Vass Gunawardena signs multi-million-rupee contracts with PR firm, giving mystery postal address in Colombo - Luxury taxi driver also paid sums for unspecified work to help boost Lanka's image 
- President playing all his cards, but major questions remain as to what will happen at Uva provincial polls - International investigation on alleged war crimes begins, MR to name Japanese expert also to domestic inquiry panel
The UPFA Government is hiring and firing public relations agencies in the United States at its will and pleasure with enormous cost to the Sri Lankan taxpayer.
The secret exercise costing millions of dollars appears to have become high priority, or so the UPFA leaders believe, due to the adverse fallout on Sri Lanka. It has been caused mainly by the successive US resolutions at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) sessions in Geneva. It has been exacerbated by the UNHRC’s international investigation into alleged war crimes.
The transactions involving a number of PR agencies have come to light only because the US Department of Justice is mandated to collect documents relating to them. Agencies are required to list their agents and the foreign principals they represent under the Foreign Agents Registration Act or FARA. Such registrations have to be filed with the Attorney General. These statements are routinely made available to agencies, departments and the Congress and are meant for public disclosure. The idea behind the exercise is to ensure transparency and avert corrupt practices by the agencies and their foreign principals. The Sunday Times has obtained details of the many transactions where PR agencies have been hired and fired by the UPFA Government. Their tasks in almost all respects are to carry out responsibilities that should easily be done by an effective, professionally staffed embassy in Washington DC. Alas, other than the new Ambassador Prasad Kariyawasam, all others in the embassy are political appointees. The once highly respected career Foreign Service has diminished in stature.
The man at the helm of all these PR campaigns to woo the United States Government is the one tasked by President Mahinda Rajapaksa to function as Monitoring MP for the External Affairs Ministry (EAM) — Sajin de Vass Gunawardena. In his official role, he should, as the title implies, monitor the effective and professional functioning of the EAM. Instead, he has hired a number of US agencies to outsource the work of the Sri Lanka’s diplomatic mission in the US. All this is supposedly to win over the Obama Administration and forge close ties with the world’s leading superpower.
Vass Gunawardena is President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s trouble-shooter on most matters related to international affairs and the day-to-day running of the EAM. He plays a bigger role in the conduct of Sri Lanka’s foreign policy than even Minister G.L. Peiris. The minister has been focusing mostly on foreign visits, meeting his counterparts, addressing events and issuing media statements.
A FARA registration document dated June 2 reveals that Vass Gunawardena signed up with Beltway Government Strategies Incorporated, a US public relations firm, for the Sri Lanka Embassy in Washington DC. The office of this agency is located at 624 ½ Vincent Park, Redondo Beach, Los Angeles. One of the Directors, Mark Skarulis, has given only his office address. The second Mohamed Khan has declared his residence as 1351 Westwood Boulevard, 105 Los Angeles. A third Director Deborah Goldberg has, however, declared her address as Arlington, Virginia, Washington DC. The road to the centre of US power, their capital Washington DC, seems to be through Los Angeles. That is at least for the Government of Sri Lanka.
The tasks assigned to Beltway Government Strategies Incorporated have not been defined nor the amounts to be paid to it revealed. There is little doubt that almost all of the functions the PR firm will undertake are those outsourced from the Sri Lanka Embassy in Washington DC. It was only last Wednesday; Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake told Parliament that out of 49 heads of overseas missions of Sri Lanka, 35 had been filled with political appointees. The Sunday Times published this list in its issue of January 19 this year. Dissanayake said relatives, friends and close associates of the Government were recruited to the Foreign Service with complete disregard for their competence. He said that the service had been converted into a branch of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), the main partner in the UPFA.
On July 20, the Sunday Times (Political Commentary) revealed that Vass Gunawardena was engaged in back-channel diplomacy to cushion any possible adverse fallout from the international investigation into alleged war crimes. He told his friends and associates that he would “resolve the matter within months.” At the centre of his efforts is Imad Zuberi, a US citizen of Pakistani origin. He is a partner in a venture capital and boutique international consulting firm. He is co-Vice Chair of National Finance Committee (NFC) of Obama for President, National co-chair of Technology for Obama (TECHS 43), National Co-chair of Generational Forty Four (Gen 44) and National co-chair of Asian-American Pacific Islanders for Obama (AAPI). He is using the full weight of his office, of course, for a fee.
