Lebanon's President Michel Aoun is in hot water after it was revealed that tea donated by Sri Lanka for victims of the Beirut blast was distributed to families of his presidential guards.
Critics consider it to be yet another example of official corruption in a country reeling from the August 4 explosion that killed at least 190 people, wounded thousands and ravaged central Beirut.
But Sri Lanka’s ambassador to Lebanon, Shani Calyaneratne Karunaratne, said the controversy was a storm in a teacup.
Ms Karunaratne said the tea was a gift for Mr Aoun who was free to do with it as he wished.
Sri Lanka was one of several nations that rushed to show support after Lebanon's worst peacetime disaster.
Mr Aoun's office released a picture on August 24 showing him receiving Ms Karunaratne and quoted her saying that Colombo donated 1,675 kilograms of Ceylon tea to those affected by the blast.
Mr Aoun's office said he wrote to Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to thank him for "a gift of Ceylon tea that had been received by the army and distributed to the families of soldiers in the presidential guard".
On Wednesday morning, the president's office told The National that the tea was a "personal gift" to Mr Aoun and that he gave it to members of the presidential guard who were affected by the blast.
Social media erupted in criticism, with the hashtags "tea thief" and "Ceylon tea" trending on Twitter.
But Ms Karunaratne said such criticism of Mr Aoun was shameful.
"We gave this tea to the president and he can do whatever he wants with it as long as the people who get it are Lebanese," she told The National.
"It's one of the best teas in the world and I'm happy that whoever he gave it to is drinking it."
Ms Karunaratne brushed off the question of for whom the tea was intended – Mr Aoun or the Lebanese people.
"Why are you so worried about it? It is something from the Sri Lankan people and the people who own the tea company," she said.
"I am tired with this kind of disrespect towards the authorities.”
Among those questioning Mr Aoun’s decision was former MP Paula Yacoubian, who resigned after the port disaster.
"The tea was sent to the Lebanese, particularly those affected by the explosion," Ms Yacoubian wrote online.
"Of course, it wasn't a present for those who don't need it. Distributing the aid to your entourage is shameful.”
A social media user said: "The excuse that it was a present for the president is even worse than the sin itself."
Social media users have also been up in arms over the fate of 12 tonnes of fish sent by Mauritania in mid-August.
After widespread calls to know its whereabouts, the army said on Monday that it received the fish and "stored it according to public safety standards".
It said it was talking to several associations preparing meals for those in need "to cook it and distribute it to those affected by the port blast".
On Twitter, one user made light of the food aid controversy.
"The presidential palace, or the palace of the people, invites you to a free lunch on Sunday," she wrote.
"Open buffet on Mauritanian fish, and open bar on Ceylon tea." – additional reporting by AFP
