By ColomboTelegraph –

“Pascoe, who recently visited Sri Lanka, questioned the credibility of GSL officials; no one believes they can meet their current timetable for moving people out of the camps. A/S Blake agreed, saying he had urged the GSL to demonstrate some real successes on the ground, because nobody believes them anymore. The U.S.has stressed the importance of working with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and others to figure out a way to resettle significant numbers of IDPs. He noted the discussion within the USG on continuing to finance humanitarian assistance to IDPs in closed camps that do not meet international standards for treatment of displaced persons; the U.S.is exploring ways to use food aid and other assistance to support the returns process.” US State Department wrote to US Embassy Colombo. 

Robert Blake

A classified diplomatic cable which details a meeting the US Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs Robert Blake has had with UN officials on September 29, 2009. The Colombo Telegraph found the related US diplomatic cable from the Secretary of State section of the WikiLeaks database. The cable was classified as “Confidential” signed by Hillary Clinton on September 30 2009.

“In a September 29 meeting on the margins of the UN General Assembly, UN Under-Secretaries General Pascoe and Holmes questioned the government of Sri Lanka’s credibility, especially on IDP returns, but said top UN officials would continue to press the GSL on the importance of allowing freedom of movement. The UN will not support new closed transit camps, and is urging that screened and low-risk IDPs be given freedom of movement. A/S Blake expressed appreciation that U.S.and UN messages are in synch. Pascoe and Holmes offered to reinforce to GSL officials the importance of retaining the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Sri Lanka, but have been asked by the ICRC to let it fight its own battles. Pascoe doubted that the GSL was prepared to take meaningful steps on accountability in the near-term before elections in early 2010, but suggested that a process for political reconciliation was beginning to take off. Blake briefed on the draft report to Congress on violations of international humanitarian law by both sides during the war. On Nepal, Pascoe noted concern about the government’s lack of urgency to bring the Maoists back into the political process; Indiatoo seemed complacent. The status quo risks a return to violence, he said.” the US State Department  further wrote.

Under the subheading ‘POLITICAL RECONCILIATION; ACCOUNTABILITY’ they wrote “Blake previewed for Holmes and Pascoe the report to Congress being prepared by the State Department Office of War Crimes Investigations (S/WCI) on potential violations of international humanitarian law and crimes against humanity committed by both sides during the final stages of the conflict in Sri Lanka. He asked Holmes and Pascoe if there is discussion within the UN on supporting an accountability process in Sri Lanka.”

“Pascoe observed that the government is not yet prepared to take meaningful steps on accountability, but that political reconciliation is beginning to gain traction. The opposition Tamil National Alliance (TNA), for example, has shown some enthusiasm for engaging with the GSL. The UN continues to push on accountability. It would rather have the Sri Lankan government initiate a process that the UN could assist with, but if the government does not do it, then there are international mechanisms that could. Blake questioned President Rajapaksa’s decision to delay steps toward reconciliation and devolution until after spring 2010 elections, noting that he has already weakened and divided the political opposition; from his political perspective, any loss in nationalist votes would be offset by gains from liberals and Tamils.” US State Department further wrote.

Read the relevant parts of the cable;

VZCZCXRO8580
OO RUEHBI RUEHCI RUEHNEH RUEHRN
DE RUEHC #2030/01 2740018
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O P 302358Z SEP 09
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO RUEHLM/AMEMBASSY COLOMBO IMMEDIATE 6041
INFO RUEHRL/AMEMBASSY BERLIN PRIORITY 3804
RUEHSW/AMEMBASSY BERN PRIORITY 6614
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA PRIORITY 5366
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 6989
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI PRIORITY 6995
RUEHNY/AMEMBASSY OSLO PRIORITY 8771
RUEHOT/AMEMBASSY OTTAWA PRIORITY 6777
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS PRIORITY 6530
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME PRIORITY 2521
RUEHSM/AMEMBASSY STOCKHOLM PRIORITY 8154
RUEHTC/AMEMBASSY THE HAGUE PRIORITY 6500
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO PRIORITY 0710
RUEHCG/AMCONSUL CHENNAI PRIORITY 9794
RUEHNEH/AMCONSUL HYDERABAD PRIORITY 0120
RUEHCI/AMCONSUL KOLKATA PRIORITY 3417
RUEHBI/AMCONSUL MUMBAI PRIORITY 2807
RUEHRN/USMISSION UN ROME PRIORITY 0731
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 7963
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS PRIORITY
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA PRIORITY 9427

