Srilanka, Oct. 20 -- A security Bill meant to please Brussels may end up angering it

Sri Lanka has spent four decades trying to rid itself of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), a law used so freely that even its authors, in the 1979 parliament, called it temporary. The Protection of the State from Terrorism Bill (PSTA), gazetted and tabled this week, is meant to replace it.

Critics say it keeps much of the old machinery. That matters beyond the human-rights lobby, because the EU's GSP+ trade concession depends on it.

The price of access

GSP+ is not a gift. It gives Sri Lankan goods duty-free entry to the EU in exchange for compliance with 27 international conventions on human rights, labour and the environment, a list that grows ...