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Message: <blockquote data-quote="monson" data-source="post: 23822332" data-attributes="member: 30005">Sirisena: surveys would reveal that “70 to75%” of the people are with him. <img src="/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/default/lol.gif"  class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":lol:" title="LOL    :lol:" data-shortname=":lol:" />COLOMBO: At the meeting between Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena and foreign envoys here on Monday,  the European Union (EU) Ambassador Tung-Lai Margue warned that if democratic norms and constitutional provisions are not observed in handling  the on-going political crisis in Sri Lanka, the EU may consider withdrawing the trade concessions the island nations enjoys under the General System of Preferences Plus (GSP Plus)According to the International Trade Centre, in 2009, a year before the EU withdrew  GSP Plus concessions from Sri Lanka on human rights issues, Lanka’s exports to EU were worth US$ 2.3 billion. Despite the withdrawal of GSP Plus, exports expanded thereafter to reach US$ 2.4 billion by 2015.But the rate of increase had declined in comparison with other countries including Bangladesh and Pakistan.And between 2010 and 2017, when the GSP Plus was not there, Sri Lanka lost up to LKR 250 billion (US$ 1.45 billion) in export earnings from the EU.But as in the case of President Mahinda Rajapaksa in 2010, Sirisena was unfazed by the EU threat on Monday.In 2010, Rajapaksa had dismissed the withdrawal as a matter of no great consequence, when seen against the benefit of fighting the Tamil Tiger rebels to the finish.In fact, Sri Lanka’s exports to EU increased, albeit marginally during the ban.On the perceived unpopularity or unacceptability of his act of removing Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in the way he did,  Sirisena reportedly said that the Western envoys appeared to be unaware of the “pulse of the people”.The President suggested that the foreign missions  get surveys done to ascertain the common man’s thinking, and added the surveys would reveal that “70 to75%” of the people are with him.More:<a href="https://newsin.asia/defiant-sirisena-claims-75-popular-support-as-eu-threatens-trade-sanctions/" target="_blank">https://newsin.asia/defiant-sirisena-claims-75-popular-support-as-eu-threatens-trade-sanctions/</a></blockquote>

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