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More diplomatic double trouble
From Neville de Silva in London
The High Commission in London is not the only Sri Lankan diplomatic mission having to cope with untested and unqualified persons sent to man them by the Foreign Ministry in Colombo.

The Sunday Times reported on July 7 that the High Commission in London is paying extra salaries because the Foreign Ministry has bungled by sending persons from Colombo to replace staff recruited in London for its mission while the latter are still working there.

Since then information has reached us from several western capitals that Sri Lanka missions there have also been burdened with "imports" while some of the locally-recruited staff they were to replace are still working.

Our sources say that the Foreign Ministry has sent persons from Sri Lanka to our missions in Canada, Germany, France, Switzerland and Washington to replace generally persons of Sri Lankan origin resident in those countries and acquainted with the local language, customs and conditions there.

One sent from Colombo and attached to the consular section of the embassy in Berlin has no knowledge of German or Tamil, both languages important since most persons of Sri Lankan origin living in Germany are Tamils, our sources say.

Another recent recruit sent to the embassy in Paris and working as a receptionist knows no French, English or Tamil and apparently speaks only Sinhala, other sources said, underlining how ridiculous it was to have a receptionist who could not respond to public inquiries.

A new driver attached to one of our missions in Canada unused to traffic arrangements in the city has been driving the wrong way in one-way streets, prompting a Sri Lankan diplomat to change places and drive the car himself, another source said.

These reports could not be independently checked with the Foreign Ministry in Colombo for verification as it appeared to be closed for the day. Some Sri Lankans in London and Colombo have inquired from this correspondent whether these jobs at our diplomatic missions abroad had been advertised in Sri Lanka and elsewhere.

The Foreign Ministry in Colombo averted a diplomatic incident after the British foreign office originally refused to grant 13 visas to persons from Colombo to replace the locally-recruited staff.

Colombo withdrew its earlier application and submitted another, this time saying that the 13 were home-based staff( that is from Colombo) on three-year contracts and gave an assurance they will return at the end of their contracts.

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