By P K Balachandran | ENS - COLOMBO
08th April 2013 08:04 AM
The Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has been delaying the issue of a diplomatic visa to A Sabrullah Khan, who had been designated Deputy High Commissioner of Sri Lanka in Chennai in December last year.
The Sunday Times, which broke the story, speculated that New Delhi was dragging its feet because of the on-going anti-Sri Lanka agitation in Tamil Nadu spearheaded by both the major political parties in the State. But the Lanka Foreign Secretary, Karunatilaka Amunugama, told Express that he did not think that the delay was linked to the happenings in Tamil Nadu.
“Such delays are not unusual. Appointments of this sort have to get a number of clearances in the host country and these take time. However, to my knowledge, this is the first time that we have encountered such a delay vis-a-vis a posting in India,” Amunugama said. While confirming the delay, an official of the Indian High Commission in Colombo said that no further information was available as the matter was handled entirely by the MEA in New Delhi .In the absence of a Deputy High Commissioner in Chennai, the Lankan mission there is looked after by an Acting DHC, Ameer Ajwad.
Subtle Visa War
However, there is a subtle, behind the scenes, “visa war” going on between India and Sri Lanka for the past few months. The context is the strained bilateral relations following India’s stand on the human rights situation in Sri Lanka at the 19th and 22nd sessions of the UNHRC in Geneva. Under pressure from Tamil Nadu, India voted against Lanka when the US introduced two resolutions critical of the island nation’s rights record.
Lankans allege that one-year visas are not being given any more, and that the period has been slashed to six months. Indian officials, however, clarified that one-year visas had not been suspended, though officials could now exercise discretion in giving them.
Indians, on the other hand, complain that they are facing difficulties in getting business visas. More recently, a journalist representing a leading Indian daily had to face an unusual delay.
The Sunday Times, which broke the story, speculated that New Delhi was dragging its feet because of the on-going anti-Sri Lanka agitation in Tamil Nadu spearheaded by both the major political parties in the State. But the Lanka Foreign Secretary, Karunatilaka Amunugama, told Express that he did not think that the delay was linked to the happenings in Tamil Nadu.
“Such delays are not unusual. Appointments of this sort have to get a number of clearances in the host country and these take time. However, to my knowledge, this is the first time that we have encountered such a delay vis-a-vis a posting in India,” Amunugama said. While confirming the delay, an official of the Indian High Commission in Colombo said that no further information was available as the matter was handled entirely by the MEA in New Delhi .In the absence of a Deputy High Commissioner in Chennai, the Lankan mission there is looked after by an Acting DHC, Ameer Ajwad.
Subtle Visa War
However, there is a subtle, behind the scenes, “visa war” going on between India and Sri Lanka for the past few months. The context is the strained bilateral relations following India’s stand on the human rights situation in Sri Lanka at the 19th and 22nd sessions of the UNHRC in Geneva. Under pressure from Tamil Nadu, India voted against Lanka when the US introduced two resolutions critical of the island nation’s rights record.
Lankans allege that one-year visas are not being given any more, and that the period has been slashed to six months. Indian officials, however, clarified that one-year visas had not been suspended, though officials could now exercise discretion in giving them.
Indians, on the other hand, complain that they are facing difficulties in getting business visas. More recently, a journalist representing a leading Indian daily had to face an unusual delay.
