Diplomats face war at door-step and war with bosses at home
Adiplomat expecting to be appointed as Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to a newly established mission in an Eastern European nation has written to the Foreign Ministry raising concern over the delay in confirming his appointment.
The career diplomat, who is from the Sri Lanka Foreign Service (SLFS), has written the letter after coming to know that his appointment had been put on hold until a suitable successor has been found for his current post, which is in a West Asian country, now in the news due to the ongoing war in its extended geographical area.
Not satisfied by writing to his immediate superiors in his ministry, he has copied what would be a confidential letter outlining his credentials and the need for him to get out of the West Asian country and go to Eastern Europe to others in the government as well, particularly the Prime Minister. He has advised, in a letter replete with glaring spelling errors in English, that the ministry can still proceed with his nomination to the Eastern European nation by seeking the agreement of that country while also simultaneously submitting his nomination to Parliament’s Committee on High Posts.
What his urgency to get out to Eastern Europe probably is what baffles the ministry. Especially when there's a need to have someone in the country he presently is due to the unfolding war in West Asia. His recommendation for a transfer also seems to have the flavour of political influence at play.
The ministry may have to come up with rules relating to its diplomats serving abroad using social media, especially WhatsApp and Facebook if it doesn't want to wash dirty linen in public--or worse still, embarrass the government by making their private views public.
It was only last week in this cafe's menu card did we refer to one of our publicity loving ambassador's posting photographs of himself on Facebook and saying what a wonderful job he was doing in the midst of a war. He even ran down his predecessor saying that Sri Lankans in the country he was serving found him far more approachable. Patting himself on the back, he went on to comment on what ought to have been government policy.
Sri Lanka's Ambassador to Israel, wore the hat and sent this newspaper a long letter giving his version of events. He accused persons inside the "corridors of the foreign ministry" of telling us about his behaviour. Terming the news item "non newsworthy" and gossip, he contradicts himself by saying the photographs he posted on Facebook shows the importance of the work his embassy does during the crisis in Israel with a war on, and being short-staffed.
He then goes on to refer to the 14 books he has written in Sinhala. These have been translated into English and Tamil and therefore he needs no extra publicity. He then diverts to slamming his colleagues in the Foreign Ministry in Colombo, squarely accusing them of jealousy at his rise in the diplomatic service. He claims many of them have entered through "influence and manipulation." He goes on to criticise his colleagues in the ministry, who despite serving for 25 years in the Foreign Service have not got their mandatory Masters degree. He adds that he is willing to give a journalist from this newspaper all the details of those in the ministry who have gone places due to influence. He winds up quoting from the English poet William Blake on 'Jealousy'.
His conduct came up for discussion initially when a cabinet minister complained to his colleague in the foreign ministry. This week, both ministers got the ambassador on the line and gave him an earful. For the ambassador it seems he is having a war at his door-step, and a war with his bosses at home.