The Sepala Ekanayake hi-jack: Then ambassador’s take on what happened in Bangkok
(Excerpted from “Madame-Sir”, Manel Abeysekera’s memoir of SL’s first woman career diplomat. This book was first published in 2010) It was when we were in the Residence at Soi 20 that I had to handle the second hi-jack — that of the Alitalia ‘plane by Sepala Ekanayake. It was a year after that by the […]
In 2010, during her tenure as a career diplomat for Sri Lanka, Manel Abeysekera faced her second hijacking incident, this time involving Sepala Ekanayake. The event occurred a year after the Indonesian Muslim Fundamentalists' abortive coup in Bangkok. Ekanayake, a Sri Lankan, took control of an Alitalia Boeing carrying 169 passengers and demanded to fly it to Colombo.
Abeysekera, initially suspicious of his identity, confirmed his name was not Sepala and traced his background. Ekanayake's motives were unique: his wife had taken their four-year-old son to Italy without his knowledge, and he sought to reclaim both his child and $300,000 in exchange for not harming the passengers. Abeysekera, along with her husband and embassy staffer Premaratne, visited the airport and communicated with Ekanayake via radio link, speaking in Sinhala to avoid any suspicion of him being an Eelamist.
Despite the lack of direct communication with the Foreign Secretary due to limited phone connectivity, Abeysekera prayed for guidance and managed to persuade Ekanayake to comply with her demands. When Ekanayake's wife and son were finally sent back to Bangkok by the Italian government, the hijacking was resolved without incident.
Written by urgent.news from The Island Sri Lanka's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
