Two years before Sri Lanka completed a crushing military defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, a top Indian official had told a United States diplomat that the situation was 'beyond bleak' in the country, with both the government and the rebels having scant regard for the international community.
A US diplomatic cable newly released by WikiLeaks quotes a top external affairs ministry official three years ago as saying that the situation in Sri Lanka was 'bad, really bad, beyond bleak'.
The cable from the US embassy in April 2007 refers to a meeting their political officer had with MEA joint secretary Mohan Kumar, during which they discussed the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE.
"Characterising the government (of Sri Lanka) and the LTTE as two sets of people with scant regard for the international community, Kumar was sceptical that political progress could be achieved anytime soon," stated the cable
"The situation in Sri Lanka is 'bad, really bad - beyond bleak' in Kumar's judgement," the cable says.
Kumar has been a deputy high commissioner in Sri Lanka and is said to be well versed with the affairs in the island.
The US embassy in Colombo has said that selective publication of internal communications did not constitute US foreign policy while the Sri Lankan government has said it was studying references to it in the leaked documents.
The war between the government forces and the Tamil Tigers ended in May, 2009 with the wiping out of most of the rebel leadership including its leader Vellupillai Prabhakaran.
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