Thursday, 7 August 2014 01:15
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By Ashwin Hemmathagama
Our Lobby Correspondent
The listing of some of the controversial appointments in the Sri Lanka Foreign Service heated the House yesterday, when Opposition MP Anura Dissanayake proposed a “restructure” to “uphold the country and safeguard its reputation” at important and strategic occasions represented by the embassies and the high commissions.
According to MP Dissanayake, the “kith and kin stationed in high posts all over the world” in Sri Lankan embassies and high commissions have let down the country since they are unable to act accordingly due to their lack of knowledge, education and experience. MP Dissanayake read out a long list of appointments in the House.
“Gone are the days that Sri Lanka was little known. Today, Thailand spins cotton wool grown in Brazil to make thread, which we Sri Lankans use to make garments used by the Eskimos in the North Pole. A small incident taking place in a remote part of another country is taken across the world within a few seconds. The Ministry of External Affairs has a key role to play in the world, which is without boundaries. Western countries have established several different socio political organisations to safeguard their interests. The organisations and the respective countries have their agenda for Sri Lanka. To face these issues we need to dispatch our brigade of Foreign Service personnel led by a General, none other than Prof. G.L. Peiris, who is well-educated.
“He is a veteran politician and was instrumental in bringing package deals and devolution of power. Some identified him as ‘Package Pappa’. He is a master of adapting to suit different governments lead by Ranil Wickremesinghe, Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga and Mahinda Rajapaksa. But you have failed to play the role of the Minister of External Affairs. Your Ministry is stranded and is now lead by unseen forces. The Sri Lanka Foreign Service has become a UPFA branch office similar to what has been done to the Police, Judiciary, Inland Revenue, Customs and Auditor General,” charged MP Dissanayake.
