Sri Lanka Orders Unicef Official to Leave

A senior official at the United Nations humanitarian agency, Unicef, has been given two weeks to leave Sri Lanka after expressing concerns about the plight of Tamils in government-run "welfare camps" – the first UN official to be expelled from the island nation.

James Elder, the head of communications for Unicef in Colombo, was called in by the foreign ministry and told that his diplomatic status would be revoked.

There was no response from the government today. It has been reported that immigration authorities in the Sri Lankan capital have been instructed to cancel Elder's visa, which expires in July.

Elder could not be reached for comment but Unicef released a statement saying it was urgently "seeking clarity from the Sri Lankan authorities on the visa status" of its official.

According to local newspapers, the government was angered by remarks Elder made to the media about the conditions in government camps accommodating almost 300,000 Tamils displaced after the Sri Lankan army routed the separatist Tamil Tiger rebels in May. Recently Elder had warned that the island's impending monsoon would flood the refugee camps, and called on the government to act.

Unicef and the government had been involved in a war of words over who was responsible for supplying the camps with basic facilities such as toilets and tents. The government said criticisms over lack of facilities should be leveled at the aid agencies.

Unicef said ultimate responsibility for the camps rested with the government, and claimed the UN's support had been hindered by government restrictions on access to the camps.

UN officials said Sri Lanka's move was reminiscent of "North Korean diplomacy" and was aimed at "paralyzing Unicef". The expulsion has been condemned by human rights groups who say the government's actions were intended to "stop humanitarian relief and monitoring operations".

"This is a clear warning to the UN agencies and all relief workers not to speak out about the situation of 300,000 Tamils who are being interned," said Suhas Chakma, of Delhi's Asian Center for Human Rights. "It is worse than the way UN agencies are treated by authoritarian regimes and sets a new low. Burma treats aid workers better."