Diplomat asks if he is under surveillance

• Details of visitors to Canada House exposed in the press
• The Canadian diplomat was concerned how the private meeting got media coverage when there was no media outside the residence at the time

By Easwaran Rutnam   

A foreign diplomat in Colombo has asked if he is under surveillance after details of some visitors to his official residence were exposed in the media.   

Canada’s High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, David McKinnon tweeted asking if he was under surveillance after at least two newspapers published details of visitors to Canada House in Colombo 07.   

Two newspapers had reported over the weekend that Bangladesh’s  High Commissioner Tareq Ariful Islam had met David McKinnon at Canada House.   

While the diplomat refused to comment, sources told Daily Mirror the Canadian diplomat was concerned that the private meeting got media coverage when there was no media outside the residence at the time.   

Local media had also reported that the British High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Sarah Hulton had met South Korean Ambassador Woonjin Jeong.   

Both Bangladesh and South Korea are members of the UN Human Rights Council.   

The UN Human Rights Council will be taking a vote on a resolution on Sri Lanka later this month.    Canada and the UK are part of a Core Group on Sri Lanka which is seeking support for the resolution.   

Just recently the European Union (EU) had raised concerns in Geneva over intensified surveillance in Sri Lanka.   
In a statement made at the UN Human Rights Council during the ongoing 46th Session, the EU said it was concerned about intensified surveillance and intimidation, particularly of human rights defenders and victims. 

• Local media had also reported that the British High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Sarah Hulton had met South Korean Ambassador Woonjin Jeong