Closure of just three overseas missions is sheer “Tokenism”

by Sanjeewa Jayaweera

I suppose we need to be thankful for even small gestures in these desperate times. So, the recent statement attributed to the Minister of Foreign Affairs that the GOSL has decided to close our Embassy in Nigeria and Consulates in Frankfurt and Cyprus by the year-end is good news to the country’s taxpayers.

However, for me, the announcement of the closure of just three missions is sheer “tokenism.” It is similar to the Minister of Finance’s statement when reading the budget that the monthly petrol allowance of Minsters will be reduced by five litres! At the time, I felt offended as a taxpayer that it even merited mention in the Budget speech.

It was only three months ago that I wrote a couple of articles urging for the closure of around 50 per cent of our 67 (54 embassies and 13 consulates) overseas missions as a step towards reducing public expenditure and saving part of the budgeted foreign exchange estimated at US $ 58 million. I, therefore, feel justified in referring to the closure of just three when the expectation was for a minimum of 30 as “tokenism.”

I assume that the foreign ministry carried out the review. That probably might be the reason for a recommendation resulting in a minimal closure. It would not be in the interest of career diplomats to propose an aggressive closure strategy as it will restrict their chances of going overseas. In addition, given the propensity of GOSL to appoint their supporters as Ambassadors, the opportunity for career diplomats to achieve the top post will be further diminished. Ideally, a panel consisting of a few independent experts on international relations and a few retired Ambassadors would have resulted in a more aggressive and meaningful closure strategy. A former Ambassador who served in Europe told me that, in his opinion, the mission operating out of Brussels in Belgium, where the European Economic Council is based, should suffice for representation in continental Europe. All other missions in Europe other than the UK could be closed if the objective is to curtail public expenditure. His logic was that the European countries follow a common policy when it comes to foreign relations and trade matters.

In one of my earlier articles, I highlighted that Singapore maintained only 36 resident overseas missions against Sri Lanka’s 67. In the continent of Europe, Singapore has only Five resident missions against the 16 maintained by Sri Lanka. The numbers cited include the United Kingdom and the Consulates in Frankfurt and Milan.

There is a significant scarcity of foreign exchange in the country. This has resulted in several essential items, including certain medicines not being readily available. There are visuals on TV of long queues to purchase a packet of milk powder or a cylinder of cooking gas. I have read press reports stating that around 1,500 containers of food items are stuck in the port as importers are unable to obtain forex to negotiate documents to clear the consignments. Many manufacturing companies are struggling to import raw materials needed for production, and as a result, their factories are being operated at less than full capacity. The situation is expected to get worse. A joint communique issued by several business chambers expressed serious concern about their members’ inability to obtain foreign exchange for their business.

In light of the above, I was aghast to read a press report attributed to Sunil Handunnetti (SH), a former JVP MP, requesting the GOSL not to close our consulate in Cyprus. He contended that the closure would inconvenience 6,500 Sri Lankans working there. It was disappointing as SH had established an excellent reputation amongst the public as the COPE Head during the Yahapalana government.

In my opinion, the comment by SH is unsound as it reflects a desire to please all and sundry. In the case of handling consular work, there is an alternative to be adopted by appointing a capable Honorary Counsul.

In addition, a statement attributed to another JVP frontliner, calling the people to come out to the streets to protest the recent hike in fuel prices, is irresponsible. The newspaper that carried this news captioned it “JVP asking the people to riot?”

I believe the need to raise fuel prices was unavoidable. The Petroleum Minister stated that the price increase is to reduce overall fuel consumption to minimize foreign exchange required for imports. That a fuel price hike would cause hardship to a sizable segment of the population is acknowledged. The precarious financial position of the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) due to accumulated losses of Rs. 350 billion must have been another factor.

The country is in this situation only because previously tough decisions that are inevitably unpopular were not taken. Therefore, the JVP will need to champion causes with greater responsibility to be considered a viable alternative to govern the country.

Last week I came across a news item dating back to 1998 as to how 3.5 million South Koreans gave their personal gold, including wedding rings, to the state so that the country could avoid a default of foreign currency debt. A total of 227 tons of gold gifted to the state fetched US $ 2.5 billion and helped the country during the Asian Financial crisis in 1997.

This act by the people of South Korea is cited as an example of supreme patriotism in history. A paragraph from one news item that captures this aptly “The notion that one might give up precious family heirlooms to help the State to repay its debt would seem absurd to people in most countries. And yet many Koreans did just that – during the Asian financial crisis which brought the country to the brink of bankruptcy in 1997.”

Let us hope some of our Ambassadors and High Commissioners and other senior diplomats serving overseas will voluntarily resign and return to the country as part of their contribution towards reducing public expenditure and saving of precious foreign exchange. We need to live in the hope that a few honorable, decent people with a conscience are still around and will do what is right by the country despite the reluctance of GOSL to close some more overseas missions.

http://dh.aks.ac.kr/Korea100/wiki/index.php/The_IMF_Economic_Crisis_and_Gold_Collection_Movement