Frauds by previously trusted high ups
What has happened is absolutely deplorable, and is undoubtedly a huge fraud of public funds. A Deputy Minister has informed the House that the government has decided to hold a full inquiry into ‘deals’ involving the retention of two unknown PR Companies in the US at a huge price to lobby Congress and the Senate.
It is indeed curious as to how the Central Bank of all institutions came into this which was entirely a matter for the Ministry of External Affairs and the Cabinet. Is it not the money that appears to have corrupted our country in a previously unknown, unprecedented and an unheard of manner? Whoever brought the so-called Foreign Affairs Monitor out of nowhere and planted him here has also to take responsibility for his misdeeds.
I have written no less than three times questioning why these so-called PR firms had been retained for I had served in Washington at the worst of times when after the pogrom in July 1983, when innocent Tamils living in Colombo and elsewhere in the country were set upon by thugs led by a Minister of the government and the Tamils living in the US and Canada supported by local Human Rights groups rose up quite naturally against our government and quite rightly wanted action taken against the perpetrators. Ambassador Ernest Corea and I were able to explain to members of the Congress and the Senate and also officials at the White House that what had happened was both unfortunate and indefensible and needed to be condemned but that it was as a result of a provocation by the terrorists who were seeking to set up a separate state.
The non Tamil Lankans in the US were also mobilised and we were able to ensure that our national interest was safeguarded, so much so that thanks to Ambassador Ernest Corea, President Jayawardene was invited by President Regan to be the guest of the State in 1984, an year after the pogrom!!--- we needed no PR firms to Lobby --- we knew what had to be done and safeguarded our country’s interests. I am told that the last government had employed such Lobby firms in the UK and also in India, this is as a result of appointing people who did not know the job to safeguard our national interests.
This government has recalled all these friends and relations who were appointed to our Missions. We must have a law, a Foreign Service Act which sets out rules relating to recruitment to our Foreign Service and all related matters.
I am happy that Minister Samaraweera is said to be intending to overhaul the entire Foreign Policy establishment to meet our needs in this new global world. I recall that when he first became Foreign Minister under the first Mahinda Rajapaksa administration, he appointed a Committee with former PM Mrs Bandaranaike’s Secretary Mr. MDD Peiris as Chair (I had the privilege of serving on it) to rationalise our representation abroad, most unfortunately Minister Samaraweera resigned shortly afterwards and the next Minister was not interested. We do hope the Minister would would take off from where he left and have the Foreign Policy establishment upgraded and reorganised to meet our present needs.
To conclude many of my former colleagues and I were surprised to read that the former HC in London has been appointed as the Advisor on Foreign Affairs to the President, we presume that this is for the President’s visit to the UK and NOT as a replacement for Ambassador Jayantha Dhanapala! That would mean that we are again going down the old road traversed by the previous regime and into disaster.
We must have a law, a Foreign Service Act which sets out rules relating to recruitment to our Foreign Service and all related matters