Sri Lanka has recalled its envoy to Japan after Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayake was finger printed, made to wait for approximately half an hour and processed through normal passenger channel instead of the VIP lounge at Narita airport in Japan.
Wickramanayake, had visited Japan at the invitation of the head monk of
a well-known Buddhist temple in Kobe to the chief guest at a religious ceremony.
According to a source at the Prime Minister’s office, the officials who went to receive Wickaramanayake had apparently slipped-up by waiting outside instead of going into receive the Premier, as he entered the airport terminal after landing.
As a result Wickramanayake and the entourage had been cleared only through the normal passenger channel and not through the VIP lounge.
Japan had begun fingerprinting foreigners about a year ago as a security measure, but VIPs are exempted if embassy officials coordinate with the immigration to ensure quick clearance.
Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama has recalled Jayantha Palipane, Sri Lanka’s ambassador to Japan over the incident and directed the Sri Lankan Embassy in Japan to conduct a probe, according to Foreign Ministry sources. Sources also said that the decision to recall Palipane was not based merely on the incident involving the Sri Lankan premier but on some past incidents as well.
Whilst Colombo has tried to portray that the Sri Lankan embassy in Japan was at least partially responsible for the ordeal of the Prime Minister, reports citing diplomatic circles in Colombo claim that the visa issued to Wickramanayake by Japan was a temporary visa normally issued to ordinary visitors.
Some media reports in Colombo claim the recall of Palipane is Colombo’s the latest 'panicked restructuring' of its foreign service.
Recalling of the ambassador may look as a response to an incident at the Narita airport involving the prime minister of Sri Lanka, but it is only a pretext, according to the sources.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa was making use of career diplomats and academics to paint a deceptive picture of his government before and during the war. But now the government, either not trusting its own diplomats or considering them a spent force, replaces them with military and political appointments in the style of some totalitarian regimes, the sources further said.
Palipane is a senior career diplomat of nearly quarter a century of service.
Wickramanayake, had visited Japan at the invitation of the head monk of
a well-known Buddhist temple in Kobe to the chief guest at a religious ceremony.
According to a source at the Prime Minister’s office, the officials who went to receive Wickaramanayake had apparently slipped-up by waiting outside instead of going into receive the Premier, as he entered the airport terminal after landing.
As a result Wickramanayake and the entourage had been cleared only through the normal passenger channel and not through the VIP lounge.
Japan had begun fingerprinting foreigners about a year ago as a security measure, but VIPs are exempted if embassy officials coordinate with the immigration to ensure quick clearance.
Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama has recalled Jayantha Palipane, Sri Lanka’s ambassador to Japan over the incident and directed the Sri Lankan Embassy in Japan to conduct a probe, according to Foreign Ministry sources. Sources also said that the decision to recall Palipane was not based merely on the incident involving the Sri Lankan premier but on some past incidents as well.
Whilst Colombo has tried to portray that the Sri Lankan embassy in Japan was at least partially responsible for the ordeal of the Prime Minister, reports citing diplomatic circles in Colombo claim that the visa issued to Wickramanayake by Japan was a temporary visa normally issued to ordinary visitors.
Some media reports in Colombo claim the recall of Palipane is Colombo’s the latest 'panicked restructuring' of its foreign service.
Recalling of the ambassador may look as a response to an incident at the Narita airport involving the prime minister of Sri Lanka, but it is only a pretext, according to the sources.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa was making use of career diplomats and academics to paint a deceptive picture of his government before and during the war. But now the government, either not trusting its own diplomats or considering them a spent force, replaces them with military and political appointments in the style of some totalitarian regimes, the sources further said.
Palipane is a senior career diplomat of nearly quarter a century of service.
