| by Pearl Thevanayagam
Cherchez la femme: (no matter what the problem), a woman is often the root cause’
- Alexander Dumas in his famous 1854 fiction, Mohicans of Paris.
(October 08, 2014, Bradford UK , Sri Lanka Guardian) President Mahinda Rajapaksa is not enthralled by Ms Kshenuka Seneviratne and in fact when she complained to him once that Nimal Siripala de Silva was acting against Sri Lanka’s interests he is quoted as telling Dayan Jayetilleka that, “I won’t work according to the whims of various women. She has become a headache even to me.”
The President has ordered a high level probe into the incident involving Sajin and Nonis and given her apala kalaya he could find a way to silence her once and for all. Drs Rajiva Wijesingha and Dayan Jayetilleka too would not be sorry to see the back of her as she has become a diplomatic nuisance both locally and abroad.
Ms Seneviratne is well known for her underhand manipulations since A.C.S Hameed was FM. She was accused of financial irregularities at the UK High Commission and other diplomatic missions for treating them as her personal fiefdom.
UNHRC probe is gathering momentum contrary to President’s complacent declaration that US is softening its stance on Sri Lanka’s alleged war crimes. Only US can perform its hat trick and deflate the President’s bloated ego by issuing a mission statement that US stance has not changed. All the while the President and First Lady posed with their counterparts showing enough bonhomie.
As if Sri Lanka is not deep enough in hot water, its diplomats are taking their beach boy tactics to the lowest level as was seen in the shenanigans of Sajin vs Nonis prodded by Kshenuka. External Affairs Minster Prof. G.L.Peiris and UN ambassador Ravinatha Aryasingha Aryasinghe are the only duo who behave with decorum and decency no matter how much stubborn they are in standing by Sri Lanka at the UN that it did not commit war crimes.
Their diplomacy is not to be scoffed at. It is only to be expected the learned professor and astute Aryasingha are the saving grace pleading on behalf of Sri Lanka with panache even as they lie through their teeth. They are keeping a stoic silence amidst the brou ha ha involving physical assault in the presence of guests at a dinner in New York on UK High Commissioner Dr Chris Nonis by Sajin Vas Gunawardene prodded by Foreign Ministry stirrer and darling old babe of the diplomatic corp Kshenuka Seneviratne.
Former FM Rohitha Bogollagama never failed to engage Kshenuka to organise dinner do’s along with his wife which the latter tolerated with gritted teeth. Kshenuka, no spring chicken, managed to twist ageing diplomats with her podgy finger at every given opportunity. A.C.S .Hameed was putty under her manipulations since he had a weak eye for the fairer sex and his being not exactly handsome and short of stature he fell for her vile charms.
How the President would manage to extricate himself from her hold on affairs both foreign and internal during this crucial time in Sri Lanka’s history where it is under world scrutiny for alleged war crimes, only time will tell.
(The writer has been a journalist for 25 years and worked in national newspapers as sub-editor, news reporter and news editor. She was Colombo Correspondent for Times of India and has contributed to Wall Street Journal where she was on work experience from The Graduate School of Journalism, UC Berkeley, California. Currently residing in UK she is also co-founder of EJN (Exiled Journalists Network) UK in 2005 the membership of which is 200 from 40 countries. She can be reached at pearltheva@hotmail.com)
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