WHAT ARE THE REASONS FOR ABOLISHING THE ISA?
• The ISA permits the executive to detain any one it likes without a court trial, without any possibility of judicial review of the minister’s decision and without any limits on how many two-year periods of detention may be ordered. • The ISA is a blatant violation of all international canons of rule of law, natural justice and due process. • Article 149 of the Constitution under which the ISA is enacted permits special legislation when subversive action has been taken or threatened “by any substantial body of persons”. The use of the ISA to detain individual dissidents indulging in non-violent opposition to the Government in peace time is a violation of the letter and spirit of Article 149. • National sovereignty is a shield against foreign aggression but it cannot be used as a weapon against one’s own people. There is a difference between national security and security of the government. The 1SA has often been used to safeguard the latter and not the former. • The overall effect of t
