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The
diplomatic refugee No doubt, it is an embarrassment of the highest order. President Kumaratunga's hand-picked nominee was not a career diplomat, nor even a recipient of a political IOU and he was certainly not a potential political threat to the government as Major General. Janaka Perera was, who got sent to Canberra in order to get him out of the Army hierarchy. Instead, Chandrananda de Silva who was one of the few trusted and loyal public servants of President Kumaratunga's Administration over the past decade, now has the misfortune of being treated like a common refugee in the country of his posting, even before he leaves. That the President's nominee was turned down under provisions of the new Canadian Immigration Act (2002) points to what depths this nation has plunged. The Canadians, it appears decided to lock the stable door after the horse had bolted. The country has been smarting under the weight of an influx of refugees, especially pro-LTTE Tamils to that country. Now, an appointee of a sovereign country gets caught up in the clearly flawed interpretation of that Law meant to screen hoi polloi asylum seekers. This is no surprise. Neither President Kumaratunga nor the Government bothered to protest when the British Government introduced what they called was an 'experiment' in immigration procedures by fingerprinting Sri Lankans requiring visas to visit Britain. Instead, the President shows her fondness for Britain, by making regular 'private visits', 'official visits' and 'semi-official visits' to that country at regular intervals. When the Foreign Minister meets his counter-part Jack Straw the matter of fingerprinting Sri Lankans is not even on the agenda for discussion. Now, France has taken the cue from Britain in the bargain, and the Finance Minister (who once lived and worked in France) virtually elbows others to get himself fingerprinted. At least one can say he did not ask for special privileges. It's acceptable if these were the normal immigration procedures adopted by countries world-wide but they are not; we Sri Lankans are instead the guinea pigs in an improvised immigration experiment. And yet, these countries have the gall to open their doors to acquire all the skilled labour of our countries, while also retaining all the plundered artifacts (which Italy is at least now beginning to return to Ethiopia, bravo) from these once colonised nations. Human Rights violations, indeed. So, it comes as no surprise when the Canadian Government slaps the President by rejecting her nominee. Mr. Chandrananda de Silva may not have been the ideal candidate for a posting in far away Canada, but that's not because he was Secretary of the Defense Ministry when a sovereign Government had to ward off a seperatist war with a terrorist organization (...and Ottawa still does not seem to appreciate that fact). Mr de Silva's decision to go on a diplomatic posting, clearly upset the whole line-up for appointments in the Diplomatic Corps. Former Ministry secretary Bernard Gunathillake who was originally due to be posted to Canada had to be re-located as a result, and was then sent to Washington ejecting Devinda Subasinghe who was doing yeoman service for the Government, its trade and industry, and its security forces. Together with the back-door appointment of former Presidential Secretary Kusumsiri Balapatabendi to Canberra - an issue regarding which the UNP opposition showed its mettle as an ineffective parliamentary opposition - Chandrananda de Silva's appointment did no credit to the UPFA Government's drive for an efficient and effective foreign service. Larger countries engage in similar political appointments, and political IOUs are often enchased this way. But those big countries have the support of back-up staff to ensure the entire mission is not dead weight. Also, unlike in Colombo, where 2nd secretarias have access to Cabinet Ministers, Sri Lankan Ambassadors and High Commissioners often don't have the necessary access to government leaders in the bigger capitals. This underscores the importance of the top job in these missions. Canada tried a similar stunt once before and delayed the agrement when late President J. R. Jayewardene appointed General T.I. Weeratunga to Ottawa after his stint as Army Commander. The then President was made of sterner stuff and played the waiting game till Canada relented. The question now is whether President Kumaratunga will opt to fight things out, or whether she offers her other cheek. That's anybody's guess. As for the rest of us, the issue has taken a somersault. Having said that the Presidential appointment is a bad one in the first place, it has now become a case of having to defend the nation's pride, instead. |
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