Thursday 20 December 2007

Abuse of Power?

I found this whilst sat having a coffee in Ibn Battuta Mall and reading The Times.


In case you don't want to follow the link, here is my synopsis of the story:

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa wanted to fly from London via the Maldives to Sri Lanka. Does he use his own private jet - not as such! Does he book in advance - not so you would notice! No, Mr Rajapaksa demands that 35 fair paying passengers get turfed off the flight so that he and his entourage can get on!

Was this some sort of state visit - no way! Mr Rajapaksa had been to Britain to watch his son graduate from the Royal Naval College in Dartmouth - where, presumably, he was trained to be "An Officer and A Gentleman", unlike his dad!

So what was the upshot of this incident - he wasn't allowed on the flight and the Sri Lankan Government, far from censuring this outrageous man for his disgraceful and anything but diplomatic actions, have threatened to cancel the work permit of Mr Peter Hill, the British head of Sri Lankan Airways, thus effectively sacking him.

Some people, quite simply, have too much power and do not know how to use it!

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