{"id":95708,"date":"2019-11-28T21:40:42","date_gmt":"2019-11-29T03:40:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=95708"},"modified":"2019-11-28T08:17:48","modified_gmt":"2019-11-28T15:17:48","slug":"who-is-responsible-for-the-temporary-kidnapping-of-swiss-embassy-colombo-local-staffer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2019\/11\/28\/who-is-responsible-for-the-temporary-kidnapping-of-swiss-embassy-colombo-local-staffer\/","title":{"rendered":"Who is responsible for the \u2018temporary kidnapping\u2019 of Swiss embassy Colombo local staffer?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s\nnever a dull moment in Sri Lanka. A crucial election is over. An outcome not\nliked or expected by those that manipulated regime change in 2015. It was expected\nthat the country would witness attacks on multiple fronts aiming at embarrassing\nthe new leader & new government internationally & destabilizing the\ncountry. So when the news of a \u2018temporary kidnapping\u2019 of a local staffer from\nthe very country that has given safe haven to a controversial police officer\nwho has fled Sri Lanka with his family, we all want the government to get to\nthe bottom of it & find the culprits & expose the truth behind this\nkidnapping. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\nare no investigators but let us view the news of this incident by statements of\ninternational press and foreign ministry officials. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who has been kidnapped:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A\nlocal employee (female) probably Tamil working at the Swiss embassy Colombo<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Monday\n25th<\/sup> November 2019 in broad daylight <\/p>\n\n\n\n

From where:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Close\nto the Swiss embassy \u2013 detained against her will on the street<\/strong>\u201d (Swiss Foreign Ministry\nspokesman) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For how long:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

About 2 hours<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According\nto www.lankanewsweb.net<\/a> (Tue 26 Nov 2019):<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.lankanewsweb.net\/67-general-news\/52443-Swiss-Ambassador-to-meet-Premier-regarding-an-abduction<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Swiss\nambassador to meet PM Mahinda Rajapakse regarding abduction. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018employee stationed in the Swiss\nembassy reportedly abducted in a white van\u2019<\/strong> and \u2018released\nafter around two hours\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Swiss embassy is located in Gregory\u2019s Road behind the D S\nSenanayake school and virtually opposite the school\u2019s boarding. There is a\nregular flow of traffic with school white vans parked along the road. How did\nsuch an abduction in a \u2018white van\u2019 take place?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Given that she was returned around two hours \u2013 and with heavy\ntraffic it is impossible that she would have been taken far. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(where was she held \/ how was she released \u2013 was she\nbrought back to where she was taken how & by whom)  <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘The abductee\nwas questioned about Nishantha Silva who worked in the CID\u2019 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According\nto NZZ Swiss news media<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u2018attack\u2019<\/strong> was connected to the high-ranking Sri Lankan police\ninspector who fled to Switzerland<\/strong> \u2018due\nto death threats\u2019<\/strong> because he had been investigating\ncorruption and rights violations in connection with the entourage of\nnewly-elected President Gotabaya Rajapaksa\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(but the Swiss Foreign Ministry official said\nshe was only \u2018threatened\u2019<\/strong> how did \u2018threatened\u2019 became \u2018attacked\u2019. <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If he received death threats shouldn\u2019t he\nhave informed his immediate boss in CID and lodged a police complaint \u2013 why should\nhe go to a foreign embassy?)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The said high-ranking\nofficer had left Sri Lanka on Sunday (24th<\/sup> November 2019) requesting\n\u2018asylum in Switzerland\u2019.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can anyone seek asylum and fly off\nto a foreign country so suddenly? <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

How did he get air ticket (given that\nhe took the flight on a Sunday he would have had to arrange the ticket latest\nSaturday \u2013 which travel agency issued the ticket)\/passport\/visa (Swiss claims\nhe needs 14 days to process visa)\/approvals so quickly and what makes Swiss\nauthority accept his version of the story? Does that mean anyone can claim\ndeath threats and Swiss will give prompt visa & help them settle down in\nSwitzerland? <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wow\u2026good to know! <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

No wonder the State Secretariat for\nMigration is not responding to questions!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

