UN Asks Lankan Govt to Free Staff Members

Raising concerns of its two staff members, the United Nations (UN) has appealed to Sri Lanka to respect the human rights of its two employees who have been lodged in jail without charge since June on the ground of suspicion of collaborating with Tamil separatists.

Marie Okabe, deputy UN spokeswoman, said that the UN had been and was extremely concerned about the continuous case of the two national UN staff members detained by the Sri Lankan authorities in June.

According to her, the two employees, both Tamils, had been traveling in the area around Vavuniya, a northern town gripped with battle, which was a de facto front line in the decades-old civil war. The war ended following a massive military offensive in May with the defeat of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

“The UN has been particularly concerned about suggestions that the two staff members may have been mistreated in the first days of their detention,” Okabe said.