Sri Lanka's External Affairs Ministry issuing statement today said the despite the positively acknowledging the steps taken by the government to address the concerns raised in the European Commission report of 19th October 2009, the EC has set unacceptable conditions that intervene in the affairs of the country.
Referring to the EC's second condition regarding the 17th amendment, the Ministry said it leaves no room for the Government or the people of Sri Lanka to decide on this issue of vital national importance.
The Ministry cautioned that the result of such a mechanism might be the "perpetuation of the fragmentation that terrorism sought to inflict."
The third item of the list to repeal Emergency Regulations that gives the powers to law enforcement will result in abrupt releasing of the former LTTE combatants who are undergoing rehabilitation and vocational training without the necessary logistical support.
The 4th condition in the EC list requires the government to repeal the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) which the Ministry says is similar to or less stringent than provisions adopted by certain developed countries to safeguard the nations from terrorism.
The Ministry pointed out that the PTA is needed to contemplate measures against possible terrorism considering the formation of the so called "Provisional Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam".
"Decisions relating to the need for vigilance in this regard are matters for the elected Government of Sri Lanka, and not for any external agency," the Ministry emphasized.
EC's demands that the Sri Lankan government allow individuals to submit complaints to the UN Human Rights Commission and implement opinions of UN Human Rights Committee would require an Act of Parliament to override a considered decision of Sri Lanka's Supreme Court, which has proceeded to pronounce that the domestic laws and mechanisms have more than adequately provided for the protection and safeguarding of fundamental rights in keeping with national law and treaty obligations.
" In our view, it is hardly for the Commission to demand the reversal of a decision by the highest Court of Sri Lanka," the Ministry said.
While appreciating the benefits the country received from the GSP+ trade facility for a certain period, the Ministry said the government, as the President Mahinda Rajapaksa has stressed in his address to the nation on June 18, is not ready to accept aid under conditions that will betray the freedom of the land and people.
"The Government is confident that the people of Sri Lanka who faced the challenge of terrorism, will also face and overcome equally successfully the challenges of ensuring economic progress and development. The Government will remain steadfast in prudently pursuing the path of restoring normalcy and of achieving rapid economic development, parallel to the progressive elimination of the threats of de-stabilization," the Ministry said.
The full statement of the Ministry
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