Sri Lanka accuses Malaysia of failing to protect its envoy

Sri Lanka on Monday accused Malaysia of failing to protect the Sri Lankan High Commissioner of Malaysia Ibrahim Ansar, who was assaulted in Malaysia over the weekend.

The Secretary Sri Lanka's Ministry of Foreign Affairs called in the High Commissioner of Malaysia in Sri Lanka to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to express the condemnation of the Sri Lankan government, on the assault carried out by a group of persons on Sunday, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The High Commissioner was assaulted in a restricted area of the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, while he was in the process of carrying out his official duties.

The Foreign Secretary expressed disappointment that the Malaysian authorities had failed to provide necessary protection to Sri Lanka's High Commissioner despite the High Commissioner bringing to the notice of relevant Malaysian authorities, the need for such protection, in the face of mounting protests especially in the last few days.

The Secretary also conveyed to the High Commissioner, that the government of Sri Lanka insists that immediate and swift action is taken to identify the perpetrators and take legal action to the fullest extent of the law, while also taking immediate measures to provide adequate security for the Sri Lanka High Commissioner, including assigning a Personal Security Officer, providing adequate security to the staff of the High Commission, the official residence and the Chancery premises as well as a Buddhist temple in Sentul, where a Sri Lankan monk was also assaulted on Saturday.

The High Commissioner of Malaysia expressed the deepest regret of the Malaysian government regarding the incident and informed that the Malaysian law enforcement authorities had already arrested five suspects involved in the incident, and that legal action would be taken against the perpetrators. Endit