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 STATE 102030 

SIPDIS 

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/30/2019
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM PREF PTER EAID ICRC UN IN CE NP
SUBJECT: SRI LANKA/NEPAL: SCA A/S BLAKE'S SEPTEMBER 29,
2009 MEETING WITH UN UNDER-SECRETARY GENERAL FOR POLITICAL
AFFAIRS LYNN PASCOE AND UNDER-SECRETARY GENERAL FOR
HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS JOHN HOLMES 

Classified By: SCA A/S Robert O. Blake, Jr.  Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 

¶1.  (U) September 29, 2009; 12:00 p.m.; New York. 

¶2.  (SBU) Participants: 

U.S.
SCA A/S Blake
Donald Camp, Senior Area Adviser, USUN
Douglas Mercado, Adviser, Humanitarian Affairs, USUN
Anthony Renzulli (SCA Notetaker) 

UN
U/SYG for Political Affairs Lynn Pascoe
U/SYG for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes
Lisa Buttenheim, Director, Middle East and West Asia
Division, Dept. of Political Affairs
Anne Gueguen-Mohsen, Political Affairs Officer, Dept. of
Political Affairs
Andrew Cox, Chief of Staff to U/SYG Holmes 

¶3.  (C) SUMMARY.  In a September 29 meeting on the margins of
the UN General Assembly, UN Under-Secretaries General Pascoe
and Holmes questioned the government of Sri Lanka's
credibility, especially on IDP returns, but said top UN
officials would continue to press the GSL on the importance
of allowing freedom of movement.  The UN will not support new
closed transit camps, and is urging that screened and
low-risk IDPs be given freedom of movement.  A/S Blake
expressed appreciation that U.S. and UN messages are in
synch.  Pascoe and Holmes offered to reinforce to GSL
officials the importance of retaining the International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Sri Lanka, but have been
asked by the ICRC to let it fight its own battles.  Pascoe
doubted that the GSL was prepared to take meaningful steps on
accountability in the near-term before elections in early
2010, but suggested that a process for political
reconciliation was beginning to take off.  Blake briefed on
the draft report to Congress on violations of international
humanitarian law by both sides during the war.  On Nepal,
Pascoe noted concern about the government's lack of urgency
to bring the Maoists back into the political process; India
too seemed complacent.  The status quo risks a return to
violence, he said. END SUMMARY. 

----------------------
SRI LANKA: IDP RETURNS
---------------------- 

¶4.  (C) Pascoe, who recently visited Sri Lanka, questioned
the credibility of GSL officials; no one believes they can
meet their current timetable for moving people out of the
camps.  A/S Blake agreed, saying he had urged the GSL to
demonstrate some real successes on the ground, because nobody
believes them anymore.  The U.S. has stressed the importance
of working with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
and others to figure out a way to resettle significant
numbers of IDPs.  He noted the discussion within the USG on
continuing to finance humanitarian assistance to IDPs in
closed camps that do not meet international standards for
treatment of displaced persons; the U.S. is exploring ways to
use food aid and other assistance to support the returns
process. 

