MONETABRIEF – The Sri Lankan government is ready to water down its flagship anti-terrorism and anti-crime bills and to enter into talks with local and international rights groups, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said.
Addressing a religious summit at Temple Trees on Thursday, he said he was ready to cut detention without charge from 72 hours to 48 hours, remove the clause on internationally proscribed organisations, and strip out Excise Ordinance offences.
References to tattoos and attire, which were to be treated as evidence of association with criminal organisations, will also be dropped, the president said, referring to opposition claims that anyone with body ink would become a suspect under the proposed laws.
The concessions, made at the one-year review of the "Ivathvenu" (Get Out) drug operation, are the clearest signal yet that the government will make concessions for passage of the bills.
Although the government has a two-thirds majority in Parliament, Dissanayake said he was willing to hold further talks in order to break the network behind a drug market he valued at Rs 224 billion over the past year.
The bills have been challenged in the Supreme Court, and two blocs oppose them, the president said.
"One group is the one that is protected by organised criminals. There is no point in reasoning with them," Dissanayake said. However, he said the second group was rights and democracy advocates, with whom he was willing to negotiate. (Colombo/Nov5/2026)