Execute his diplomatic duties: Buddhika
Ambassador Liyanage should not involve in money matters
Deputy Minister Buddhika Pathirana said yesterday that the Ambassador to Qatar A.S.P. Liyanage is running the Sri Lankan school in Qatar for money instead of executing the diplomatic duties.
He said the President, Prime Minister and the Foreign Ministry should take action against the ambassador who is attempting to snatch about Rs. 450 million (QR 9mn) worth of funds of the Sri Lankan school. Addressing a press briefing which was arranged to reveal and addressed the matter of alleged acquisition of Stafford Sri Lankan school in Qatar to the Qatar Embassy by Mr. Liyanage, the minister said the ambassador is acting for his own agenda and accused him of not doing any diplomatic service to the Sri Lankans. A group of academic and non-academic staff of the Sri Lankan school including its former Chairman Kumudu Fonseka and principal Upali Jayasinghe who met the minister yesterday at his office, also joined with the press briefing to reveal their side of the story. “The Qatar ambassador is a disgrace to the diplomatic mission and to the country. He is trying to dissolve the school management board and change the constitution to privatise the school. Mr. Liyanage is tarnishing the country’s image. He is doing everything on his own with regard to the school funds and the rest of the world thinks this is the opinion of the Sri Lankan government. I could not understand who is behind the Ambassador. The Qatar embassy had become a kingdom of thugs and madmen,” the deputy minister said. He said the President should appoint qualified professsionals as Sri Lankan envoys abroad without appointing retired officers in an attempt to please them.
Former Chairman of the Stafford school Kumudu Fonseka said that he requested the government to prevent the embassy from intervening into the affairs of the school and to direct the embassy to focus on diplomatic affairs.
“The school was functioning for over 17 years without any issue or any intervention of the embassy. Today, the ambassador is using his immunity to take control of the school which has a fund of Rs.450 million.the government should prevent this crisis,” he said.