Diplomatic promotion to FM’s brother-in-law

Back door overseas appointments to clerical staff by Shamindra FerdinandoForeign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama’s brother-in-law Palitha Ganegoda has been appointed Sri Lanka’s Deputy High Commissioner to New Delhi. Ganegoda who held the rank of Minister at the New Delhi mission has been promoted and given a post which had been always held by senior career diplomats. He has replaced Sabarulla Khan, a career diplomat with over 15 years service who had been moved to Riyadh as Deputy Ambassador.

Ganegoda received his first diplomatic posting to New Delhi over a year ago and functioned as Romesh Jayasinghe’s deputy.

Well informed sources said despite severe criticism of the unprecedented increase in the number of political appointees in the Foreign Service under the Rajapaksa presidency, the powers that be had said they wouldn’t give in to pressure. The sources asserted the share of career diplomats’ overseas appointments would be the lowest once the government finalised several political appointments.

Bogollagama who contested the Kurunegala District on the UNP ticket and switched allegiance to the then President Chandrika Kumaratunga’s government had made a series of political appointments. The widely travelled Foreign Minister came under media attack after he accommodated his son on the government delegation for talks with the LTTE in Geneva shortly after the last presidential election.

Successive UNP and SLFP-led governments had packed overseas missions with political appointees, the sources said.