Government mustn’t ‘play hide and seek’

JUN 08 2018

While the current Government has been criticized for its lacklustre approach on economic development, the other factor that has irked several segments of the community is the move towards signing various trade agreements with other countries.
Over the past few years, we saw protests pertaining to the Economic and Technology Co-operation Agreement (ETCA) and the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), both of which were to be signed with India.

There were also protests against various stages of the Port City as well. The protests continued even after the current Government decided to go ahead with the project.
Recently, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe accused the members of the Joint Opposition for trying to sabotage the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Singapore.

On most occasions, the main allegation against these agreements is that the stronger party would take advantage of Sri Lanka’s resources whereas Sri Lanka would fall victim as a result of the pact.

The current Government opposed the Port City agreement with China and came into power promising to halt such projects which would be detrimental for the country.
But, the project went through with some changes in the agreement despite facing protests.

ETCA was heavily opposed owing to speculations that Indian professionals would be brought into the country and local professionals would lose out on jobs to the Indians.
In the current context of globalization, it is difficult for a country to survive on its own.
Therefore, mechanisms such as trade agreements work as a tool for countries to benefit from each other. Indeed, there are instances where the country which is slightly more powerful takes advantage of the other. But on the whole, there are benefits for all parties concerned.

When it comes to the reactions of the public to these agreements, there are two sides among many that are of importance.

One is the fact that the Government has failed to discuss the content of such agreements and projects in the open. It is the responsibility of any Government to be transparent about any project regardless of its sensitivities. The people have to know what their representatives are up to.

Secondly, it is important for protestors to know what they are protesting against.
In 2015, when the anti-ETCA campaigns had gained momentum, one of the aspects that came to light was the fact that most of the protestors had no idea about the content of the agreement.

The protests were mostly on the assumption and speculation that Indians were going to take over the country. We also have to keep in mind that there are parties with vested interests that trigger such paranoia among the people.

But, on such cases, the protests should not be against the agreement, but against the Government for not revealing it to the people.
It is the right of the people to know what the leaders, who were elected by the people, do mainly because these agreements are of national interest.

A healthy discourse of such moves would not only enlighten the people, but would also improve the content of the documents so that no party would have to compromise.
The people also have to be proactive. There is the Right to Information (RTI) which is in place. Whether it is functioning the way it is supposed to is a different question, but, the people should make use of these facilities.

You could decide on your next step based on the response to your efforts.
But the Government too should not wait until the public takes to the streets to divulge information. The Government has the responsibility towards the people to do so out of its own volition.