Minister clears diplomat of any wrongdoing, allegations false

Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism Minister Vijitha Herath said allegations levelled against Himali Arunathilaka, who served as a former Deputy High Commissioner at the Australian High Commission that are circulating in the media are baseless and false.

The Minister said this at the special media conference held yesterday (20) at the Department of Government Information to create awareness and to provide insights into President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s recent state visit to India.

He reiterated clearly that Himali Arunathilaka had not committed any fraud or theft in the payment of salaries to an employee. He said that the court decision was made under the laws of Australia and that the Sri Lanka government will be addressing this matter through a policy decision. Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath further said that Arunathilake is a well respected senior Sri Lankan diplomat who has represented and served the country in an exceptional manner during crucial times and is presently serving as the Sri Lankan Permanent Representative to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva with a longstanding high-level track record as a Sri Lankan career diplomat and continues to represent the country in her diplomatic role.

The Minister explained that salaries of employees who accompany ambassadors or high commissioners to other countries are paid by the Government of Sri Lanka based on a salary scale that is set in accordance with Sri Lanka’s standards which are comparatively lower than those of countries such as Australia or Europe but are relatively higher than those in African countries. Minister Herath said that as a result of this incident, Himali Arunathilake had to face many personal challenges which he said will quite often affect many diplomats.

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