Sri Lanka is pressing the EU for an urgent clarification regarding the recent cancellation of a visit to Trincomalee by a visiting EU delegation over muddled air transport arrangements.

Accusing the EU Mission in Colombo of deliberately sabotaging the visit, Sri Lanka has questioned the cancellation of the Deccan Aviation Lanka flight for which the Delegation of the European Commission had paid a reservation deposit of USD 2,500.

Sri Lanka has emphasized the folly of chartering an aircraft from a South African company whereas the EU could have comfortably stayed with the original plan for the flight to the East.

In a letter to Peter Maher, Charge d’Affaires of the EU’s Colombo mission, the foreign ministry has severely criticized the EU delegation for placing the

blame squarely on the Sri Lankan government for the last minute cancellation of the Trincomalee visit.

A delegation, led by Robert Evans, a UK member of the Delegation for Relations with the Countries of South Asia was to undertake a two-day visit to the East last July as part of their program in Sri Lanka.

"It may be recalled that the EU parliamentarians chose to state that the visit to Trincomalee did not take place due to ‘a catalogue of chaos and confusion’, Kshenuka Senewiratne, Director General, Europe and CIS has said in a foreign ministry missive.

"In this context, it would be appreciated to receive a clarification on a DECCAN aircraft reserved by your office and the non-usage of same vis-à-vis the dependence of a newly arrived aircraft which needed to receive regulatory, security and safety clearance to conduct this air transfer," she said.

The former High Commissioner to the UK has fired this letter in the absence of Foreign Secretary Dr. Palitha Kohona.

The government has raised the issue with the European Commission after receiving a clarification from the Deccan Aviation Sri Lanka, a domestic airline authorized to operate flights to China Bay, Trincomalee.

Well informed sources said that there hadn’t been a similar incident before involving the EU or any other country. On a directive from Colombo, Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to the EU, Ravinatha Ariyasinha, has brought the conduct of the EC’s Colombo mission as well as the delegation to the notice of Dr. Hans-Gert Pottering last Monday (August 25). At this meeting, Ariyasinha has said the Colombo mission hadn’t clarified its position so far.

Reiterating Sri Lanka’s commitment to enhanced relations with the powerful grouping, Ariyasinha has urged the EU to identify the person who had sabotaged the visit to the East and also sought the withdrawal of Robert Evans’ accusations.