Sri Lanka faces sanctions

[seocathnewsasia]

The Brisbane archdiocese’s Catholic Justice and Peace Commission (CJPC) has called on the Australian Government to take a stronger stance on human rights violations in Sri Lanka.

The church call comes following the EU’s decision to suspend the GSP+ facility, the Sunday Leader reports.

CJPC Executive Officer Peter Arndt, in explaining the commission’s position said: “The EU’s threat of removal of trade benefits is part of a very loud and prolonged chorus of concerns about human rights in Sri Lanka.

“On the same day as the announcement, the Conference of Major Religious Superiors in Sri Lanka said there was a loss of faith in the democratic process and just governance.

“We in the Church in Australia should also heed the cries of those who suffer in Sri Lanka and the concerns expressed by the Church in that country,” CJPC said.

Arndt said the Australian Government should add its voice to those of many other Western nations who have expressed serious concerns about the treatment of Tamils during and since the final stages of the conflict between the Sri Lankan military and the Tamil Tigers last year.

“We in the Church in Australia should also heed the cries of those who suffer in Sri Lanka and the concerns expressed by the Church in that country,” he mentioned.

“The treatment of Tamil civilians by both Tigers and the military during the final stages of the conflict was appalling,” he said.

“Tamil civilians were killed and injured in great numbers by actions on both sides.”

“The suspension of the tariff benefit as foreshadowed by the February 16 announcement by the European Union could seriously affect Sri Lanka’s textile and clothing industry,” Arndt said.

Sri Lanka benefits from trade concessions in the EU’s Generalised System of Preferences Plus (GSP+), an incentive scheme tied to the improvement of human rights and good governance.

The scheme provides tariff cuts to support vulnerable developing countries.

Arndt said the Australian Government should add its voice to those of many other Western nations who have expressed serious concerns about the treatment of Tamils during and since the final stages of the conflict between the Sri Lankan military and the Tamil Tigers last year.

“Journalists and critics of the government, including Sarath Fonseka who ran in the recent Presidential elections, are arrested on what appear to be trumped up charges and killed or simply disappear,” Arndt stated.