The Sri Lankan government has expressed concern over a recent Memorandum of understanding, signed between the US Embassy in Colombo and the Trincomalee Urban Council, to establish an ‘American Corner’, a public information centre.
Unnamed officials said the External Affairs Ministry had no knowledge of this and did not authorise the MoU, reported the DailyMirror.
Two American corners already exist in Jaffna and Kandy.
According to a fact sheet of the US embassy, “The host institution, the Urban Council, plans to provide support for the maintenance and operation of the Corner. The American Corner will provide access to current and reliable information about the United States via book collections, the internet and through of variety of events such as public readings, films, speaker programs, workshops, meetings and exhibits. Products and services will include books and multimedia collections, periodicals and databases, hi-speed internet access, and cultural and educational programs.”