Raising concerns about cancer drug shortages, substandard medicines or corruption in the health sector could be interpreted as terrorist activity under legislation now before the country, a doctors’ trade union leader has warned — and professional bodies including the Government Medical Officers’ Association could themselves risk being labelled terrorist organisations.
Dr. Chamal Sanjeewa, chairman of the Doctors’ Trade Union Alliance for Medical and Civil Rights, made the claim at a media briefing organised by the National Professional and Civil Front, the Daily Mirror reported.
The objection is to ambiguity, not to the aim
Sanjeewa’s argument is about drafting. He said the Organised Crime Prevention Act, newly introduced, and the proposed State Terrorism Protection Act contain ambiguities that would leave law enforcement with excessive discretion in deciding what amounts to an offence.
On his reading, raising concerns about medicine shortages, substandard drugs, the problems faced by cancer patients, or corruption, fraud and irregularities in the health sector could expose medical professionals, trade union leaders and civil society activists to arrest and detention.
He named the GMOA and the Inter-University Students’ Federation as bodies that could be at risk of being designated terrorist organisations if the ambiguities are not addressed, and warned the framework could reach beyond political parties to professional associations, civil society groups and religious organisations. Individuals posting on social media about problems affecting them or their communities could also face action, he said.
A test drawn from the recent past
Sanjeewa put his case in terms of a campaign he has already run. He said he and other trade union leaders had been able to stage public protests and raise concerns against former Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella and Health Ministry officials.
Had comparable provisions been in force at the time, he suggested, those protests might have been treated as terrorist activity — which would have prevented those involved from exposing the alleged wrongdoing.
He also pointed to protests in several countries by young people over economic difficulties and crises in education and healthcare, arguing such demonstrations should not automatically be classified as terrorism. He described the potential consequences as a threat to fundamental rights and urged the public to examine the legislation and its implications for freedom of expression, peaceful protest and the work of independent organisations.
Context
The warning lands in a week when the same two bills have drawn objections from several directions. The Joint Opposition has said the terrorism bill would end media freedom, and Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa has tied both bills to the Homagama custody death in asking whether the country is moving towards a police state. Twenty-two petitions against the counter-terrorism bill reached the Supreme Court last week.
Amnesty International has separately called for the organised crime legislation to be withdrawn. This desk’s reporting on that legislation records that it permits executive detention in two-month blocks for up to a year under one clause, with up to a further year on remand before indictment under another.
The health-sector grievances Sanjeewa cites are themselves live: the GMOA on the same day accused the Health Ministry of a reactive response to dengue.
Not reported
The filing does not quote any provision of either law, give a section number, or set out the definition of terrorism or organised crime that Sanjeewa says is too broad. It does not report any response from the Ministry of Justice, the Attorney-General’s Department, the police or the government.
It does not say whether the GMOA or the IUSF endorse his reading, whether the Doctors’ Trade Union Alliance has made formal submissions on either bill, or whether it is among the petitioners before the Supreme Court. It does not say at what stage the proposed State Terrorism Protection Act now stands, or whether the government has signalled any amendment.
This desk notes that the names used for these bills vary between filings, and that the title reported here — State Terrorism Protection Act — is the Daily Mirror’s.
Single source. This desk checked the Daily Mirror’s breaking-news listing, the Hiru News homepage rail and the NewsFirst rail directly; no other verified newsroom had filed on this briefing at the time of writing. Ada Derana has returned an HTTP 403 block to this desk for some 48 consecutive days and could not be consulted. The claims above are one union leader’s interpretation of pending legislation, not a legal determination.
