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There was a serious security lapse, says Indian mission

COLOMBO: Upset by local media reports that India was responsible for the lapse in the security cover to National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan during his visit here for the SAARC Summit, the Indian High Commission asserted that “there was a serious lapse’ in some of the arrangements.

However, it did not elaborate on the nature of the lapse.

In a statement, the High Commission said:

“The attention of this High Commission has been drawn to various media reports regarding the security cover to Mr. Narayanan during the recently concluded 15th SAARC Summit.

“This High Commission wishes to state that there was a serious lapse, in that some of the arrangements discussed and agreed to in advance, did not get implemented on the ground. The matter was immediately discussed with Sri Lankan security authorities and remedial measures taken jointly.

“It is not the practice of this High Commission to comment on security issues in detail. Sri Lankan security authorities have apologised to Mr. Narayanan. We now consider this matter closed.”

Senior Minister and defence spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella told Parliament on Tuesday that security was ensured for the SAARC summit to such an extent that Mr. Narayanan “could go back to the hotel in a taxi.”

The Minister was responding to a remark by UNP MP Dayasiri Jayasekera that though the government spent Sri Lanka Rs.20 million for the security of the SAARC Summit, Mr. Narayanan had to go back to the hotel in a taxi.

The Indian mission appears to have been particularly irked by a report in a local daily.

It said that the row over neglecting Mr. Narayanan’s security on the opening-day of the summit at the BMICH, initially blamed on the host, has taken a new turn with a revelation that the official arrived at the venue earlier in the company of Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon and was expected to return the same way.

The report further said that the Indian delegation was staying at Taj Samudra under a heavy security blanket.

“India brought nearly 300 bodyguards to reinforce Sri Lankan security services while two Destroyers were positioned outside Sri Lankan territorial waters for the duration of SAARC.”

According to officials from both the sides, at the conclusion of the opening ceremony of the summit, Mr. Narayanan decided to travel back to the hotel where the Indian delegation was staying after the vehicle assigned to him failed to turn up.

Mr. Narayanan was stopped at a military check-point as part of the normal security drill followed during the summit period. It led to a verbal duel and the security personnel allowed him to proceed after a while.

“Yes, there was a slight delay in the arrival of the vehicle assigned to pick up the India’s National Security Advisor and the government has tendered an unconditional apology for the lapse. However, we believe that Mr. Narayanan should not have taken the risk of returning back to the hotel in another vehicle,” a Sri Lankan official said.

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