Setting The Record Straight: Response To Sanjana On Sunila
Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka
A touching appreciation of Sunila Abeysekera (‘A Lone Unifier’ Ceylon Today, Sept 13th 2013, p 6) by my young friend Sanjana Hattotuwa is slightly marred by an inaccurate and misleading reference to me (albeit by former designation rather than name). He writes: “I wondered why just a few years ago, the then Sri Lankan Ambassador at the UN in Geneva blocked Sunila’s representation on the grounds that she lacked adequate academic qualifications.”
I was Sri Lanka’s Ambassador/Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva at the time. “Blocked Sunila’s representation”: where and in what capacity? What “representation”? Sanjana does not specify.
Having initiated the practice of inviting NGOs and INGOs to open debate with the Sri Lankan delegation (as noted by Wiki-leaked cables of the US Mission in Geneva), invited the Amnesty International representative to chair one such event, and hosted the CPA’s Dr Saravanamuttu and even the GTF’s Fr Emmanuel as participants, I had no reason whatsoever to block anyone’s “representation”. Indeed I solicited and welcomed it.
Sunila was certainly not blocked, nor could be, by anyone, in her presence at the UN Human Rights Council. I last met her there at an event on the sidelines of the UN HRC when she greeted the Human Rights MinisterMahinda Samarasinghe with a warm hug and took her place around the table as a member of the audience with every right to participate in the discussion. I was at the head of the table and was a speaker, as our Permanent Mission had organised the meeting. If I rightly recall, Harvard educated legal researcher Gehan Gunatilleke was present and raised critical questions as did Peter Splinter of Amnesty International. Sunila remained silent throughout. Young Mr Gunatilleke might attest to the veracity of my recollection.
