COLOMBO : The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has immediately terminated 15 politically appointed heads of missions working abroad.
Notable figures among those recalled include Rohitha Bogollagama, Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, as well as Chitrangani Wagiswara, High Commissioner to Canberra, Australia, and Seychelles High Commissioner Srimal Wickremasinghe (brother of Shiranthi Wickremesinghe).
According to Foreign Ministry sources, termination letters were already issued to the Chief of Missions instructing these envoys to vacate their posts and return to Sri Lanka. Those recalled are non-career diplomats and do not belong to the Sri Lanka Foreign Service (SLAFS).
The heads rolling from various diplomatic missions cover several significant countries. This includes Sri Lanka’s High Commissioners to Australia, Kshenuka Seneviratne High Commissioner to India, V. Kananathan, High Commissioner to Kenya; Ambassadors to Japan, Rodney Perera; Indonesia, Admiral Jayanath Colambage; the Maldives, Ranga Gunawardana; Malaysia, former Air Force Commander Sumangala Dias; Cuba, Admiral Nishantha Ulugetenne; Nepal, Sudarshana Karagoda Pathirana (former Air Chief Marshal); Iran, N.M Shaheed; Pakistan, Admiral Ravindra Chandrasiri Wijegunaratne; and the UAE, Udaya Indraratna. Also among those terminated is the Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations in New York, Dr. Mohan Peiris, the former Chief Justice.
Meanwhile, the ministry had also sent such recall letters to 17 other political appointees who are serving in embassies in other diplomatic and non-diplomatic posts. With inputs from Ceylon Today
