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President Maithripala Sirisena has told the ministers there was a timely need to formulate a Code of Ethics to be followed voluntarily by them. The move comes in the wake of a Code of Ethics being introduced for Members of Parliament.
The Code of Ethics for Ministers, President Sirisena has noted, should be “in keeping with best practices of good governance, in addition to the statutory requirements specifically enshrined in the Constitution and in our written laws, which should be strictly adhered to.”

It was only last month that Ministers were called upon to sign a pledge to uphold collective responsibility and confidentiality “at all times in respect of decisions taken by the Cabinet of Ministers.”

President Sirisena then told the ministers that this was not only a long standing tradition but also followed in India. He said the Indian Cabinet ministers affirm as, “I will not directly or indirectly communicate or reveal to any person or persons any matter which shall be brought under my consideration or shall become known to me as Minister for the Union except as may be required for the due discharge of my duties as such Minister.”

Who will go to London to see the Queen?
Sri Lanka will set another record in the field of foreign affairs. For almost a year now, the Government has not been able to find a person of some eminence to serve as the High Commissioner in Britain, considered one of the key positions in the Foreign Service.

Next month, President Maithripala Sirisena travels to Malta for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM). There he will cede the position of Commonwealth chair-in-office which he took over from his predecessor Mahinda Rajapaksa. The position will go to Malta’s Head of Government.

Sri Lanka’s delegation to Malta, it is likely, will also be without a High Commissioner in Britain, where the Commonwealth Secretariat is housed. The position was offered to President’s Counsel Romesh de Silva in the early days of the yahapalana Government. He declined it. Thereafter, there were unconfirmed reports that it was offered to defeated UNP candidate Rosy Senanayake who is said to have opted to stay back in active politics in Sri Lanka.

President Maithripala Sirisena then surprised all when he offered the post to one of the country’s leading cricketers Kumar Sangakkara on his retirement. He was also not in favour. And the search goes on.

Lanka beats US in diplomatic passports
Even the hairdresser of a VVIP lady was issued a diplomatic passport by the previous administration, Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera told his colleagues.
He said some 2,800 persons had been issued with diplomatic passports (the Sunday Times carried some of the names earlier). The number, he pointed out, was much larger than the volume issued by the United States Government.

Ministerial monitors for Education Ministry
A ministerial committee is to assist in the working of the Ministry of Education.
It will be headed by Minister Susil Premajayantha, a former Minister of Education, and will include ministers Lakshman Kiriella, Sagala Ratnayake and Mahinda Samarasinghe.

Akila Viraj Kariyawasam is the Minister of Education. The decision to appoint the committee was made during a three-hour long ministerial meeting last Wednesday. In the Appropriation Bill for 2016, the budgetary allocation for education has been increased by four fold.

Protocol lapse: Envoy designate barred from Akihito audience
When Asia Nisha Biswal, US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central, was to visit Sri Lanka some months ago, Washington found it had no ambassador in Colombo.  Though the designate, Atul Keshap, had arrived, he had not presented his credential. So, the US officials were able to fast forward the process and use their channels to ensure Mr. Keshap was able to present his credentials to President Maithripala Sirisena ahead of the Biswal visit. Thus, he was the Ambassador when Ms. Biswal arrived.

That same clout does not seem to be available for Foreign Ministry officials who have become the subject of criticism even from Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. Early this month, Mr. Wickremesinghe was in Japan and his programme included an audience with Emperor Akihito, the head of the Imperial family at his palace in Tokyo.

Accompanying Premier Wickremesinghe to the Imperial Palace in Chiyoda, Central Tokyo was Sri Lanka’s Ambassador designate, Prof. Ganganath Dissanayake. Japanese officials, who are very conscious of protocol, stopped him from entering the sanctum sanctorum of the Imperial Palace. They said he was not Sri Lanka’s Ambassador yet since he had not presented his credentials.
It was another case of bureaucratic bungling by Foreign Ministry officials in Colombo and an Ambassador designate who was unaware of protocol. This brought only embarrassment to Sri Lanka in the land of cherry blossoms. Such lessons in protocol are strictly applied in other countries.

PM’s hybrid pun
Journalists recently met Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe for a discussion.
It was after the resolution was passed at the Human Rights Council in Geneva and the writers were curious about the PM’s take on the “hybrid mechanism” that was proposed.

One journalist pressed further and asked him what it really meant and whether there would be foreign interference in the country. “Just because one is named Percy Mahendra Rajapaksa, does it make one a hybrid?” Mr. Wickremesinghe deadpanned.

Phoney tapping jams chatterboxes
Former Ambassador Charlie Mahendran, who was in New York last week as a member of the Sri Lankan delegation to the UN General Assembly sessions, was grilled at a friendly dinner by a group of self-styled intellectuals who call themselves “sophists” — named after philosophers of ancient Greece.
Asked whether phones were tapped under the now-defunct Rajapaksa regime — notorious for its white vans and authoritarian dictates — Mr. Mahendran said he was not sure whether phones were tapped, but he did have a problem with some of his friends who regularly called him — and were hanging on the line for hours much to his discomfort.
Wondering how he was going to stop this barrage of calls, he said, he warned them that his phone line was being tapped. “And after that”, said Mahendran amidst laughter, “they stopped calling me.”

Three top Army officers retire
Three senior officers of the Sri Lanka Army will retire from service. They are Chief of Staff Major General Jagath Dias, Volunteer Force Commander, Major General Lalith Daulagala and Adjutant General Major General Mahinda Hathurusinghe.
Weeks ago, Major General Hathurusinghe was also named Colonel Commandant of the Artillery Regiment.

Weliamuna wearing many hats
Among the many governmental chores, Attorney J.C. Weliamuna was this week playing the role of spokesperson explaining the OISL report on alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka.
He confirmed that there would be international participation in the domestic inquiry mechanism.
Wearing another hat, this time as a convenor of the Lawyers Collective, he welcomed the US sponsored resolution on Sri Lanka.
Among the highlights of the two-page statement was a reference welcoming “The commitments to seek assistant (sic) from independent judicial and prosecutorial institutions led by individuals known for integrity and impartiality and the participation in a Sri Lankan Judicial Mechanism of Commonwealth and other foreign judges, defenders, lawyers and authorised prosecutors and investigators and we do not view this as an attack on our sovereignty and the judicial system as it is accepted that the institutions has to be setup within the framework of the Constitution.”