Sri Lanka - UN expulsion

Expelled senior United Nations official's case under review

Article published on the 2009-09-07 Latest update 2009-09-07 14:31 TU

A memorial ceremony for those lost in the 25-year war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
(Photo: Reuters)

After ordering a senior United Nations (UN) official to leave Sri Lanka on Sunday, the government is now ‘reviewing’ the decision. James Elder, a spokesman for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), was accused of bias towards the Tamil Tiger rebel group in the last months of a 25 year long civil war.

Sri Lanka’s foreign secretary Palitha Kahona said Elder’s case was under review after UNICEF sought more details on Elder’s visa status.

Elder was vocal about the suffering of children and civilian casualties in interviews on television and in print media throughout the conflict that ended in May. He called for the government to lift restrictions on aid groups that had been trying to enter the conflict zone to help hundreds of thousands of civilians caught up in fighting.

Throughout the last months of the conflict, the government was sensitive to international criticism in the media. It blocked access to the conflict zone, and required all journalists to be accompanied by army officials.

Speaking to news agency AFP, Kohuna said on Sunday that Elder had been “doing propaganda” in support of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

“It was unacceptable. UN officials are meant to be impartial and the government took a very dim view of it,” he said.

"We need to unequivocally state that whatever was said during the conflict and since the conflict, we stand for, and we stand by," said Sarah Crowe, Unicef's regional head of communications, who spoke to RFI from her office in Kathmandu, Nepal.

Meanwhile, Unicef reacted furiously to the allegations on Monday, and say they failed to resolve the dispute at a meeting with Sri Lankan officials earlier in the day.

"It is very important to refute these allegations," she added, saying that Elder spoke out for "those who do not have a voice."

Crowe maintains that Unicef had also criticised the LTTE for their recruitment of child soldiers.

Australian passport-holder James Elder had been working in Sri Lanka since July 2008 and was due to remain there with a residency visa until 2010.

Crowe says that Unicef, which has a large operation in Sri Lanka, will continue to uphold their mandate.