Zuberi was introduced to UPFA leaders by Salim Mandviwalla, a former Pakistani Finance Minister and one time chairman of the Board of Investment of that country. Diplomatic sources in Washington DC say Zuberi introduced Beltway Government Strategies Inc. to Vass Gunawardena. Among those whom he counts as friends in this firm is Director Mohamed Khan who is also of Pakistani origin. The diplomatic sources also said that on matters of foreign policy, “there is little that PR or lobbying firms could do except get rich from their clients. There is a lack of clear understanding that there would be dramatic US foreign policy changes when one recruits them. That is furthest from the truth.”
The June 2 registration statement seeks the “Name of Foreign Principal” in one of the many cages. The reply given is “Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Office of the Monitoring MP for the Ministry of External Affairs.” In other words, it is neither the Ambassador for Sri Lanka in the United States nor the Sri Lankan Government which has authority over Beltway Government Strategies Inc. It is the Monitoring MP for the Ministry. The FARA registration makes clear he calls the shots with not only this agency but with others too.
The official address of the Monitoring MP has been given in the FARA document as “No: 9/2 Dudley Senanayake Mawatha, Colombo 8.” The Sunday Times found that occupying that address now is the office of Korean International Co-operation Agency (KOICA) as the picture on this page confirms. Inquiries revealed that before them, the premises were occupied by Cosmos Aviation, a firm which Vass Gunawardena is closely associated with. It is in the business of hiring out helicopters. Gunawardena himself uses these helicopters when he has to fly from Colombo to coastal Pasikudah (near Batticaloa) where his seaside resort is located. Why this address has been given when the Monitoring MP was functioning from the External Affairs Ministry remains a mystery.
Read more
http://www.sundaytimes.lk/140810/columns/110301-110301.html
Me kiyanne redi galawenna
- President playing all his cards, but major questions remain as to what will happen at Uva provincial polls - International investigation on alleged war crimes begins, MR to name Japanese expert also to domestic inquiry panelThe UPFA Government is hiring and firing public relations agencies in the United States at its will and pleasure with enormous cost to the Sri Lankan taxpayer.
The secret exercise costing millions of dollars appears to have become high priority, or so the UPFA leaders believe, due to the adverse fallout on Sri Lanka. It has been caused mainly by the successive US resolutions at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) sessions in Geneva. It has been exacerbated by the UNHRC’s international investigation into alleged war crimes.
The transactions involving a number of PR agencies have come to light only because the US Department of Justice is mandated to collect documents relating to them. Agencies are required to list their agents and the foreign principals they represent under the Foreign Agents Registration Act or FARA. Such registrations have to be filed with the Attorney General. These statements are routinely made available to agencies, departments and the Congress and are meant for public disclosure. The idea behind the exercise is to ensure transparency and avert corrupt practices by the agencies and their foreign principals. The Sunday Times has obtained details of the many transactions where PR agencies have been hired and fired by the UPFA Government. Their tasks in almost all respects are to carry out responsibilities that should easily be done by an effective, professionally staffed embassy in Washington DC. Alas, other than the new Ambassador Prasad Kariyawasam, all others in the embassy are political appointees. The once highly respected career Foreign Service has diminished in stature.
The man at the helm of all these PR campaigns to woo the United States Government is the one tasked by President Mahinda Rajapaksa to function as Monitoring MP for the External Affairs Ministry (EAM) — Sajin de Vass Gunawardena. In his official role, he should, as the title implies, monitor the effective and professional functioning of the EAM. Instead, he has hired a number of US agencies to outsource the work of the Sri Lanka’s diplomatic mission in the US. All this is supposedly to win over the Obama Administration and forge close ties with the world’s leading superpower.
