Dhanapala quits

[TamilNet, Sunday, 06 January 2008, 13:08 GMT]
Advisor to Sri Lanka President on Peace Process, Jayantha Dhanapala, quit his position following the termination of the Cease Fire Agreement (CFA) by the Rajapakse Government on 2nd January, media reports from Colombo said. "Close confidants of Dhanapala said he was embarrassed by the turn of events, with the government pressing for a military victory after scoring several battlefield successes against the rebels last year," an AFP report said.

Jayantha Dhanapala, after a distinguished career as a national and international diplomat, was invited by then President Chandrika Kumaratunge to manage the peace process in June 2004.

Dr. Dhanapala was also acting as a Senior Adviser to Sri Lanka's President Kumaratunga. Both appointments took effect from June 2004.

The complexities of the conflict and hard positions taken by the parties involved proved difficult for the diplomatic skills of Dr Dhanapala to make any headway in the peace process during his 15-month stewardship at Sri Lanka's Peace Secretariat.

In November 2005 he relinquished duties to devote more time to the unsuccessful bid for the post of Secretary General of the United Nations.

Dhanapala was the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs from 1998 to 2003. He served for many years as a member of the Sri Lanka Foreign Service and was Ambassador in Geneva and in Washington D.C.

In February 1998 UN Secretary General Kofi Annan appointed Dhanapala as a Commissioner in the United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) and the Head of the Special Group visiting the Presidential sites in Iraq.

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