Govt. reverses top diplomatic appointment to Tokyo

by Shamindra Ferdinando

President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s government has reversed the appointment of retired Admiral Jayanath Colombage as Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Tokyo.

The Previous Foreign Secretary, Dr. Colombage, was to succeed political appointee Sanjiv Gunasekera, who resigned in June. The new administration has nominated senior career Foreign Service officer Rodney Perera, as Gunasekera’s replacement.

The government has informed the High Posts Committee (HPC) of Parliament of its decision to nominate Perera instead of Colombage. Authoritative sources said that examination of such diplomatic appointments by the HPC, chaired by the Speaker, was a formality.

Former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa cleared the way for ex-Navy Commander Colombage to take up the posting in Japan, after career foreign service officer, Aruni Wijewardane, was brought in as Foreign Secretary, in late May.

The appointment was made amidst the political campaign, demanding the resignation of the government. Sources pointed out that Sanjiv Gunasekera announced his intention to resign on May 09, the day the anti-government protest campaign erupted, in the wake of SLPP goons going on the rampage, at the Galle Face protest site.

Sources said that Rodney Perera’s elder brother Ronald Perera, PC, recently received appointment as Chairman of the Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation (SLIC). They are sons of the late Cabinet Minister Paul Perera, a staunch Wickremesinghe loyalist.

Rodney Perera served as Sri Lanka’s Ambassador, in Washington, before being replaced by ex-minister Mahinda Samarasinghe, in Dec 2021. Perera received the appointment in June 2019. Prior to that, Perera served as Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Belgium, Luxembourg and the European Union.

At the time of his new appointment, Rodney Perera was serving the US-based Sri Lanka Foundation as its Chief Executive Officer.

Sources said that the government needs to mend relations with Japan, badly affected due to the cancellation of the JAICA funded Light Rail project. in late Sept 2020. The project was meant to ease traffic congestion in Colombo and its suburbs. The project was to be launched when the change of government, in Nov 2019, led to its cancellation, after having done much preparatory work.