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US envoy’s visit: US embassy rejects EAM statement
The United States embassy has rejected a claim that Sri Lanka’s Ministry of External Affairs had merely asked a senior US official to reschedule her visit and not refused her a visa. Catherine Russell, US Ambassador-at-Large for Women’s Issues, was due to in Sri Lanka tomorrow and Tuesday. Her visit was “cancelled” after US authorities were reportedly informed by the Sri Lankan embassy in Washington that she would not get a visa. No new dates have been fixed.
The Ministry of External Affairs insists that Ms. Russell’s visa application was not turned down. “On the contrary, the relevant US authorities had been advised by the Ministry of External Affairs, that following consultations with the relevant agencies, the dates proposed for the visit were not convenient,” a statement from the ministry said.
But there is now confusion over what had transpired, with both the Ministry and the US Embassy holding fast to positions already taken. A US Embassy spokesman said on Friday that the embassy had received “no official change of position on Ambassador Catherine Russell’s earlier visa refusal”.“If, however, the Sri Lankan government has changed its mind about issuing a visa to Ambassador Russell that is a positive thing,” he said. “We remain committed to advocating on behalf of gender issues across Sri Lanka.”
Ms. Russell’s visa application was handed over to the Sri Lankan Embassy in Washington on January 27. Three days later — on January 30 — the External Affairs Ministry had instructed Sri Lanka’s embassy in Washington to tell the US authorities that the dates indicated were not suitable. It said the Ambassador could reschedule the visit based on mutually convenient dates.
It is not immediately clear if the Sri Lankan embassy in Washington had followed instructions and informed the US authorities specifically of a need to change the dates of the visit. The Embassy is entirely manned by political appointees and has no professional diplomats on its staff. In its statement, the External Affairs Ministry said Minister G.L. Peiris had on two occasions informed US Ambassador Michelle Sison of the inconvenience of dates and that the visit needed to be rescheduled. “Accordingly, she undertook to inform the US authorities in this regard,” the ministry said. “Rescheduling of a visit does not amount to refusal of a visa. The position was fully and clearly explained to the US Embassy.”
But the US embassy on Friday denied it was ever told “before the visa was refused” that there were scheduling problems. Instead, it was conveyed on the morning of January 31 (evening of January 30 in Washington) that Ambassador Russell’s application had not received the requisite approval.Relations between the two countries have been fraught in recent years, not least because of two US-led resolutions on Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. A third will be presented next month.
The story surrounding Ms. Russell’s visa first broke on February 3, when the US embassy publicly expressed regret at the refusal of the Government of Sri Lanka to authorise Ambassador Russell’s visit. A high-ranking official, she was once the Chief of Staff to Jill Biden, wife of US Vice President Joe Biden. She started her career on Capitol Hill as Counsel, then Senior Counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Technology Subcommittee, chaired by Senator Patrick Leahy. She also served as Staff Director to the Senate Judiciary Committee under Senator Biden.
In Sri Lanka, Ambassador Russell had planned to spend a day in Colombo and a day in Jaffna. Her agenda had included meetings with Government officials, the Women’s Parliamentary caucus and with women’s organisations in Sri Lanka. Authoritative sources said the US embassy now hoped to connect her with Sri Lankan civil society, parliamentarians, women’s groups and other representatives via video conference. Her objective is reportedly to raise their concerns about the issues women face in Sri Lanka.