That intriguing word ‘consultation’ and gonata andanawa

The Sri Lanka Foreign Ministry last week tried bravely to clarify the presence of a large number of heads of mission, heads of post and senior officials in Colombo with a quaint and enigmatic press release that raised more questions than it answered.
The communiqué — issued by the publicity division, no doubt on higher instructions — referred to news reports that had claimed some heads of mission and officials serving in overseas missions are back in Sri Lanka for election-related work.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs wishes to clarify that some Heads of Missions/ Posts and senior Officials have been in Colombo after making satisfactory acting arrangements to avail themselves of their personal leave during the holiday season while a few others were requested to be in Colombo for consultations on relevant issues,” it said.
Those officers who were requested to travel to Colombo “for consultations” were provided air tickets by the ministry, the press release said. But the foreign ministry is not paying and hasn’t arranged “local hospitality” to these officers during their stay in Colombo. And they will leave Sri Lanka after their leave or “consultations” are over.
Unfortunately, the press release did not shed any light on what “consultations” were taking place that requires heads of mission or posts and mission officials to be summoned to Colombo just weeks from a closely fought presidential election.

Consultations

It did not say with whom these “consultations” were taking place. It did not reveal whether the (no doubt) important persons who were conducting these “consultations” were busy with anything other than election work at present. And it did not elaborate whether the “consultations” taking place were on issues of foreign policy — or whether these matters were so pressing and complicated that some selected diplomats had to be ferried down to Sri Lanka to address them in person, three weeks from the election.
The press release also did not explain why some diplomats — like our Consul General in Toronto Bandula Jayasekera and our Ambassador in Rome Hemantha Warnakulasuriya — were seen on state-owned television doing what seemed to any reasonable human like campaigning on behalf of the incumbent president.
Among those who are now in Colombo — either for “consultations” or on vacation — are Second Secretary in the Netherlands Isuru Balapatabendi (a political appointee married to Asoka de Silva’s daughter); Ambassador to Myanmar Newton Gunaratne; Bandula Jayasekera; Hemantha Warnakulasuriya; High Commissioner to Pakistan Jayalath Weerakkody (who has apparently been summoned to assist Minister Rohitha Bogollagama’s bureau); Permanent Representative to the UN in New York Palitha Kohona ; Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva Kshenuka Senewiratne; Ambassador to the Russian Federation Udayanga Weeratunga; Deputy High Commissioner in New Delhi Palith Ganegoda; Deputy High Commissioner in London P.M. Amza and former presidential media coordinator Chandrapala Liyanage who is posted in the Rome mission. It is learnt that our High Commissioner in Australia Senaka Walgampaya was also summoned. For “consultations”, of course.
It is learnt that Liyanage has been in Colombo for around three months and has received special permission to continue receiving his full overseas allowance while here. It is true that stranger things have happened in Sri Lanka but it is still a mad coincidence that so many heads of mission are in Colombo simultaneously on “vacation” or for unexplained “consultations”.
Both our envoys to the UN — whether New York or Geneva — were absent from their postings when UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions Philip Alston released his report on the Channel 4 footage and called once again for an independent war crimes investigation.
We sought clarification from the amiable Romesh Jayasinghe, secretary to the ministry of foreign affairs, about some issues related to this bevy of vacationing or consulting diplomats. He was asked, for instance, what “relevant issues” were being discussed in Colombo two weeks from a crucial election. He was also asked with whom consultations are taking place.
Unfortunately, he could enlighten us no more than the press release his ministry issued could. Or, understandably, he chose not to. Whatever it is, we remain insanely befuddled as to why a bunch of diplomats were summoned here for (forgive us for repeating this intriguing word) “consultations” that not even the foreign secretary could elaborate on. People in the system must really be more clueless than we think. Either that or the foreign ministry has taken gonata andanawa to an entirely different level.
Speaking of gonata andanawa, Sarath Fonseka tried a fast one on the public last week. Boy, that man is picking up. All those hours spent with Mangala Samaraweera is turning him into your typical, Sri Lankan, no-good politician quicker than the time it took him to leap from military uniform into national suit.

Corrupt activities

Speaking in Ampara, Fonseka said that if he were elected he would bring to book within 72 hours all those engaged in corrupt activities. Seventy-two hours??? Heck, that is fewer hours than the number of ministers in the cabinet - and if the opposition is to be believed, each of them is more corrupt than the rest.
Should he win the election, Fonseka would have to manage his time very carefully indeed to deal with ALL the corrupt people we have within three days. Assuming he sleeps five hours per day, he would lose 15 hours. Take away a total of nine hours for meals and, say, two hours for a swearing-in ceremony (we are taking the barest minimum into account here), another 15 hours for those essential meetings usually convened following the election of a new president, some three hours for the loo and that would leave him with 28 hours to deal with the corrupt people of this country.
Twenty-eight hours to initiate investigations, to consider the content of those investigations, to call for inquiries, carry out “consultations” (love that word) on action that should be taken, to have legal proceedings filed, punishment meted out and so on. And everything in the midst of other important work — like figuring out what the hell to do with the presidency and how the devil to shake the UNP and JVP off his back since having them beaten up is no longer a viable option.
So, unless he is planning to seriously compromise on many other areas of national concern, there is no way Fonseka will bring ALL the corrupt people in this country to book within 72 hours. Bah, humbug.