CEPA will turn Sri Lanka into next Indian province – NFF

by Saman Indrajith

Leader of the National Freedom Front Wimal Weerawansa addresses the press conference. He is flanked by NFF leaders from left: MP Jayantha Samaraweera, General Secretary of the NFF, MP Nandana Gunatilake, Cultural Affairs Secretary of NFF Senarath Silva.
Pic by Nihal Chandrakumara

The National Freedom Front yesterday at its first ever press conference fired the first salvo against the proposed Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between India and Sri Lanka.

“If enacted, this agreement will turn Sri Lanka into the next provincial state of India. This country’s economy would be gobbled up by our giant neighbour . We oppose this and insist that the Government should not fall into a trap where the country would become an economic colony of India,” leader of the NFF, Wimal Weerawansa said.

“Local economists, businessmen and experts had already warned the government not to enter into this agreement since it would serve only Indian interests. We demand that the Government heeds the call of local businessmen and stop giving into Indian pressure,” he said.

Weerawansa said that although India had been a friend of Sri Lanka for centuries this agreement would not be in favour of Sri Lankans. This agreement on enhanced market access for service sectors between India and Sri Lanka has been presented by the Indian media as an opportunity for Sri Lankan entrepreneurs. Both countries had entered into a free trade agreement (FTA) covering goods that became operational since March 2000.

“We know how the FTA had served the interests of Indian businessmen and our entrepreneurs. Our businessmen could not even enter the Indian market despite the rosy picture portrayed by clauses and sections of the FTA,” Cultural Secretary of the NFF, Senarath Silva said.

He said that India is lobbying to upgrade the FTA to a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement covering services and investments. If Sri Lanka opens up its services sector for the Indian businessmen then local businessmen would lose their enterprises. Local professionals will lose their market to Indian professionals like doctors, lawyers or architects. If an Indian firm opens a branch in Sri Lanka, Indian professionals could join it.

This sort of bilateral deals related to services, the market access offers, are in excess of the commitments in the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) under the WTO, Silva said.

“This is an unprecedented agreement and aims at only gobbling up the Sri Lankan economy, allowing a free passage to Indian professionals, services and goods to flow into the local market. The Multi National Companies too could make use of this agreement to further exploit the local market and consumers.”

“Under the provisions of this agreement Lanka would be able to export dhal to India but not coconut oil. That simply summarizes the whole situation,” Silva said.

Weerawansa said the NFF had already requested the Speaker to arrange time for a two-day debate on the proposed agreement. “We at the same time demand the Government not to take any more steps without presenting this issue to Parliament.”

The NFF would never allow the materialization of the CEPA for the benefit of Indian businessmen at the cost of local businessmen, he added.

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