The United National Party has appealed to the European Union to consider the repercussions for Sri Lanka should the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) Plus concession be withdrawn, saying the country’s poorest would suffer most from such action, and that collective punishment of a whole community would not help the cause of democracy in Sri Lanka.
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| Karu Jayasuriya |
In a special statement, UNP deputy leader Karu Jayasuriya said the European Union’s GSP+ tariff concession scheme has been a lifeline for Sri Lanka’s apparel-and-garment industry, which provides direct employment for more than 270,000 persons and indirect employment for close on 1 million persons.
“It is the largest export commodity from Sri Lanka, and the GSP+ has ensured that Europe is now the number one export market for Sri Lankan apparel,” the statement said. “Exports to Europe now represent 52 percent of the apparel market, contributing US$3.4 billion and 9 percent of GDP.“These concessions have enabled Sri Lankan enterprises to compete with other nations which have the advantage of cheaper infrastructure and labour costs. Withdrawal of this concession would most definitely be a death blow to the apparel industry, with devastating repercussions for the whole economy, especially in the rural sector,” the statement added.
Mr. Jayasuriya said the United National Party was greatly disturbed by reports suggesting that Sri Lanka’s deteriorating human rights record may result in the country losing the GSP + concessions, following the release of a preliminary investigations report on the country’s human rights situation.
The UNP deputy leader said Sri Lanka’s free media was being silenced by a systematic campaign of intimidation, including the killing of journalists, which was ensuring government control of most channels of information to the public.
“As the country’s main opposition, we have continuously called on the government to take necessary measures to release the quarter million Tamil civilians currently being held behind the barb-wire fences of internment camps as soon as possible,” the statement said. |
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