EU Threat Has Inspired Panic Rather than Reform

Sir, It is a grave omission that Joe Leahy’s article “Sri Lanka speeds refugees’ return amid trade threat” (November 2) does not mention the unintended consequences of leveraging trade against human rights. In threatening to suspend Sri Lanka from GSP+, and thereby curtailing a main revenue source, the European Union has inspired panic rather than reform.

The expedited resettlement of nearly a third of the country’s IDP (internally displaced persons) population is likely exacerbating the humanitarian crisis. The international community has conspicuously been denied access to the camps and resettlement process, and information flowing solely from a government that has been historically hostile to the Tamil population is suspicious. These government data also neglect to clarify the number of Tamils who will be held indefinitely as “security concerns” – a group that suffers some of the most egregious human rights violations. Furthermore, recent resettlement initiatives are forcing IDPs into areas that have surely become insecure and unproductive after decades of war. These realities suggest that the sudden rush to close IDP camps is disingenuous.

The resettlement of Tamil IDPs should be part of a systematic and comprehensive plan to elevate human rights standards in Sri Lanka and achieve reconciliation after decades of civil war. Pressure for sustainable integration of Tamils into the local economy could be a key element of the solution. EU trade leveraging, however, has led to a knee-jerk response that may cause more human rights violations than ever before.