Presidential Secretary Lalith Weeratunge, Monitoring MP of the External Affairs Ministry Sajin Vaas Gunewardane, and most recently Hambantota District MP Namal Rajapaksa are leading Sri Lanka’s diplomatic onslaught ahead of the UN Human Rights Council sessions in Geneva this March.
Namal Rajapaksa, eldest son of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Member of Parliament, and heir apparent
Rajapaksa has joined Gunewardane and Weeratunge in the US where the trio will commence a massive campaign of lobbying to soften Washington’s stance towards Colombo ahead of the Council sessions. It is unclear what Namal Rajapaksa’s contribution to this effort would be, given the gravity of the situation and the gargantuan task at hand to change opinion about Sri Lanka’s commitment to addressing major human rights concerns and promote reconciliation.
Tough times are ahead for Sri Lanka in Geneva, with the Government being forced to go into overdrive to combat the international pressure very early on.
The Sunday Times notes that the Presidential Secretary (and now his entourage) must fly out to Washington to plead Sri Lanka’s case despite the fact that a fully fledged embassy with 100 percent political appointees and two public relations outfits, one retained by the Embassy and another by the Central Bank are unable to make an impact on America’s attitude towards Sri Lanka.
In its political column this week, the Sunday Times revealed that the Rajapaksa Adminsitration spends 15.7 million rupees per month to bankroll two major lobbying firms hired to improve Sri Lanka’s image in the US. “It has reportedly been arranged for the Central Bank by the US public relations and lobbying firm Thompson Advisory Group LLC (TAG). The Central Bank pays this company US $ 66,000 (or more than Rs 8.5 million) every month for three different tasks. As reported earlier, they are to create (1) “a political climate” in the US “more than conducive to enhancing Sri Lanka’s long-term political and economic aspirations,” (2) to create a platform where US decision makers “receive clear and accurate information of Sri Lanka’s current achievements and future plans, and (3) “a higher volume of private sector investment in Sri Lanka,” the Sunday Times said.
The Sri Lankan Embassy in Washington has also separately hired a US lobbying firm, called the Majority Group to lobby the US Government to change its attitude towards Sri Lanka. The Majority Group charges Sri Lanka Rs. 6.5 million for this task, but there have been no results so far.
kapu / January 29, 2014
I am ashamed as to what level the Srilankan foreign policy standards have eroded… if we have to depend on the likes of these amateurs to tackle a robust issue….God save me and my innocent sri lankans..
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Bensen Burner / January 29, 2014
A motley combination of a sycophant and 2 bulldozers one with the only qualification of being the first son coming from the corrupt first family : a bloody joke at the tax payers’ expense. After all how many people pay their taxes. The Chinese unashamedly make up for it. Bensen
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rushmi / January 29, 2014
who is going to talk about brutal killing made by bloody Tamil tigers
will see what is happening, we have done our duty we destroyed the Killer prabakaran and his team,
If necessary we will do the same again even if the sky falls.
there is no international community behind this dram only few of idiots let them learn too who we are.
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fred / January 29, 2014
Can someone please tell me,
(1) hasn’t SL got a Foreign Minister
(2) what purpose does the Embassy in Washington serve
if these three clowns must be sent to plead the country’s cause in the US?
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Foreign Man / February 3, 2014
Why don’t we send a new delegation. I would
suggest the following:
Dr. Mervyn Silva Minister, After all he won his doctorate
for writing a thesis on Sri Lanka’s successful foreign
relations since independence.
Sajin Vase Gunawardena – Professor of International Law
and Foreign Relations at the University of Ambalangoda. He
also served in the UN a short stint selling rice packets
to Sri Lankan diplomats.
Duminda Silva – Emeritus Professor of Entertainment and
Drugs Control at the University of Crackos, Sydney.
Raj Paul Abhey Naik as spokesperson for the delegation so
the world media will wake up and take note. Otherwise they
will take note and wake up!!!
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Rodger Williams / February 12, 2014
What a blinding national disgrace, this land of ours have descended to? The monthly colossal sums of money spent to lobby America in a massive cover up of utter lies, deception, killings and ethnic cleansings? My God, what is happenning. A few days ago, this same president and his brother, laid some so called “sacred objects” at the summit of Adam’s Peak a so called sacred mountain in Sri Lanka.
Folks, don’t you witness the ongoing hypocracy of this dictatorship family regime? Every san and right thinking intellectul must be appalled at the growing descent into to the growing abyss of disgrace of the most violent country in Asia.
There will be no expense, or money spent, if the truth is simply told and guilt admitted. The poor in Sri Lanka is getiing more poorer, out in many areas, with bribery and corruption that has descended into every area of public life.This presidents son, some time ago, was documented in forcefully taking tractors from a lady US official who was pictured crying, as with his thugs, gave them to the son’s friends. When all this back-fires, and it will,(one can cover up dirt only so much) the world will witness the true nature of “Dammadveepaya”. The family is on the course to self-destruct, and this may prove to be the “last straw.”
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