Journalist Sunanda Deshapriya has claimed that Mahinda Ratnayake, a former journalist for the Ravaya newspaper, has been appointed as Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Cuba under the new government.
Ratnayake, who contested the last parliamentary election from the National People’s Power (NPP) for the Colombo district, was defeated but has now secured a diplomatic post. The NPP had previously been vocal against political appointments in the diplomatic service, often criticizing the practice of appointing party loyalists and relatives rather than qualified career diplomats.
The Sri Lanka Foreign Service Association has also protested against such political appointments, raising concerns over the government’s approach to diplomatic service reforms. This latest appointment has sparked further controversy, given the NPP’s prior stance on ensuring a merit-based diplomatic selection process.
Surely this is a punishment, not a reward. You only have to see the state of Cuba nowadays.
Here’s an article from the Sunday Times UK, published in today’s newspaper on that very subject.
https://www.thetimes.com/article/5f260a10-7318-435b-b4a3-14f624aefd24?shareToken=c1f9ab4d991418ad96d9c3c4ee17a40d