According\nto Swiss Foreign Ministry spokesman Pierre-Alain\nEltschinger<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wednesday 27 November 2019 (two days\nafter the incident)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Swiss\nforeign Ministry in a written statement to swissinfo.ch claims the \u2018woman\nwas threatened\u2019<\/em> <\/strong>in order to force her to disclose \u2018embassy-related information\u2019<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Swiss\nForeign Ministry did not say what the perpetrators were looking for <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Swiss\nForeign Ministry did not mention name of Nishantha Silva or his asylum to\nSwitzerland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(what is this \u2018embassy-related information\u2019 they\nwanted & why did they abduct her \u2018temporarily kidnapped\u2019, how did they know\nwhat she was handling in the embassy or that it was she who was handling\nNishantha Silva\u2019s asylum case)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Swiss\nhad summoned Sri Lanka\u2019s envoy to Swiss. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Switzerland\nhad informed Sri Lankan authorities & demanded immediate investigation<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nhttps:\/\/www.swissinfo.ch\/eng\/diplomatic-incident-_swiss-embassy-worker-kidnapped-and-threatened-in-colombo-\/45397440\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

According\nto BBC (Wed 27th<\/sup> November 2019)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-asia-50578481<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Employee\nof the Swiss embassy in Sri Lanka \u2018detained\nand threatened\u2019<\/strong> in Colombo <\/p>\n\n\n\n

detained against her will on the\nstreet and threatened at length\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Switzerland\nsummoned Sri Lanka\u2019s envoy & demanded in inquiry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Swiss\nembassy did not make any statement on police officers asylum case<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why? The embassy claimed their employee was \u2018temporarily kidnapped\u2019<\/strong> to get \u2018embassy-related\ninformation\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

According\nto New York Times (Wed 27 Nov 2019)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Swiss embassy employee is abducted and\nasked about asylum applications and investigators are banned from leaving just\ndays after Gotabaya Rajapakse is elected\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Swiss\nembassy statement on abduction says its employee was only questioned about \u2018embassy-related information\u2019<\/strong> \u2013 the NYT\nsays Swiss employee was questioned about \u2018asylum\napplications\u2019<\/strong>. Who is telling the truth?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From\nwhere did NYT hear that investigators were banned from leaving the country?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NYT\ngoes on to say \u2018officials and\njournalists who investigated the Rajapaksas for human rights abuses &\ncorruption began trying to flee the country\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Really \u2013 how many is NYT referring too? Then the entire FCID and\nother corruption bodies with their staff investigating the Rajapakses would have\nalso fled \u2013 did they all get asylum too?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NYT\nsays the abductee was \u2018forced to hand\nover sensitive embassy information\u2019 <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

How did she do that \u2013 did she have a file on her while going to\nwork?  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

NYT\nsays the \u2018men forced her to unlock her\ncellphone data, which contained information about Sri Lankans who have recently\nsought asylum in Switzerland and the names of Sri Lankans who aided them as\nthey fled the country because they feared for their safety after Gotabaya\nRajapakse won\u2019.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Are embassy staff allowed to put asylum information on to their\nmobile phones?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Are embassy staff also having names of Sri Lankans aiding asylum\nseekers to flee country also on mobile phones. What if they lose the phone? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

NYT\nsays that the President had imposed a blanket travel ban on 704 members of the\nSri Lankan police unit who had been investigating the Rajapakses<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How does NYT knows that this particular police unit has 704\npolice staff?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NYT\nsays that \u2018diplomatic officials\u2019<\/strong>\nspeaking on condition of anonymity due to security concerns said the men who\nheld the embassy employee threatened to kill her if she told anyone\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Diplomatic officials enjoy diplomatic immunity so why fear\nsecurity concerns? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now that this employee has disclosed her \u2018abduction\u2019 what is the\nfate NYT is implying?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NYT\nreveals that the police investigator had fled\nto Switzerland with his family on Sunday\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

