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Tony Blair, family due in Sri Lanka
Britain’s former prime minister Tony Blair is due on a two-week visit to Colombo. The Sri Lanka Foreign Ministry has dubbed it “a private holiday.” Mr. Blair and his family including wife Cherie Booth QC are expected to arrive in August but the precise date is yet to be confirmed. On June 17, I inquired from the Sri Lanka Foreign Ministry whether it was correct that Tony Blair was due to visit Colombo, the purpose of the visit, whether he had been invited by Sri Lanka and if so by whom, and when and for what purpose.
Confirming the visit, the Foreign Ministry said it was a private visit for a holiday in the south of the island and no one in authority had invited him to Colombo. Meetings with President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe have been requested while he is expected to be hosted to lunch by Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera.
Ms. Blair earlier met then High Commissioner to London, Dr Chris Nonis, to explore any possible avenues for her consultancy Omnia Strategy LLP established in 2011, to be involved in Sri Lanka. This was the time when several western nations including Britain were carrying out a sustained diplomatic onslaught against Sri Lanka on human rights abuses.
Meanwhile, Ms. Blair’s legal consultancy earlier this month signed a deal with the Maldivian Government which is facing international condemnation for human rights abuses.