On 25 May 2008, over a 150 invitees gathered at the London Buddhist Vihara to pay tribute to Her Excellency Mrs. Kshenuka Senewiratne, The High Commissioner for SL in the UK. Her Excellency would be returning to her home base at the end of June, having represented Sri Lanka in the UK for six years, first as the Deputy and then as the head of the diplomatic Mission. The programme consisted of a series of felicitations, and a "Mal Pahan Pooja", to invoke the blessings of the triple gem on her.

Dr Harshi Boralessa welcomed the guests. Addressing Her Excellency, she declared,

"In the years to come we will recall your commitment, knowledge, competence and skills. These have enabled you to initiate projects, furthering many important causes, sometimes at considerable personal cost."

Dr. Boralessa then invited the Chief Incumbent of the London Buddhist Vihara, Ven. Bogoda Seelawimala, Ven. Bandula, Ven. Susara and Rev. Tony de Alwis from the Diocese of Nottingham to declare the Ceremony open by lighting the traditional oil lamp.

A melodious rendition of Danno Budunge by Chulanie de Alwis accompanied by Denzil Lazarus of Breeze filled the room.

Before launching into the tributes, the audience was provided with a conceptual framework, to contextualise the presentations.

Dr. Boralessa explained that there was consensus within the international community on the functions of a diplomatic mission. She added that these functions were universal, applying equally to missions from developed and developing states, and were codified in 1961 in the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

Art. 3 (1) specifies four important functions of the diplomatic mission. Applying this article to the particular case of the Sri Lankan Mission in the UK, it would appear that it had an integral role in:

a. representing Sri Lanka in the UK

b. protecting in the UK, the interests of Sri Lanka and its nationals, within the limits permitted by international law.

c. promoting friendly relations between SL and the UK and developing their economic, cultural and scientific relations.

The tributes sought to highlight the various projects that the High Commissioner had initiated, and allowed the invitees to appreciate the extent to which the High Commissioner had met the benchmarks established in the Vienna Convention.

Introducing Ven. Seelawimala, Dr Boralessa pointed out that the High Commissioner’s association with the London Bhuddist Vihara spanned two decades, going back to the time she was an undergraduate, and thus it was appropriate that Ven. Seelawimala started off the eulogies. Ven. Seelawimala’s talk on the Value of Buddhist Principles in fulfilling a public role, emphasized the value of tolerance, forbearance and mindfulness and commended Her Excellency for her ability to incorporate these values into the running of the mission.

As mentioned, one of the functions of the Diplomatic Mission articulated in the Vienna Convention was to promote the interests of the host state: Sri Lanka and its nationals, in the UK. The High Commissioner sought to achieve this by uniting the diaspora, and harnessing its collective energies to promote national unity.

Four initiatives taken towards building a cohesive diaspora, were discussed by the speakers that followed.

Firstly, Lakshmi de Zoysa MBE and Mala Polpitiye (Secretary of Hela Sarana), discussed the High Commissioner’s involvement in linking diverse Sri Lankan Associations. A central theme of their tribute was the democratization of the High Commission. All seemed persone grate:

She was highly visible. All, not just an elite, were invited warmly to mark the anniversary on which Sri Lanka achieved Dominion Status. The doors of the High Commission opened wide to all faiths and communities. Vesak, Christmas, Eid, Deevali, were celebrated with equal importance.

This initiative to unite the diaspora, has already been acknowledged by the Sri Lankan community. In November 2007 her Excellency was presented with a collection of letters of appreciation from various associations in the UK for her initiative to work with the Sri Lankan diaspora:

Zounie Fallil (President of Sri Lanka Malay Association 2002) focused on the High Commissioner’s role in engaging communities. She spoke first of "Children of the Pearl", a variety entertainment involving children of all communities and then the attempts to integrate by celebrating festivals of all religions: recognition was given to Eid, the Sinhala and Tamil New Year, Divali, Christmas and Vesak at the Mission.

Referring to the High Commissioner’s concern for the interests of all the faiths of the Sri Lankan community in the UK, Rev. Tony de Alwis, speaking as an Anglican priest, said that whilst non-Buddhists like himself unquestioningly accepted that Buddhism and the Dhamma were rightfully accorded pride of place in the life of the nation, they also greatly appreciated the High Commissioner’s fair-minded approach in giving due recognition to the other faiths in the activities of the High Commission and for the way in which she had promoted closer understanding between these faiths.

Following on Dr. Narada Wijayatilleke (Past President of Association of Old Anandians in the UK) discussed Her Excellency’s initiative in bringing together disparate groups to the Campaign for Peace and Unity in Sri Lanka. This led to the birth of CPSUL. He elaborated on the role of the CPSUL in ensuring full and fair disclosure on the Sri Lankan ethnic conflict. Information disclosed was made available to politicians in the UK.

The High Commission’s efforts to fulfil this function were then explored.