Vass Gunawardena is President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s trouble-shooter on most matters related to international affairs and the day-to-day running of the EAM. He plays a bigger role in the conduct of Sri Lanka’s foreign policy than even Minister G.L. Peiris. The minister has been focusing mostly on foreign visits, meeting his counterparts, addressing events and issuing media statements.
A FARA registration document dated June 2 reveals that Vass Gunawardena signed up with Beltway Government Strategies Incorporated, a US public relations firm, for the Sri Lanka Embassy in Washington DC. The office of this agency is located at 624 ½ Vincent Park, Redondo Beach, Los Angeles. One of the Directors, Mark Skarulis, has given only his office address. The second Mohamed Khan has declared his residence as 1351 Westwood Boulevard, 105 Los Angeles. A third Director Deborah Goldberg has, however, declared her address as Arlington, Virginia, Washington DC. The road to the centre of US power, their capital Washington DC, seems to be through Los Angeles. That is at least for the Government of Sri Lanka.
The tasks assigned to Beltway Government Strategies Incorporated have not been defined nor the amounts to be paid to it revealed. There is little doubt that almost all of the functions the PR firm will undertake are those outsourced from the Sri Lanka Embassy in Washington DC. It was only last Wednesday; Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake told Parliament that out of 49 heads of overseas missions of Sri Lanka, 35 had been filled with political appointees. The Sunday Times published this list in its issue of January 19 this year. Dissanayake said relatives, friends and close associates of the Government were recruited to the Foreign Service with complete disregard for their competence. He said that the service had been converted into a branch of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), the main partner in the UPFA.
On July 20, the Sunday Times (Political Commentary) revealed that Vass Gunawardena was engaged in back-channel diplomacy to cushion any possible adverse fallout from the international investigation into alleged war crimes. He told his friends and associates that he would “resolve the matter within months.” At the centre of his efforts is Imad Zuberi, a US citizen of Pakistani origin. He is a partner in a venture capital and boutique international consulting firm. He is co-Vice Chair of National Finance Committee (NFC) of Obama for President, National co-chair of Technology for Obama (TECHS 43), National Co-chair of Generational Forty Four (Gen 44) and National co-chair of Asian-American Pacific Islanders for Obama (AAPI). He is using the full weight of his office, of course, for a fee.
Zuberi was introduced to UPFA leaders by Salim Mandviwalla, a former Pakistani Finance Minister and one time chairman of the Board of Investment of that country. Diplomatic sources in Washington DC say Zuberi introduced Beltway Government Strategies Inc. to Vass Gunawardena. Among those whom he counts as friends in this firm is Director Mohamed Khan who is also of Pakistani origin. The diplomatic sources also said that on matters of foreign policy, “there is little that PR or lobbying firms could do except get rich from their clients. There is a lack of clear understanding that there would be dramatic US foreign policy changes when one recruits them. That is furthest from the truth.”
The June 2 registration statement seeks the “Name of Foreign Principal” in one of the many cages. The reply given is “Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Office of the Monitoring MP for the Ministry of External Affairs.” In other words, it is neither the Ambassador for Sri Lanka in the United States nor the Sri Lankan Government which has authority over Beltway Government Strategies Inc. It is the Monitoring MP for the Ministry. The FARA registration makes clear he calls the shots with not only this agency but with others too.
The official address of the Monitoring MP has been given in the FARA document as “No: 9/2 Dudley Senanayake Mawatha, Colombo 8.” The Sunday Times found that occupying that address now is the office of Korean International Co-operation Agency (KOICA) as the picture on this page confirms. Inquiries revealed that before them, the premises were occupied by Cosmos Aviation, a firm which Vass Gunawardena is closely associated with. It is in the business of hiring out helicopters. Gunawardena himself uses these helicopters when he has to fly from Colombo to coastal Pasikudah (near Batticaloa) where his seaside resort is located. Why this address has been given when the Monitoring MP was functioning from the External Affairs Ministry remains a mystery.
Read more
http://www.sundaytimes.lk/140810/columns/110301-110301.html
Me kiyanne redi galawenna
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