( June 01, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Irrespective of a person’s nationality, security concerns did apply said Prof. Rajiva Wijesinghe, Secretary to the Ministry of Human Rights yesterday commenting on the reports of a British passport holder who had been found among those in the conflict zone.
Damilvany Gnanakumar, a British passport holder said to be working at a hospital helping victims in the North, has been directed to one of Sri Lanka’s centres housing those who had come from former conflict areas, says international media reports.
Speaking to the Guardian, relatives of Gnanakumar had said that she had been detained a fortnight ago.
According to the Guardian, Damilvany Gnanakumar, who has a background in biomedical science, had called the family home in Sussex on May 19 appealing for help.
A spokesman attached to the British High Commission in Sri Lanka said that the high commission was aware of such a situation. He added that the British High Commission was in contact with the Sri Lankan government to secure the release of the individual who held a British passport.
Prof. Rajiva Wijesinghe, Secretary to the Ministry of Human Rights commenting on the issue said irrespective of the person’s nationality, security concerns did apply.
While it was a consular obligation to look after the interests of their citizen, they certainly did not interfere with the country’s legal process, he said.
“It happens all the time. People with one passport may go to another country and stay on there. Security concerns obviously apply. People who came out of the conflict areas are being security cleared for them to go out or whatever. So this is one of those people. Nationality does not come into it. It is simply that there is a consular obligation on the part of the embassy concerned to keep an eye on this person. But they certainly don’t interfere with the legal proceedings,” said Prof. Wijesinghe.
According to the Guardian, Gnanakumar’s family had arrived in the UK as refugees from Jaffna in November, 1994. She had married in 2003, but the relationship had been troubled and in February 2008, she had returned to Sri Lanka without informing anyone that she was leaving.
Home Unlabelled UK national in North, security concerns apply- Prof. Rajiva
UK national in North, security concerns apply- Prof. Rajiva
By Sri Lanka Guardian • June 01, 2009 • • Comments : 2
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Apply the law of the land.These people should be thought a lesson that carrying passport from another country and to use it as a cover to meddle in another countries affairs is a crime.It looks as she is involved in the whole game and used her so called'british Passport 'as a cover.
after she got herself caught only that everyone was talking about her.
who do these people thinking sri lanka is?Can a sri lankan carrying a sri lankan passport use it as a cover against some other counrty?
Apply to law irrespective of the nationality.If the law let them go they will come again and again knowing that they can easily get away with it.Teach them a lesson.Sri Lanka should be taken seriously.
And what sort of lesson do you think a humanitarian worker helping some of the many thousands of innocent civilian victims of this conflict deserves?
I certainly believe there should be an enquiry into war crimes and genocide.
Now these are things that deserve punishment.
What sort of morality views the provision of medical services to innocent civilians as a crime?
Even enemy combatants have a right to medical treatment under the Geneva convention.
I will tell you what sort of morality, the same rascist morality that allows the wholesale slaughter of civilian men, women and children because they have ceased to view them as human beings and through that surrendered their own humanity.
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