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IMHO has recently come under fire from a series of blatantly false and dangerous accusations by a so-called "journalist", Hassina Leelarathna of Los Angeles, California. These allegations were self-published in her journal, the Sri Lankan Express, and her most recent articles were reproduced in print and online by several media outlets, including Sinhale Hot News, The Sunday Observer, The Island, and Ceylon Daily News. The disturbing allegations raised by the author are presented with no evidence, and IMHO categorically denies each and every false and libelous allegation presented.

As our friends and supporters, you know our work and our principles, and we want you to know that we are doing everything possible to redress this very sad and disturbing situation. We have sent letters to the editors of the Sunday Observer, The Island, and Ceylon Daily News, as well as Sri Lankan Express itself, asking them all to retract their articles and print our letter. There has been no response from any of these papers so far.

IMHO is a humanitarian organization whose sole aim is to improve the health and nutrition of civilians caught in conflict and natural disaster. It was founded by concerned Americans and Sri Lankans living in the United States, most of whom are doctors. The group has always focused on the victims of the conflict in Sri Lanka because of the serious healthcare crisis in the conflict zone. Since its inception, IMHO has always been strictly NON-POLITICAL, as its mission is only HUMANITARIAN.

The IMHO has pursued its humanitarian mission in strict compliance with the anti-terrorism laws of both the United States and Sri Lanka. The group disclosed to the Internal Revenue Service of the United States, at the time of its founding, that it would be working in the conflict zone of Sri Lanka, including in territory then held by the LTTE. It has also ensured that every dollar spent is accounted for through the use of an independent financial auditing firm, which has audited the group’s accounts every year since 2005. In addition, an attorney knowledgeable in the anti-terrorism laws of the United States reviews and approves every IMHO project to ensure compliance with those laws. Most important, whenever the IMHO has considered funding projects in the Sri Lankan conflict zone, it has taken great pains to work only with employees of the Government of Sri Lanka or non-governmental agencies registered with the Government of Sri Lanka. In several cases the group has worked directly with government hospitals, with staff under the Ministry of Health, and with groups that form part of the Consortium for Humanitarian Agencies.

That any self-proclaimed "journalist" or media outlet has chosen to publish such blatantly biased writing is extremely unfortunate, not only because it undermines the quality of journalism of each, but also because it makes it harder for the IMHO to continue to do its extremely important work. The IMHO works not only in the north and east of Sri Lanka, but also in southern Sri Lanka, Burma, Bangladesh, Pakistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the United States, and other places where victims of war and natural disaster need assistance. For these reasons, we have encouraged all of the responsible media outlets to retract their story(-ies) and in the future ensure that journalists writing about the IMHO engage in basic practices concerning journalistic ethics – including asking for comments from interested parties and checking important facts. Had such rudimentary practices been followed by the author here, we would venture to guess that this story would never have been written...

To see the full text of our letter to the Editors-in-Chief of The Sunday Observer, The Island, and Ceylon Daily News, please see the attachment below:

To download this form, please click HERE
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