29-06-2010

Special Press Release: EU must show its good will with real action in
terms of Sri Lanka and GSP plus.
The European Union has failed miserably to engage the people of Sri Lanka in its GSP plus tax
benefit. Sri Lankan Government under tremendous difficulties in the face of coming out of 30 year
bloody terrorist conflict where most of the world powers used as a political weapon in South Asia
has been put in to a difficult time by the European Union in the name of human rights and
reconciliation.

Sri Lanka Green Alliance while recognizing Human rights are for all and civil rights important and
positive role in post war Sri Lanka, wishes to state that EU taking the same old European imperial
style politically has taken the GSP plus as a pressuring mechanism to push the Sri Lanka Government
to comply with the narrow political demands of the union has failed in the eyes of the Sri Lankan
citizens. Thus, making EU an enemy in the eyes of the public rather than the friendly arms with
assistances when needed to recover from the wounds of conflict. EU as a coalition of states in
Europe who is said to be interested in preserving human rights for all in one hand giving room to the
LTTE terror leftovers around the world to recover and restore their lost network and on the other
hand pressuring the Government of Sri Lanka over GSP plus, thus pressuring the citizens of Sri Lanka
is more becoming a fading interest to the hearts and minds of the people in the inland. Henceforth,
recently EU responds and government declaration of “No more negotiation for GSP plus with EU any
more”, worth commenting strongly as green political activists in Sri Lanka.

Government should not any more waste tax payers’ money in sending delegation after delegation to
EU offices around Europe to convince the situation in Sri Lanka and get the extension and rather
invest that money to supplement the damage done to the exporting sector of the economy once the
trade benefit is no more. Also SLGA wish to state that if EU is genuinely interesting in tackle the
challenges it faces in terms of human rights, reconstruction and reconciliation, then they should
stop using their financial bargaining chips to pressurize Sri Lanka unnecessarily. Instead they should
step out of their Hippocratic politics and be truthful and support the government and its people with
good heart. The way commission treated our country in so many discussions is totally discriminatory
and unacceptable. The discriminatory can argue that it was the government and not the people of
the country who took part in the meeting. But our government represents our people and the way
our official delegations get treated clearly says the way that the discriminatory is going to treat the
people that the government represents.

We also wish to state on behalf of our people that we still remember the words of Director General
of Commerce-Europe who were expressing herself in a meeting early 2007 on GSP said to our
government delegation, “….We now have in our hands a powerful weapon which we will not
hesitate to use against you….”. And as of the last point we wish to highlight we Sri Lankan citizens
will not let any outside power, specially the Europe and its given history of ruthless imperialism
challenge our country as we believe that it’s not the mandate of EU or any other country but the
mandate of our people. We see a great deal of political power play in the EU commission decisions
on GSP Plus status. By playing political games alongside GSP plus EU is making arrangements to put
large number of jobs in danger. This will lead to serious social problems as European investments
have made us sustain on these service sector industries. How can EU who advocates us on Human
rights (after LTTE terrorists were chased out) intend to respond to this situation? This means that EU
is using political violence to get what they want in whatever way they wants it. We also have the
question of what EU really want from us?

We don’t see that how these 15 conditions do well in serving the interests of Sri Lanka but the
interests of Europe. We specially interested in understanding how can “access to international
tribunals in order to ventilate grievances and to secure remedies for the citizens” become a
condition for GSP plus. It is rather a pro LTTE activists need rather than a real people’s need.

Also SLGA regret that EU is including the removing of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and the
implementation of the 17th amendment in conditions to GSP plus. 17th amendment is a pure
western style solution to the constitutional issues on law and order, financial accountability,
transparency and good governance. It’s also a complete failure in many ways and become an
financial burden. Also the PTA is helping the current government to keep the peace which we shed
so much blood for. PTA may not be the perfect answer for the issues related to peace and security
but certainly is a small price to pay for a nation who was embittered by decades of terrorism. But by
pressuring the Government of Sri Lanka over PTA without giving any alternatives to keep the
terrorist activities inland under control till people centered address is delivered to the problems of
security and peace, is totally unacceptable as it will help the resurrection of the LTTE terror outfit
that are restoring their strengths in all over Europe. And it’s the people of this inland who should
decide on the constitutional amendments which they should be governed by and not EU. What EU
should do is to empower the people of this country to take their own decisions in their own way. EU
cannot make Sri Lankans to do things in the European ways to the European standard.

However as Greens we are oppose to GSP as it gives the benefits to service sector of the country
which is hugely profitable form Europe and not for our national economy and won’t make us self
sustainable. GSP plus never served the economical development in our rural population but make
the rural population very venerable to economic fluctuations by helping urban migration to work in
the service sector. GSP plus has only temporarily strengthen neo liberal arguments in Sri Lanka who
are in support of becoming a service country for the first world. Thus in a way EU work is pushing us
to become a neo liberal country rather than a people centered one.

The stand of Sri Lanka Green Alliance is that the Government should not waste any money tax
payers money on this GSP plus , instead it should spend more money and do essential changes in old
non green policies and make them green to make our economy self sustainable.

Sanka Chandima Abayawardena, Convener-Sri Lanka Green Alliance (+94716119347)

www.surakimusrilanka.net