Dear Sir/madam,
I write with response to your article “UNHRC process needs open minded approach” of the 26th of August 2015.
It is our position not to comment on the investigation into Sir Desmond de Silva’s conduct while it is ongoing other than to confirm, when asked directly, that we had filed the complaint. Therefore we shall not comment on the substance of the article or the assertions made about us.
However we write to inform you that the assertion that Yasmin Sooka is “leading the campaign against Sir Desmond” is entirely false. Yasmin Sooka is one of the 23 members of the Sri Lanka Campaign’s advisory council. These are internationally recognised individuals who have endorsed the objectives of the Sri Lanka Campaign, and on whose advice in their area of expertise we can call on from time to time. As Ms Sooka has been engaged in other matters of late we have not had occasion or opportunity to call on her advice in some time. The advisory council does not play any role in the day-to-day running of the campaign. You can read more about our organisational structure here.
As is therefore entirely usual, Ms Sooka was in no way involved in our decision to bring a complaint against Sir Desmond de Silva and played no part in making the complaint. Indeed she would not even have been aware that we had done so until reading about it in the press.
We would appreciate it if you could remove the references to Ms Sooka from the article and circulate a correction.
Kind regards,
Fred Carver
Campaign Director
Sri Lanka Campaign