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“The Aggravation of Islamophobia through the Prevention of Terror Act”
Upon its enforcement, Sri Lanka’s Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) has been condemned both domestically and internationally for its draconian measures. In this Issue Briefing, Neil DeVotta, Professor at Wake Forest University, claims that anti-terrorism legislation in South Asia was instituted on the basis of penal codes from the colonial era. In Sri Lanka, the PTA was designed as a mechanism to counter Tamil rebellion movements that stemmed from the community’s failed pursuit of securing a separate state of Eelam. Nonetheless, Professor DeVotta states that the PTA does more harm than good; the act has, in essence, brutalized the Tamil community and fuelled pre-existing sentiments of Islamophobia in the country. On top of that, the arbitrary enforcement of the PTA, illustrated by the detainment of key Muslim personalities, further supports prevalent claims that the PTA is imposed onto the Muslim community on unfair grounds. In this regard, the author calls for the government to scrap up the PTA for the upkeep of democracy and to mitigate anti-Muslim attitudes in Sri Lanka.
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