COUNTRY CLEARANCE GRANTED FOR TREASURY

UNCLAS COLOMBO 002089

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

TREASURY/IET/S. BRUKBACHER

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAID ECON OTRA KPAO AFIN CE
SUBJECT: COUNTRY CLEARANCE GRANTED FOR TREASURY
ENFORCEMENT ADVISORS, FRED BORAKOVE AND CAROL KELLEY
TO TRAVEL TO SRI LANKA (JANUARY 19 TO JANUARY 27,
2007).

REF: 141134z


1. Post grants country clearance to Treasury
Enforcement Advisors, Fred Borakove and Carol Kelley
from January 19 to January 27, 2007. The purpose of
their visit is to deliver the financial investigators
techniques training course to be hosted by the
governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka and
coordinated jointly by the UNODC and the Commonwealth
Secretariat. Embassy control officer is Mr. Richard

SIPDIS
Merrin, Commercial Attache and Economic Officer,
telephone no. (94-11) 249 8770, fax (94-11) 249 8820,
email MerrinRC@state.gov.


2. Post understands that no additional logistical
arrangements are required.


3. As far in advance of the visit as possible, visitors must
provide specific details to the control officer of all support
requirements they will need while at post. Support
requirements include procurement requests, motor pool usage,
shipping assistance, and any and all other service
requirements that will be needed upon arrival or during the
visit.


4. Political and security developments emerge quickly and
frequently in Sri Lanka and the embassy is monitoring these
developments. The current unrest and spate of violent
incidents in the northern and eastern part of the island has
heightened tensions island-wide. A Ceasefire Agreement signed
between the Government of Sri Lanka and the insurgent
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 2002 has been
marred by increasing violence, which has recently included
attacks involving civilians in the north and east of the
country. While foreigners have not in the past been targeted
in the violence, it is still uncertain whether an August 14,
2006 bomb which hit the security detail of the Pakistani High
Commissioner?s convoy was targeted at the High Commissioner or
exclusively at GSL security forces. Once you arrive in Sri
Lanka, please make sure you register with the Consular Office
so the Embassy can communicate any changes in the situation.
As always, we urge you to be cautious and aware of your
surroundings.


5. TDY visitors to Sri Lanka who are coming for official
business purposes must have a visa to enter Sri Lanka, whether
they are traveling on diplomatic, official or tourist
passports. Post will be able to assist in arranging airport
visas only for those passengers who are arriving from a
country in which there is no Sri Lanka Embassy. If there is a
Sri Lanka embassy in your country of residence, please arrange
for a visa through that Embassy. All travelers must send to
Letitia DeSilva (DeSilvaL@State.Gov) and the control officer
(Richard Merrin (MerrinRC@state.gov)),the following
information: Full Name, Date of Birth, Place of Birth,
Passport Number, Place of Issue, Date of Issue, Expiration
Date, length of stay in Sri Lanka and country from which you
will be applying for the visa. The Embassy will send a
diplomatic note to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the MFA
will instruct the Sri Lanka Embassy to issue the visa. This
process may take up to two weeks.


6. Travel by Official Americans to the North and East of Sri
Lanka has been restricted until further notice. Any travel to
these areas requires prior approval by the Ambassador (or the
Charge in his absence).


7. Travelers should exercise caution when working in and near
Government facilities and avoid large gatherings due to the
threat of a potential terrorist incident. Petty crime is
common in Colombo and travelers should avoid using public
transportation other than radio or hotel taxis. Travelers
should keep money or jewelry, when not in immediate use, in
hotel safe deposit boxes. Recent cases of credit card fraud
have been reported. Travelers are encouraged to either pay
with cash or to watch when a merchant ?swipes? the card for a
transaction to ensure it is not swiped more than once.


8. All TDY personnel must check in with the Regional Security
Officer on their first working day in Colombo to receive a
security briefing and an update regarding the terrorist
threat. Please coordinate with your control officer to
schedule this briefing. Visitors requiring access to
classified information while visiting post MUST forward their
security clearance via cable to the RSO. Again, for emergency
contact purposes, all official visitors are required to
register, in person, at the Embassy?s Consular Section, on
their first working day or as soon thereafter as practicable.





9. Travelers whose security orientation training is not
current are strongly urged to participate in one of the NFATC
security overseas seminars for TDY personnel before travel
commences.


10. An Embarkation Tax of SLR 1,500 is required. This tax is
normally included in the airline ticket charges and travelers
should verify the tax has been included.


11. Visitors to the Embassy wishing to access their OpenNet e-
mail from their home post should inform their control officer
before departure. If access to e-mail is necessary, visitors
should have their control officer provide the Colombo ISC
office with the following information at least five working
days in advance of their arrival at post: -- visitor's first
name, middle initial and last name, arrival date at post,
departure date at post, visitor's home OpenNet Exchange Server
Name, the Exchange IP Address and the Domain Name. The contact
e-mail address for Colombo ISC office is: ColomboISCHelpDesk
(SMTP: ColomboISCHelpDesk@state.gov). Colombo's ISC office
will create the guest account and set it up for email access.
When the visitor arrives at post, they will need to check in
with the Colombo ISC office (Room 134) to sign for a User ID
and Password. The Colombo ISC office staff will review with
the visitor the steps for accessing their home e-mail.


12. The Embassy Health Unit suggests that all TDY employees in
Sri Lanka for more than 14 days schedule a briefing with the
Foreign Service Health Practitioner (FSHP). Also, your
control officer can arrange for an electronic version of the
Colombo Health Booklet to be sent to you via email. Please be
advised that while in Sri Lanka, you cannot use your American
health insurance for health care received from local
providers, laboratories, and hospitals. You can obtain
receipts for care received in country to submit to your health
insurance plan for reimbursement. Some facilities will accept
credit card payment, but most require cash. Arrangements for
deferring payment for emergency care are possible if arranged
through the Health Unit, but you must clear all bills for
health services received outside of the Health Unit prior to
leaving Sri Lanka.

BLAKE