO leaders said excessive taxation and uncontrollable price increases were severely affecting livelihoods, not only of those below the poverty line but of the broader population. They also told the High Commissioner that six Tamil-speaking political parties represented in Parliament were working together on issues of common concern.

According to TELO, the High Commissioner responded that the need to hold Provincial Council elections had been highlighted in UNHRC reports. On the anti-terrorism legislation, he said the UK had closely monitored such proposals in the past, which had appeared in various guises, and remained deeply concerned about the current version, TELO said.