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EU MPs visit
Lanka protests aspersions cast on Government
Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to the European Union (EU) Ravinatha Aryasinha
on Monday protested to the President of the European Parliament Dr.
Hans-Gert Pottering, on the aspersions cast on the Sri Lanka Government
in a statement issued by Robert Evans, Member of the European
Parliament, who headed a group of MEPs of the European Parliament’s
South Asia Delegation, at the conclusion of a five day visit to Sri
Lanka from July 21-25.
Aryasinha said Sri Lanka was keen to engage with the European
Parliament cutting across country and party lines, and it was in that
spirit that a comprehensive programme was arranged for the visiting EU
Parliamentary delegation, in the period requested by them, despite the
heavy commitments of the SAARC Summit the following week.
He expressed the displeasure of the government on the manner in which
the two day visit to the Eastern Province was sabotaged at the 11th hour
by the European representatives and their effort through a pre-departure
statement and press conference to blame the Sri Lanka Government for
having “despite repeated assurances, endless complication resulted in
the party being turned back from Ratmalana airport, destroying months of
preparation, time and expense”.
In the recent instance, the Government had initially offered air
transportation for the visiting delegation at the request of Evans, but
this was subsequently refused by the EC delegation office in Colombo
which claimed they will make an alternate arrangement using a UN plane.
Eventually the plane to be deployed was an aircraft chartered from a
South African company, which had arrived in Sri Lanka only two days
prior to the visit with limited time for obligatory security clearance
of the aircraft and familiarisation of the route by the crew, and the
government was in the process of expediting the clearance of the
aircraft, when the visit was unilaterally aborted by the visiting
delegation.
Pottering was also informed that it had subsequently been brought to
the Sri Lanka Government’s attention that the EC office in Colombo had
previously reserved and even paid a deposit of US $ 2500 for an aircraft
to carry the delegation from a local company which conducted regular
flights to and from Trincomalee, which was in possession of the relevant
clearances and was familiar with the route.
A letter addressed to the EC Office in Colombo by the Foreign
Ministry on August 8, 2008 drawing attention to this matter and seeking
clarification, has yet to be replied by the EC Office.
Aryasinha said this issue had received much attention in the Sri
Lankan press following Evan’s statement blaming the government, with
several reports also drawing attention to Evan’s apparently long
standing relationship with the LTTE.
He said in the light of the emerging evidence, in order that this
unfortunate incident does not undermine the esteem in which the EU
Parliament is held in Sri Lanka, this matter must be inquired into in a
transparent manner, a determination made as to who on the EU side
sabotaged the visit to the East and why, and the accusations levelled
against the Sri Lankan government retracted.
Sri Lanka was keen to engage with the European Parliament cutting
across country and party lines |
