A cabinet minister has rejected the release the demand to release Tamil political prisoners and repeal the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), despite the president has given his assurance to do so.
The minister of Housing and Urban Development, and government chief whip Prasanna Ranatunge said, “We don’t have to feed those who try to break the country by repealing the Prevention of Terrorism Act”.
Minister Ranatunge stated this while speaking to the media about the thirteen Tamil prisoners who are on more than a 10 days of hunger strike to demand their release from detention using PTA, and the youth front of Illankai Tamil Arasu Katchi party launching an islandwide signature campaign urging to repeal the PTA.
“We cannot release the terrorists in the prisons. In order to suppress and take down the protestors and terrorists we must have PTA. We express our strong objection to the signature campaign that has started from the North to repeal the bill. There’s no doubt that these things have started going all over the country based on the Geneva conference.”
The signature campaign against the PTA that started from Kankasanthurai in the North has reached Anuradhapura on the tenth day of their campaign on the 19th of September.
On the 19th of September 13 Tamil prisoners in the Magazine prison discontinued their hunger strike after northern province governer Jeevan Thiyagarajah pledged to raise the matter of their release with President Ranil Wickremesinghe.
