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DPL Test match over London recruits
From Neville de Silva in London
While Sri Lanka's cricketers were locked in battle with England at Lords, the two countries are in hot dispute on the diplomatic front following an unexpected application made by the Foreign Ministry in Colombo.

Colombo has asked the British Foreign Office to grant visas for 13 Sri Lankans to be attached to the Sri Lanka High Commission in London. The dispute erupted because the 13 persons of Sri Lankan origin to be replaced are local recruits, meaning persons living in Britain.

While the High Commission remains mum on the issue, British sources who did not want to be identified confirmed that a formal approach had been made for visas but that so far they had been refused.

The Sunday Times understands that it is normal diplomatic practice that if staff recruited to a mission locally - that is from the country where the mission is based - are to be replaced such vacancies are generally filled by locally hired persons. It is not the practice to request the host country to issue visas for locally recruited staff to be replaced with foreign staff, certainly not in such large numbers as Colombo has done.

A former diplomat said that to avoid an embarrassing situation, the British Foreign Office might tell Colombo that it would issue the required visas on condition that the persons whose employment is terminated return to Sri Lanka in exchange for those coming to London.

But informed sources said Britain cannot insist on this and the Sri Lanka High Commission cannot give any guarantee because most of them have permanent residency in Britain. They cannot be asked to return. Unconfirmed reports say that all 13 persons named to be sent to the High Commission are from a Colombo suburb.

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