US wanted to know UN position on Lanka -WikiLeaks

The United States wanted its diplomats at the UN headquarters to find what the global agency was thinking about the human rights situation in Sri Lanka, new documents released by the whistle blowing website Wikileaks have revealed.

Some of the cables released by the website pertain to queries made by the US State Department about what the UN was doing about human rights violation and war crimes in countries like Sierra Leone and Rwanda.

The Guardian newspaper published the secret cables sent to US diplomats in which enquires were made about Sri Lanka.

One such cable was dispatched in July, 2009; two months after Lankan Government troops defeated the separatist LTTE rebels amid allegations of human rights violations by both sides.

“Views and intentions of UNSC (UN Security Council), UN human rights entities, and members regarding Sri Lankan government policies on human rights and humanitarian assistance; UN views about appointing a Special Envoy for Sri Lanka,” the cable queried from the diplomats.

It was at about the same time the enquiries were made that many western countries including the US had said that an independent international probe was needed.

It was in June this year that UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon appointed a three-member international team to probe and advice him on the last phase of the war.

Courtesy: Hindustan Times