1. Mentoring Sri Lankan students

An appreciation from the Corporate Sector was delivered by Mr. Faleel Marrikkar, the CEO of Baylis House Hotel. He touched on the support that was available to Sri Lankan hoteliers in the United Kingdom. He was impressed by the High Commissioner’s quick response to queries, easy accessibility and commitment, essential for corporate development.

Cricket is a passion for Sri Lankans & so it was for her Excellency. Cricket breaks down barriers .The need to nurture and support the game was highlighted by Mr. Asitha Jayaweera (former member of the Sri Lankan cricket team).

He spoke of the High Commissioner’s support of Sri Lankan Cricket and cricketers. After the Sri Lankan Cricket team lost the final of the World Cup, she hosted an informal get-together at her residence en route to Sri Lanka to energize their flagging spirits.

The First Secretary of the High Commission Mr. Maxwell Keegal gave us an insight of the Head of the Mission in a speech titled "The Head of the Diplomatic Mission: An Insider’s Perspective".

When introducing Mr. Keegal, Dr. Boralessa read out this extract from the International Law Commission Yearbook:

International Law Commission YBILC, 1958, II, pp. 101-102 l

Mr. Keegal commented on the qualities that allowed Her Excellency to perform her duties, effectively and with professionalism. She was a fearsome task master and fearless task delegator! These attributes he added, together with her commitment, enabled her to ensure that that the Sri Lankan policies were both communicated effectively and implemented.

Mr. Fritz Kodagoda a practicing barrister at 12 Old Square followed by looking at ways in which the High Commissioner has raised the profile of Sri Lanka in the UK. Raj Arumugam, introduced Mr. Kodagoda. Mr. Arumagam, an associate at Morgan Lewis, observed that it was most appropriate to invite a lawyer to make a tribute to the High Commissioner, as her family included a long line of distinguished lawyers. Several uncles distinguished themselves at the bar: among these, are the late Dr Colvin R. de Silva, father of the Sri Lankan Constitution 1972; and, L. W. de Silva, a High Court judge, and the first Sri Lankan to be elected to the Privy Council.

Fritz Kodagoda made the interesting observation that Her Excellency had succeeded not only in raising the profile of Sri Lanka within the Sri Lankan community by kindling an interest in all things Sri Lankan, but had also seized opportunities to participate in other areas to project a positive image in Sri Lanka. For instance, when Her Excellency had occasion to visit Lincoln’s Inn recently, she was observed in earnest conversation and exchange of ideas with eminent British judges such as Lord Justice Robert Walker. The ease and assurance with which she mingled with barristers and judges prompted certain members of the Inn to assume that she was a lawyer herself.

The tributes were rounded off with Harsha Boralessa, introduced by Nimali de Silva (a solicitor with the Government Legal Service) reflecting on the High Commissioner’s personal qualities. He recalled how Her Excellency, or Kshenu Akki, as he affectionately referred to her, was often entrusted with the unenviable task of looking after his sister and himself. Kshenu Akki was only an undergraduate then but even then her skills as a negotiator, go-between and peace-maker stood out, when she successfully brought order and discipline to them.

Dr. Harshi Boralessa brought the felicitations to a close, by recalling the Oxford Dictionary definition of a diplomat: a diplomat: conciliator, mediator, moderator, peace-maker and negotiator. She invited the audience to reflect on whether the High Commissioner’s achievements and personal qualities brought her within the dictionary definition.

Mrs. Karuna Somasiri (Head of Mathematics, Cannon High School, Stanmore), then thanked the High Commissioner for her enormous contribution to the community, the organizers for their hard work, the participants for their presence and the London Buddhist Vihare for enabling to felicitate the High Commissioner in a truly Buddhist atmosphere.

Her Excellency after thanking them for the wonderful memories of support and friendship they have left her with, addressed the gathering with these words:

"Dear Brothers & Sisters, […] I wish to share with you a teaching of the Buddha that has guided me through life and quote,

"Focus not on the rudeness of others, not on what they’ve done or left undone, but on what you have and haven’t done yourself."

I hope that this would inspire all of you to shed any differences and come together as one community to keep the Sri Lankan flag aloft away from the national boundaries of our Motherland."

Led by Mrs. Chulanie de Alwis, all united for renditions of "May the Good Lord Bless and Keep You" and "Now is the Hour for us to say good bye." This was a fitting finale to the tributes, and one by which the High Commissioner was visibly moved. The National Anthem concluded the first part of the program.

After a short interlude, the religious part of the programme commenced with a Mal Pahana Pooja. With the shrine room and sermon hall lit with bowls of floating candles, baskets of flowers of every hue were passed from hand to hand. Strains of devotional songs from the Lovada Sangarava filled the room. The venerable monks led by the Chief Incumbent Ven. Seelawimala chanted Pirith invoking the blessings of the Triple Gem on the outgoing High Commissioner. A variety of Sri Lankan delicacies and freshly brewed Ceylon tea were then served, to a spiritually uplifted but hypoglaecemic crowd, bringing to a close a truly fitting afternoon of felicitations to a professional diplomat through and through.