Paisley affair: Full probe by Parliamentary Committee

The Parliament’s Sectoral Oversight Committee on International Relations has initiated a probe on the Ian Paisley affair revealed extensively in the Sunday Times (Political Commentary) of July 29. The Committee has called for a full report from the Foreign Ministry on who invited the British MP, now suspended from the House of Commons, for two different all expenses paid holidays fit enough for a head of state. One was in April 2013 and the other in July 2013.

The directive was given after the Committee summoned four top officials from the Foreign Ministry. They were Secretary Prasad Kariyawasam, Chief Accountant U.G.C. Abeyratne, Chief of Protocol M.R. Hassen and Sarath Dissanayake, who was then Deputy Chief of Protocol.

The Committee’s Chairman and State Minister Ranjith Aluvihare told the four Foreign Ministry officials that their report should be comprehensive since further action was being contemplated. Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) parliamentarian Bimal Ratnayake also raised a series of questions on how such a visit violated all norms.

The Sunday Times learnt that Foreign Secretary Kariyawasam has in turn called for a full report from Majintha Jayasinghe who was the then Chief of Protocol. He is currently Sri Lanka’s Deputy High Commissioner in Malaysia. Foreign Ministry sources said Jayasinghe had said that the request to make arrangements for Paisely had come from the then Sri Lanka High Commissioner in Britain, Dr Chris Nonis. He had obtained approval of the then Foreign Secretary, the late Romesh Jayasinghe.

However, as revealed in these columns, the visit originated after Paisely sent an e-mail to Sajin de Vass Gunawardena, who was then Monitoring MP for the Foreign Ministry. In fact Mr Jayasinghe had quoted that e-mail in the process of confirming the request and making other arrangements.

Other issues surfaced in the process, the Sunday Times learnt were similar visits arranged for at least ten or more persons from United States public relations firms. One such person has been the driver of a car which transported the Sri Lankan director of one such PR firm.

This issue has placed Foreign Secretary Kariyawasam in a dilemma. The visits passed through his hands then as Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to the United States. It was during the Mahinda Rajapaksa administration. Now, serving under President Maithripala Sirisena, he may have to look into these cases too if the Committee decides to probe the matter.

Members of the Sectoral Oversight Committee on International Relations are:

Ranjith Aluvihare (Chairman), Indika Bandaranayake, Dunesh Gankanda, Ajith P. Perera, Eran Wickramaratne, Tharanath Basnayaka, Anuradha Jayaratne, Dinesh Gunawardena, S.M. Chandrasena, Bimal Rathnayake, Annamalai Nadesu Sivasakthi, Lakshman Ananda Wijemanne, Namal Rajapaksa, Nalaka Prasad Colonne, Malith Jayathilake, (Dr.) Kavinda Heshan Jayawardana, Mayantha Yaswanth Dissanayake, S.M. Marikkar, Prasanna Ranatunga and Chaminda Wijesiri.