How did an entire family obtain air tickets \/ visa etc to travel\non a Sunday unless it was all pre-planned & pre-booked?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According\nto ColomboPage Nishantha Silva & family left Sri Lanka <\/strong>on a Swiss Air flight without the\npermission of the Police Department\u201d<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Swiss\nForeign Ministry spokesman Pierre-Alain Eltschinger tells NYT that \u2018local employee of the embassy was detained\nagainst her will on the street and threatened at length by unidentified men in\norder to force her to disclose embassy-related information\u2019.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

NYT contradicts itself because the Swiss Foreign Ministry\nofficial never mentioned that the employee was forced to unlock her phone data\ncontaining information about Sri Lankans seeking asylum in Switzerland or names\nof those helping them flee \u2013 so why is NYT creating false stories?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How does anyone \u2018detain\u2019 a person on the street where lots of\npeople and traffic can be seen?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NYT\nalso cites Prageeth Ekneligoda\u2019s wife who \u2018fears for her safety\u2019 and it is a\nsurprise that Swiss authorities have not helped her & her sons to seek\nasylum in Switzerland. Perhaps everyone claiming to fear living under a\nRajapakse government should also be given asylum in Western developed countries\nof their choice! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According\nto TamilGuardian (Wed 27 Nov 2019)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.tamilguardian.com\/content\/swiss-ambassador-meet-sri-lankan-prime-minister-after-embassy-employee-abducted<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Switzerland embassy\nemployee was reportedly abducted in a vehicle, detained for two hours and then\nreleased\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

TamilGuardian makes first mention of the\nemployee being abducted in a vehicle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

TamilGuardian like NYT says the staffer was\nquestioned about Nishantha Silva although the Swiss Foreign Ministry spokesman\ndid not say so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

TamilGuardian & NYT both claim Nishantha\nSilva fled with his family (how come they know if such details were not\ndivulged by the Swiss authorities)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According\nto Sri Lanka Foreign Ministry (28th<\/sup> November 2019)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

http:\/\/www.adaderana.lk\/news_intensedebate.php?nid=59331<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ministry of Foreign Affairs informed of incident on Tuesday 26th<\/sup>\nNovember 2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the incident took place during broad\nday light on Monday 25th<\/sup> November, why was it not reported\nimmediately to the Foreign Ministry (or has the adaderana.lk news reported\nerred in the date given?)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Police have commenced immediate Investigations  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sri Lanka\u2019s Ambassador to Germany (Karunasena Hettiarachch) is\nconcurrently accredited to Switzerland to\nmeet<\/strong> Swiss authorities to provide update <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(if K Hettiarachchi is the envoy representing\nboth Germany & Swiss and according to this news he is \u2018to meet\u2019 Swiss\nauthorities, how is that swissinfo.ch says Swiss had already summoned Sri Lanka\u2019s\nenvoy to Swiss on 27th<\/sup> November 2019?) <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So what was the purpose behind this temporary kidnapping? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who serves to benefit by it? Leave aside who serves to benefit\nby it \u2013 we know who doesn\u2019t \u2026 and that is the government in power. So was this\nstaged? That is for the government to conclude the investigation and expose the\nculprits as early as possible. The public is watching with anticipation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

From the media articles on the incident we can conclude that\nwhat was officially disclosed by the Swiss Foreign Ministry spokesman is way\ndifferent to what has been written. The Swiss spokesman did not mention about\nany Nishantha Silva or asylum incident, as been reason for the temporary\nkidnapping, nor did he say anything about her phone been unlocked and sensitive\ndata being taken. So much of what has been written on the incident has been\nnothing but salt and pepper added to weave a different version to the story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let us wait with anticipation until Sri Lanka\u2019s government comes to the bottom of this \u2018temporary kidnapping\u2019 & discloses the culprits whoever they may be. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shenali D Waduge<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s never a dull moment in Sri Lanka. A crucial election is over. An outcome not liked or expected by those that manipulated regime change in 2015. It was expected that the country would witness attacks on multiple fronts aiming at embarrassing the new leader & new government internationally & destabilizing the country. So when […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1498,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-95708","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-shenali-waduge"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95708","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1498"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=95708"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95708\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=95708"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=95708"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=95708"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}