Italy to spearhead a damage-control act to urge EU to review the GSP + suspension

Italian Foreign Minister moved by the presentation made by the inter-religious delegation has come forward to initiate a damage control act to urge the European Union to review Lanka’s GSP + decision of suspension.

‘I will take the case of the GSP+ suspension to the other EU member states, provided you give us the information regarding the negative impact of the suspension on women, children and the IDPs in Sri Lanka’ – Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini

An inter-religious delegation headed by Rev. Malcolm Ranjith, Archbishop of Colombo, and Venerable Bellanwila Wimalaratna Nayaka Thero, Chief Incumbent of the Bellanwila Raja Maha Viharaya, Ven. Kamburugamuwe Vajira Thero, Hindu Vidyanithi Brahmasri Kuhananda Sarma, Venerator Alhaj Moulavi Viyas Mohamed J.P., Coordinator of Muslim Affairs to the President and Rev. Fr. Damian Fernando, together with Hemantha Warnakulasuriya, Ambassador of Sri Lanka in Italy, met Franco Frattini, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Italy and the other members of his delegation, Mr. Enzo Angeloni (Deputy Director General of the Asia Desk), Mr. Alain Giorgio Maria Economides (Chief of Cabinet of the Minister) and Maurizio Massari (Chief of Press Office to the Minister).

At the beginning of the meeting, Italian Foreign Minister Frattini told the delegation that, due to the prevailing human rights situation in Sri Lanka, the Foreign Ministers meeting had taken a unanimous decision, which would have had a drastic effect on Sri Lanka. The Foreign Minister further said that the Italian Government has attempted to bring about dialogue between the diverse parties, through the Community of Sant’Egidio, but all this proved to be fruitless, and therefore, it would’ve been a difficult task for the EU to change the decision taken on the GSP+ issue.

Then, Archbishop Malcolm Ranjith when clarifying said that the inter-religious delegation is an independent delegation, and not a political one. It does not represent the position of the Government of Sri Lanka. It represents the position of the four major religions, as Sri Lanka is 80% Buddhist, while the rest of the population is Hindu, Christian and Muslims. Archbishop Malcolm Ranjith further said that the suspension of the GSP+ concessions will only worsen the well-being of people and negatively affect the lives of women and children.

As there has been a strong inter-religious body in Sri Lanka, Archbishop Malcolm Ranjith, together with Venerable Kamburugamuwe Vajira Thero, had met the leaders of the LTTE, and had insisted on dialogue. However, this was dismissed by the LTTE hierarchy, which instead insisted on a separate state.

Thereafter, when the present President came to power, he requested the inter-religious delegation to proceed to the North and discuss about a peaceful negotiated settlement, which was rejected by the LTTE. Later, the Government of Sri Lanka decided that it had no alternative but to fight terrorism.

As the inter-religious delegation represents all ethnic groups, it made an appeal to ensure that the GSP+ concessions are granted without any suspension, as it would further aggravate the human rights situation in Sri Lanka.

Venerable Bellanwila Wimalaratna Nayaka Thero said that ‘the inter-religious delegation is an independent, multiethnic and multi-religious organization, representing the entire population of Sri Lanka. ‘We are not echoing the position of the Government; we have come here on behalf of the poor, the underprivileged and downtrodden people of Sri Lanka. Terrorism has been an evil which the Government has fought and won. All efforts to bring the warring parties to a settlement had failed due to the intransigence of the LTTE. It had one goal: carve out a separate state, to which no religious group would’ve agreed.

After the war was over, when peace finally settled, we found that more than 280,000 people were displaced due to the LTTE. The Government had the onerous task of immediately providing food, water and shelter to these IDPs. I have been informed by the Government that out of these 280,000 people, over 120,000 have been resettled. This is indeed a great achievement. When there is a war, no religious group can subscribe to the notion that peace can be obtained through war, and both the victorious and the vanquished realized that we must achieve peace together.

The IDPs are an example of people ravaged by war. If the GSP+ concessions are suspended to Sri Lanka, on the basis that certain human rights have been violated by the Government, this would have a negative impact on the poor and underprivileged of the country, especially women and children.

Over 1 million people depend on the GSP+ scheme, working in the factories. Of these, 95% are women. There are other millions of people who depend on the meager income they bring home. The suspension of the GSP+ concessions will worsen the situation of the IDPs. If the EU is genuinely interested in resettling them, it must provide the resources to the Government of Sri Lanka for the resettlement process, in which the Vatican and the Caritas have already played an important role. Instead, if the EU decides to suspend or postpone the GSP+ concessions to Sri Lanka, this will adversely affect the IDPs, as the resettlement process will be further delayed. We therefore appeal to the Italian Foreign Minister and to the Italian Government, to take this matter with a positive frame in mind, and to discuss this issue with the other EU member states, in order to get them to agree to an extension of the GSP+ concession for at least another year’.

The Foreign Minister thanked the inter-religious delegation for having enlightened him and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the current situation in Sri Lanka. The Foreign Minister assured that ‘the Italian Government will under no circumstances deprive of the benefits of the GSP+ concession on the women and children. Now, he added, the Italian Government could see the position of the Government of Sri Lanka much clearly, and I would request the Ambassador of Sri Lanka to submit a report with the full statistics of what has been explained to us, especially with regard to the resettlement process and the negative impact the suspension of the GSP+ scheme will have on the women, especially the factory workers. Once this information is available, I will discuss it personally with the Italian President and Prime Minister, in order to enlighten the other EU member states, who are not aware of the situation in the country, especially in the light of the information given by this important inter-religious delegation and by the Ambassador’.

Thereafter, Sri Lankan Ambassador said that the human rights concerns expressed by the EU are due to the terrorist actions of the LTTE; long before it started terrorism, the Sinhalese youth also took up arms in 1971 and in 1987. The reason was the aggravated economic situation in Sri Lanka, where many opportunities were lost. The main reason behind the uprising of the JVP and LTTE was more economic than political. The Ambassador further explained that if the GSP+ concessions are withdrawn, millions of people will lose their jobs, the majority of them being women who support their families. Factories will have to close down, and this will lead to a catastrophic situation which will lead to further armed struggle. This will have a negative impact on the Tamil people in the north, who are the main beneficiaries of the GSP+ concessions, and who will suffer the worse consequences. The Government of Sri Lanka will not be able to bring them to the political mainstream, as it will lose resources to do so, and the situation in the IDP camps will worsen – this will lead to an extremely difficult situation.

Foreign Minister Frattini explained that there will be the Council meeting in December, where every single country will be able to vote, and most of these countries will not know the real situation in Sri Lanka. Hence, the Foreign Minister expressed he is keen to know of the negative effects that the GSP+ concessions will have on Sri Lanka, and that he will inform the President and Prime Minister of Italy, in the attempt to raise the interest of the other EU countries and convince them that the GSP+ concessions should be extended to Sri Lanka, until the crisis is resolved.

Sri Lanka’s Ambassador invited Italian Foreign Minister Frattini to Sri Lanka, on behalf of the Government of Sri Lanka, in order to see the measures taken by the Sri Lankan Government in resettling the IDPs, which is a gigantic task.

The Italian Foreign Minister said he would love to come to Sri Lanka, but due to several engagements he has he will not be able to visit Sri Lanka soon. Nevertheless, he informed that he will send a Parliamentary delegation to visit Sri Lanka, in order to brief him on the current situation in the country.

The Foreign Minister said ‘I do not think the people should suffer due to the lifting of the GSP+ concessions’.

- Asian Tribune -