Workers from the Katunayake Free Trade Zone and trade unions held a joint protest on Wednesday evening demanding that the government immediately withdraw the draft Protection of the State from Terrorism Bill.
The protest was held at 5.00 p.m. on 4 November in Averiwatta town, Katunayake, Hiru News reported.
Protesters said the government is repealing the existing Prevention of Terrorism Act while preparing to bring in the new law in its place.
The clauses they object to
Three objections are named in the filing. Protesters said the bill contains provisions that confer powers on the Secretary of Defence, that allow arrest without the authorisation of a court, and that permit various organisations to be banned.
These are the demonstrators’ characterisations of the draft, not a reading of the text by this desk. The bill is currently before the Supreme Court in a separate set of proceedings.
The trade argument
The protesters tied the bill directly to export access. Sri Lanka’s GSP+ concession is due to expire in 2027, they said, and if the concession is lost, 74,000 jobs in the apparel sector would be placed at risk.
That is a sharper figure than the industry has previously put in public. In October the apparel sector warned that the counter-terrorism bill could cost Sri Lanka GSP+ without attaching an employment number to the warning. The 74,000 figure is the protesters’ own and is not independently verified here.
A second bill in the frame
Hiru’s text refers only to the terrorism bill. The photograph published with its report shows the demand was broader: a trilingual banner carried at the protest reads “People are criminalised and labelled terrorists — PSTA/OCPA — WITHDRAW THEM NOW!”, attributed to “Trade Unions & People’s Power”, with placards reading “Abolish PSTA”.
The OCPA is the Prevention of Organised Crime Bill, the companion measure whose 26 petitions the Supreme Court has been hearing this week. The protest appears to have targeted both bills together, as earlier objections from the Bar Association and PAFFREL have done.
Not reported
The filing does not name the trade unions involved, give a crowd size, say how long the protest lasted, or report any police presence or response. It carries no government comment, and no response from the Board of Investment or the zone’s employers. The government has said it is open to discussion on the bill; whether that offer extends to the zone unions is not stated. No other verified newsroom had carried the protest at the time of writing.
