President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, while appointing an Ambassador and four new High Commissioners to serve in the country’s diplomatic service on Tuesday, urged them to promote the country’s image in the countries they have been designated to while also enhancing migrant worker welfare. This is an indication that the President is wellaware of how the country’s diplomatic service had been run in the past and a signal that it is time for a major shake-up. He expressed his confidence, though, in the newly appointed diplomats, emphasising the importance of their roles in strengthening Sri Lanka’s bilateral ties and fostering mutual cooperation with the respective countries they are posted to.
Shortly after being elected to office, the President promised not to make any political appointments to fill diplomatic postings overseas and that these appointments would be done from among the country’s Foreign Service cadre. It is all too wellknown that although much expenditure is incurred in maintaining the country’s Foreign Service, including training imparted to its members to engage them in the country’s diplomatic service, for the most part, these worthies are vegetating in the Service with postings given to incompetents and the undeserving. This country cannot afford to trifle with our Foreign Service anymore, especially given the context in which the world is heading today. Only the cream of our Foreign Service personnel will be up to this task.
It appears that the President, at the very outset, has kept to this pledge, heralding a departure from the past where diplomatic postings became a ready refuge for defeated politicians and the kith and kin of Government Ministers and ruling party politicians, with the result that the country more often than not was placed in embarrassing situations. This was demonstrated in ample measure when a certain individual appointed by President Mahinda Rajapaksa to a diplomatic posting got engaged in a free-for-all with another Lankan invitee to a diplomatic gathering, bringing shame and disgrace to the country. Another close relative appointed by the Rajapaksas to an important Western country as its Ambassador also caused embarrassment to the country by cheating in an accommodation-related matter. When exposed at the other end, instead of recalling the man, the powers that be offered him a posting to another country. There were also diplomats appointed by certain rulers to certain countries solely for the purpose of looking after their interests in those countries, most notably their financial interests.
Most diplomats who owed their appointments to ruling party politicians did everything but promote the interests of the country. Most engaged in businesses, while others made use of the opportunity to send their children to school in the countries of their postings. There had also been several instances where some of these ‘diplomats,’ at the end of their terms, failed to return to the country and instead found employment for themselves at the other end. This country can certainly do without such types to promote the country. This blatant abuse of the country’s diplomatic service, hopefully, would witness an end under President Dissanayake, with merit and merit alone being the sole criterion for selection, if the country is to benefit from the appointments.
While candidates should be picked chiefly from Sri Lanka’s diplomatic service, the door should also be left open for leading entrepreneurs and businessmen to take up diplomatic postings, especially keeping in mind the promotion of trade links, which is a vital function of all diplomats. In addition, opportunities should also be reserved for leading personalities in the country, including prominent artistes, to serve as diplomats. In this instance, one cannot overlook the valuable role played by Dr. Lester James Peiris together with his wife Sumithra when they served as Ambassadors to France under the Chandrika Government.
There is presently a need for a complete change in the whole outlook of diplomatic functions, given the change in the times. Our diplomats should be more dynamic and play an active role in placing the country on the world map. The days when diplomats’ chief function was attending cocktail parties and hosting exhibitions are long past. Their functions should be expanded to cover other more important aspects that profit the country. Moreover, they should attend to matters that require the presence of Government Ministers at the other end. Today, Ministers travel abroad on some pretext or other, spending taxpayers’ money, when these functions could easily be performed by our Ambassadors and High Commissioners. This aspect too should be given special consideration by the President, who has vowed to eliminate all wasteful expenditure.
As already mentioned, it is time for our diplomatic service to undergo a thorough shake-up. There should be no room for pretenders and time-servers in the Service. Periodic reports should be called for from our foreign Ambassadors and other diplomats on their contributions to promoting the country in the eyes of the world. The days when the diplomatic service was considered an elite bastion to be packed with relatives and friends of politicians and their ilk should end. The new Government under President Dissanayake should ensure that the foremost place is given to the country when appointing diplomats to man our foreign desks.
