Saturday 29th July, 2023

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has issued a gazette, announcing the de-proscription of five Islamic organisations, which were banned under the PTA (Prevention of Terrorism Act), in 2021. According to media reports, those outfits are the United Thawheed Jamma’ath (UTJ), the Ceylon Thawheed Jamma’ath (CTJ), the Sri Lanka Thawheed Jamma’ath (SLTJ), the All Ceylon Thawheed Jamma’ath (ACTJ) and the Jamiyathul Ansaari Sunnathul Mohomadiya (JASM). They were among 11 Islamic organisations banned, after the Easter Sunday terror attacks (2019), for their alleged involvement in extremist activities.

It is not clear from available information what really prompted the MoD to revoke the ban on the five Islamic organisations. We are not in a position either to endorse or to oppose the MoD decision, but cannot help wondering whether the reason for the de-proscription at issue is that the defence authorities plunged head first into banning those organisations and then began to scrutinise the allegations against them only to realise that there were no sufficient grounds for extending the bans.

One can only hope that neither the proscription nor the de-proscription of those organisations was done for political reasons. There were several instances where governments chose to lift bans on the LTTE during the war years so that they could have talks with it. In doing so, they only jeopardised national security.

Did the defence authorities make a mistake by banning the aforesaid Islamic groups, as claimed in some quarters? If so, they deserve an apology; they will be able to move the judiciary against those who caused them to be proscribed.

Bans could be extremely hurtful. When an organisation is proscribed, especially under anti-terror laws, its image suffers irreparable damage, and social stigma sticks. Hence the need for governments and the defence bigwigs to tread cautiously when they impose bans.

The practice of proscribing organisations, religious, political or otherwise, at the drop of a hat has to end. It was a politically-motivated ban on the JVP that led to a bloodbath in the late 1980s. Having allowed the 1983 anti-Tamil pogrom to run its course, the Jayewardene government, which was accused of having had a hand in the spree of anti-Tamil violence, sought to scapegoat some political parties including the JVP. In fact, its real target was the JVP, which had moved the Supreme Court against the outcome of the 1982 referendum the UNP used to do away with a general election and retain its five-sixths majority in Parliament. The JVP went underground unlike others, after being banned, and staged its second uprising. The rest is history.

It is hoped that the Defence Ministry will care to explain why the above-mentioned Islamic organisations were banned and what led to their de-proscription. The public has a right to know the reasons for its flip-flop.