Former Swiss Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Jörg Frieden, who has been dispatched to Sri Lanka to clarify the matter involving the alleged abduction of their local staffer, is expected to remain in the country for sometime and discuss the matter further with the Foreign Minister.
Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena told the media at a Ministry function on Friday that he met the former Ambassador on Thursday and the latter sought to clarify the incident involving the Embassy’s local staffer. Current Swiss Ambassador in Colombo Hanspeter Mock accompanied the visiting envoy to the meeting. Frieden’s visit preceded a telephone conversation between Minister Gunawardena and his Swiss counterpart Ignazio Cassis.
A senior official of the Foreign Relations Ministry said the matter is now before courts and beyond the jurisdiction of the Ministry. “We have made our position clear and now we will let the due judicial process take its course,” he added. After the meeting between Minister Gunawardena and the Ambassadors, the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDAD) in Bern in a statement said, “Sri Lankan authorities are responsible for ensuring that the health and safety of FDFA staff are protected, which includes the embassy employee involved in the current proceeding.”
The Swiss Ambassadors had stressed that in the present case, the principle of the presumption of innocence applies and had requested that the staffer be transferred to a prison hospital on humanitarian grounds. It was not made clear if the Minister had agreed to that request.