Sunday Times 2
Palestine Ambassador leaves Lanka after nine years
View(s):Palestine Ambassador Anwer al-Agha will be leaving Sri Lanka to take up post as his country’s ambassador in Malaysia next month.
Addressing a farewell reception hosted by the Sri Lanka-Palestine Solidarity Committee at the office of senior Minister Athauda
Sri Lanka-Palestine Solidarity members presenting a memento to Dr. Agha. From left: Hamid Abdul Kareem, Latheef Farook, Mahinda Hattaka, Amaya Jayasinghe, Imtiaz Bakeer Markar (co-president), Dr. Agha, Tissa Jayasinghe (Sri Lanka's first ambassador to Palestine), Nanda Kalutantri and M. Badoordeen. Pic by Mangala Weerasekera
Seneviratne in Colombo on Thursday, Dr. Agha, who is also the dean of the diplomatic corps, said he not only served his country in Sri Lanka for nine years but also served Sri Lanka during his stay here because Sri Lanka had been a great champion of the Palestinian cause.
He said Palestine had stood by Sri Lanka in its times of crisis and Sri Lanka had undergone a tremendous change in terms of infrastructure development in the nine years of his stay.
Dr. Agha said he was a popular man in Sri Lanka and thanks all Sri Lankans who he described as friendly and hospitable.
He said his fervent hope was one day Sri Lankans would be able to visit the State of Palestine free of Israeli occupation.