Govt. refuses to answer question on special treatment for Udayanga

By Saman Indrajith

The Opposition yesterday asked the government whether it would provide all diplomats with the same facilities as Sri Lankan Ambassador to Ukraine Udayanga Weeratunga. The latter refused to answer the question.

SJB Badulla District MP Chaminda Wijesiri said that Weeratunga had now been given accommodation at Temple Trees after his services to the country. Weeratunga’s present address is No 3, Temple Trees, Kollupitiya. Will a career diplomat such as Ravinatha Aryasinha be given the same benefits and facilities? Aryasinha is known as a diplomat who served the country.” MP Wijesiri raised this as a supplementary question to a query he had raised about Aryasinha’s career records.

Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena said that Aryasinha had joined the Foreign Service on Oct 03, 1988. Since then Aryasinha had worked as Assistant Director of the Foreign Ministry, Third Secretary at the Sri Lankan High Commission in New Delhi, Assistant Director (South Asia) at Foreign Ministry, National Information Officer at UN Information Centre, Director (Political Affairs) Foreign Ministry, Ministerial Advisor and then as the Deputy Head of Delegation at Sri Lankan Embassy in Washington, Director General (Public Communication) Foreign Ministry, Sri Lankan Ambassador to Belgium, Sri Lanka’s Permanent Representative at Geneva, Additional Secretary (Economic Affairs) Foreign Ministry, Secretary to the Foreign Ministry and now is in service as Sri Lankan Ambassador to the US in Washington.

MP Wijesiri: Minister’s response shows that Aryasinha had rendered an exemplary service to this country. Will such diplomats such as him be given the same benefits now enjoyed by Weeratunga, who was a diplomat once?

Minister Guanwardena: This question has no relevance. His original question is about Ravinatha Aryasinha. He cannot raise a supplementary question on another person.

MP Wijesiri: There is a concern that positions in the Foreign Service are given on political affiliations and to friends and relatives of political leaders. The positions in the Foreign Service were given only for qualifications and examinations. We hear that system has been changed.

Minister Gunawardena said that there no appointments had been made in the Foreign Service on political relationships. The Foreign Ministry followed the recruitment procedure and the appointments made to the Foreign Service had to get the approval of a Parliamentary ommittee headed by the Speaker of Parliament.