Sri Lanka’s three Anglican bishops have joined the leaders of the island’s main Protestant churches in calling on the government to “immediately withdraw or substantially overhaul” three bills. The National Christian Council of Sri Lanka warned that a counter-terrorism bill, an organised crime bill and an NGO bill together “form a mutually reinforcing architecture of suppression.”
The Rt. Rev. Dushantha Rodrigo, Bishop of Colombo, and the Rt. Rev. Nishantha Fernando, Bishop of Kurunagala, signed for the Church of Ceylon. The Rt. Rev. Dr. V. Pathmathayalan signed as Bishop in Jaffna in the Church of South India. The statement was published in the Daily FT on 10 Nov 2026.
The council’s statement extends a campaign the Church of Ceylon’s bishops began earlier this year. On 2 February 2026, Bishop Rodrigo and Bishop Fernando urged the government to withdraw an earlier draft of the counter-terrorism bill. They argued that it reproduced the worst features of the Prevention of Terrorism Act it was meant to replace.
Their February statement criticized the draft’s wide definition of terrorism, its warrantless arrest powers for police, armed forces and coast guard, and its allowance for detention without charge for up to a year. The bishops said national security cannot be secured at the cost of due process, freedom of conscience, and protection from torture or degrading treatment. UCA News reported that they described the draft as “a clear breach of commitment” by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake.
Sri Lanka’s Anglican presence is divided between two churches. The Anglican dioceses of Colombo and Kurunagala make up the Church of Ceylon. The Diocese of Jaffna, which grew out of an American Congregationalist mission in northern Ceylon, entered the Church of South India at its formation in 1947. The Church of South India is one of four united churches in the Anglican Communion.
The statement opens by recognising “the legitimate duty of the State to combat terrorism, suppress organised crime, and protect citizens.” It also welcomes the “long-overdue repeal” of the Prevention of Terrorism Act of 1979, which it says governments have “for many years” abused “to suppress legitimate dissent.”
It then lists what it calls “alarming dangers.” It says the terrorism bill “shifts focus from protecting civilians to protecting State institutions against dissent.” It also warns that criteria such as “unduly compelling a Government,” or taking into account dress, tattoos and associations, risk “criminalising identity and peaceful protests.”
The churches object that detention powers of up to 12 months are given to executive officials such as the Defence Secretary or senior police officers rather than judges. They say magistrates are “compelled to give effect to executive orders without granting bail.” The statement also says that “critical bail safeguards agreed upon by advisory committees were secretly removed from the tabled PSTA text,” and that suspects could face custody of up to three years in total.
The council also criticised the extension of warrantless arrest powers to the armed forces and coast guard. It objected to provisions in the organised crime bill that allow digital surveillance, device decryption and the extraction of subscriber data without a court order.
The NGO bill would require prior authorisation to operate, fines of up to Rs. 1 million for unregistered groups, warrantless inspections, and alignment with government policy. The council said these provisions cross “the line from regulation to control.” It added that all three bills were drafted without “transparent, inclusive consultation” with civil society, “including religious bodies.”
“Legislation dealing with national security or corruption must never suppress dissent or dismantle democratic accountability,” the statement concludes.
The other signatories include the Rev. Saman Perera, the council’s chairperson and Moderator of the Presbytery of Sri Lanka, and the Rev. Kingsley Weerasinghe, President of the Methodist Church Sri Lanka. Leaders of the Baptist, Christian Reformed, Four-Square Gospel and Assemblies of God churches and the Salvation Army also signed. So did the Theological College of Lanka, the Colombo Theological Seminary, the YMCA, the YWCA, the Student Christian Movement and other Christian bodies.
The government published the Protection of the State from Terrorism Bill in a Gazette supplement dated 18 September and released it on 22 September. Critics warned that it kept executive detention for up to a year. Four UN special rapporteurs have said that some provisions of the NGO bill are not consistent with the right to freedom of association under international human rights law.
The Supreme Court has now ruled on the challenges to the terrorism bill. On 12 November, Speaker Jagath Wickramaratne told Parliament that the Court had found the bill can pass by a simple majority if certain amendments are made at the Committee Stage. The Additional Solicitor General had already agreed to three of them.
The required changes would give the Supreme Court, instead of the Court of Appeal, oversight under clause 59. They would require a police application before a magistrate extends custody, and would allow executive orders made under the act to be challenged under Articles 126, 140 and 141 of the Constitution.
The bill now returns to Parliament for debate and Committee Stage amendments.
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