¶5.  (C) Holmes said that his advice to the Sri Lankans is to
open the camps.  At the very least, allow freedom of movement 

STATE 00102030  002 OF 003 

SUBJECT: SRI LANKA/NEPAL: SCA A/S BLAKE'S SEPTEMBER 29,
2009 MEETING WITH UN UNDER-SECRETARY GENERAL FOR POLITICAL
AFFAIRS LYNN PASCOE AND UNDER-SECRETARY GENERAL F
for screened and/or low risk detainees; the UN will not
support any new closed camps.  The GSL should not detain all
IDPs out of concern for the presence of LTTE combatants.
Rather, it needs to begin to allow low-risk detainees to have
greater freedom of movement.  He noted that UNSYG Special
Representative on the Human Rights of IDPs Walter Kaelin, who
had recently returned from Sri Lanka, pressed this point with
Presidential Adviser Basil Rajapaksa.  The military,
according to Holmes, is concerned that recent returnees were
not properly screened. 

¶6.  (C) Pascoe observed that, during his visit, the GSL
officials wanted to show that they are doing something on IDP
returns, and they are.  Demining, for example, is proceeding,
at least in the Mannar area.  Reconstruction in Mannar is not
a charade, he went on, but resettling 2,500 families is only
the tip of the iceberg.  Pascoe opined that the GSL is
overwhelmingly concerned that if IDPs are not properly
screened, LTTE remnants in the camps could get their hands on
remaining arms caches and trigger a bombing or other
terrorist act before the elections.  Blake expressed
skepticism that these remnants represented much of a threat,
with all of the top LTTE leadership either killed or
captured.  More positively, Pascoe said, GSL officials are
beginning to recognize that they could better monitor former
LTTE in their villages than in the camps, i.e., they are
beginning to form a security argument for expediting IDP
returns.  Indeed, the camps are a tinderbox; failure to
decongest Manik Farm poses significant security risks. 

¶7.  (C) Pascoe said UN officials would continue to travel to
Sri Lanka to "pester" GSL officials; the UN has no other
leverage.  Following Kaelin and Pascoe, Holmes will travel to
Sri Lanka; then Pascoe or UNSYG Chief of Staff Vijay Nambiar
will return.  A/S Blake noted that he and Assistant Secretary
Schwartz would return to the region in the fall to reinforce
these points. 

------------------------
POLITICAL RECONCILIATION;
ACCOUNTABILITY
-------------- 

¶9.  (C) Blake previewed for Holmes and Pascoe the report to
Congress being prepared by the State Department Office of War
Crimes Investigations (S/WCI) on potential violations of
international humanitarian law and crimes against humanity
committed by both sides during the final stages of the
conflict in Sri Lanka.  He asked Holmes and Pascoe if there
is discussion within the UN on supporting an accountability
process in Sri Lanka. 

STATE 00102030  003 OF 003 

¶10.  (C) Pascoe observed that the government is not yet
prepared to take meaningful steps on accountability, but that
political reconciliation is beginning to gain traction.  The
opposition Tamil National Alliance (TNA), for example, has
shown some enthusiasm for engaging with the GSL.  The UN
continues to push on accountability.  It would rather have
the Sri Lankan government initiate a process that the UN
could assist with, but if the government does not do it, then
there are international mechanisms that could.  Blake
questioned President Rajapaksa's decision to delay steps
toward reconciliation and devolution until after spring 2010
elections, noting that he has already weakened and divided
the political opposition; from his political perspective, any
loss in nationalist votes would be offset by gains from
liberals and Tamils. 

----------------------------------
NEPAL: COMPLACENCY IN BRINGING
MAOISTS INTO THE POLITICAL PROCESS
---------------------------------- 

¶11.  (C) Pascoe noted his meeting in New York with Nepali PM
Nepal, expressing concern about the GON's lack of urgency to
bring the Maoists back into the political process.  India,
too, had shown complacency, he said.  A lack of progress
risks a return to violence and civil war, Pascoe cautioned.
Blake agreed, but questioned why it would be in India's
interest to favor the status quo.  He told Pascoe he would
raise the issue with his Indian counterparts.
CLINTON