Aides to President Maithripala Sirisena and Foreign Ministry officials sought to clarify reports that Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Vienna, Priyani Wijesekera and several embassy staffers had been recalled for failing to answer a call from the President, saying those who were serving on extended terms had just been asked to return.
“The Ambassador and several other staff members who were on extended terms have been asked to conclude their tour of duty and return – that’s all,” Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Prasad Kariyawasam told Sunday Observer last night.
The international news agency AFP reported that the Head of Mission had been recalled by President Sirisena after his attempts to reach her for hours had failed. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs had confirmed the recall, but did not give a reason, the AFP report said.
Ambassador Wijesekera is a former Secretary General of Parliament and the first woman to serve in that position. She was appointed as Ambassador to Austria after she retired as Secretary General.
A Presidential aide told Sunday Observer that the officials at the diplomatic mission in Vienna had been sent to serve for three years but had asked for extensions on various pretexts. “They were given annual extensions where some of them have been there for over six years so they were asked to return. It was not a recall as such,” the aide said. (MF)