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Shiranthi’s three nights in Paris cost the country Rs. 25 mn, charges Mangala
View(s):Former first Lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa’s three night stay in Paris, in 2014, cost state coffers over Rs 25 million, Parliament was told this week.
Ms. Rajapaksa had stayed with a relative at a super luxury hotel, King George V, during her visit. The cost included the amount incurred for hiring vehicles as well as a visit to Lourdes in South West France, Foreign Affairs Minister Mangala Samaraweera told Parliament.
“The cost of a single room is around 20,000 euros (Over three million rupees) at this hotel. We could ask schoolchildren to calculate and see how much 20,000 euros is in Sri Lankan rupees. We can ask them how many halls and playgrounds could be built for them with that money,” the Minister added. He said that even Queen Elizabeth had refused to stay in that hotel as the rates were too high.
He said that one of Ms. Rajapaksa’s relatives named Daisy had accompanied the First Lady on the trip. “According to the Foreign Ministry, the mini bar in the room had been filled thrice on the first night of their stay.
The minister also lambasted the former regime saying it had used Sri Lankan missions overseas as safe houses to shelter those who had been involved in murders, abductions and had violated human rights.
“Such persons were rewarded by being given appointments in embassies. Our missions had become safehouses,” he charged
The minister made these claims during the debate under the Diplomatic Privileges Act.