A protest against Sri Lanka’s counter-terrorism legislation blocked traffic on Parliament Road on Wednesday, as the movement behind it said the government had shelved plans to pass the Protection of the State from Terrorism Bill this week.
The Jana Aragala Vyaparaya (JAV — People’s Struggle Movement) called the demonstration for 12 noon at the Parliament Roundabout, demanding repeal of the Prevention of Terrorism Act, the proposed PSTA and the Online Safety Act, the Daily FT reported in a notice published that morning.
By early afternoon the Daily Mirror reported heavy congestion along Parliament Road from Polduwa Junction, with police advising motorists to use alternative routes. That filing attributes the protest to the Frontline Socialist Party, not the JAV. The time and location match the announced demonstration; the two outlets name different organisers, and this desk has not established whether these were one event or two.
The claim that the bill has been pulled
Speaking at a Nugegoda press conference the previous day, JAV National Executive Committee member Vasantha Mudalige said the government had temporarily shelved plans to introduce the PSTA after public protests. It had originally intended to table and pass the legislation in Parliament on 4 and 5 November, he said.
“We believe it is a positive step that the Government has, to some extent, done by responding to people’s voices against those laws,” he said — before pressing for more. “However, we urge the Government to repeal the PTA, just as it should withdraw the PSTA. The Online Safety Act must also be repealed.”
This is the movement’s characterisation. No government confirmation that the bill has been withdrawn from this week’s order paper appears in either filing.
The wider argument
Mudalige warned the laws could be used to silence dissent: “If this legislation is enacted, the people will only be able to open their mouths to eat or to yawn.”
He accused the NPP government of abandoning the democratic principles of the 2022 uprising, criticised alleged police violence, and said IMF-linked economic policy had loaded taxation and living costs onto ordinary people, citing transport costs for young people, hospital medicine shortages and the cost of school materials.
He called it a tragedy that the JVP, itself repressed under the PTA, was now preparing laws that could restrict democratic rights.
Context
The PSTA was presented to Parliament on 6 October and has drawn objections from the Bar Association, Transparency International Sri Lanka and the apparel sector, which warns it could cost Sri Lanka GSP+. Katunayake free trade zone workers protested separately at 5 p.m. the same day in Averiwatta. The government has said it is open to discussion on the bill.
Not reported
Neither filing gives a crowd size, names the participating trade unions, says how long the protest lasted, or reports any arrests. Neither carries a government response to the shelving claim.
