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Sri Lanka has informed the EU about the progress in the reconciliation process and the ongoing efforts to review a controversial anti-terror law that gives police sweeping powers to arrest suspects without trial.

The move came after the 27 member-bloc threatened to withdraw trade concessions for Sri Lanka's exports over concerns that it violates human rights.

The Government of Sri Lanka apprised the European Union (EU) of progress in specific areas of reconciliation, as part of its regular engagement and dialogue with the organisation, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The EU's GSP+ trade concession allows Sri Lankan exports to Europe without taxation. This has been a big boost to Sri Lanka's apparel and fishing industries.

The facility was restored in 2017 after it was suspended in 2010 based on the then government's failure to honour human and labour rights.

The resolution noted that Sri Lanka's GSP+ categorisation was conditional on the implementation of rules under international human rights treaties, in the aftermath of the 30-year-long civil war with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in the island nation.

In response, Sri Lanka's Foreign Ministry on June 25 informed the EU of action underway to revisit provisions of the PTA with the study of existing legislation, past practice, and international best practices, the report said.

The EU was informed of the decision made by the Cabinet on June 21 to appoint a Cabinet Sub-committee and an Officials Committee to assist the Cabinet Sub-Committee, to review the PTA, and to submit a report to the Cabinet within three months, the statement said.

The EU was also informed of the granting of pardon by the President to 16 former LTTE cadres convicted and serving sentences under the PTA.

To mark a Buddhist festival on June 24, the government of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa pardoned 94 prisoners, including 16 people convicted under the PTA. The law allows authorities to arbitrarily detain individuals for up to 18 months without charge or trial.

The organisation was also apprised of the process that has been set in motion to release detainees who have been in judicial custody for a prolonged period, under the PTA.

Regarding progress in ongoing reconciliation mechanisms, the government informed the EU of the release of Rs 79 million to the Office of Reparations in June to settle 1,230 processed claims for reparation.

The main Tamil party, the TNA, has been pressing along with rights groups to seek the release of Tamil political prisoners, who have been held without charges for over 10-20 years.

TNA sources said nearly 100 Tamil political prisoners are being held without charges.

The LTTE ran a military campaign for a separate Tamil homeland in the northern and eastern provinces of the island nation for nearly 30 years before its collapse in 2009 after the Sri Lankan Army killed its supreme leader Velupillai Prabhakaran.

The Sri Lankan government rejected the claim that the PTA has been systematically used for arbitrary arrests and the detention of the members of Tamil and Muslim minorities.

Read more:
Sri Lanka informs European Union of action to review anti-terror law and on progress in reconciliation - Economic Times