News
British High Commission issued a ‘separate joint statement’
The British High Commission in Colombo has responded to last week’s front page report in the Sunday Times headlined “Maldives seeks seat in UN Security Council, Unseats its own MPs.”
An e-mail message says, “We would like to address an inaccuracy in it, relating to the British High Commission in Colombo”.
The article notes the following; “The deployment of troops has been condemned by many countries. British High Commission officials who convened a meeting of the diplomatic community in Colombo this week, failed in their efforts to have a joint statement issued expressing concern over the political developments in the archipelago. Thereafter, they condemned the move in the Maldives, separately.”
“However, we would like to clarify that the British High Commission in Colombo, issued a joint statement on the Maldives.”
Our Diplomatic Editor says: Yes, the British High Commission did issue what they call a “joint statement.” But they issued it “separately”. For the record, the British High Commission issued this ‘joint statement’ separately, with some EU countries and the US.
Taking umbrage under those two words in Her Majesty the Queen’s English, they have glossed over a fact which is a gross inaccuracy on their own part. Our report makes clear they did make efforts to issue a “joint statement” with those whom they had invited for a discussion on the situation in the Maldives and wanted them to be signatories to a “joint statement”, but some of those whom the High Commission invited DID NOT become a party to it. So, it is those who remained – from the EU and the US, who chose to make what the High Commission now touts is a “joint statement.”
And when asked by the Sunday Times who else took part in the meeting, here’s their official response; “since the meeting with other members of the diplomatic community was private and the British High Commission does not comment on private meetings – we are unable to disclose who was at the meeting”.
By Gad Sir, so much for that, what.