US says India doing positive things on human rights front

Washington, Dec. 12 (ANI): The Obama administration has said that India is doing a lot of positive things on the human rights front, but adds that New Delhi still has many challenges to surmount in this area.

The Colombo Page web site quoted U.S. State Department Assistant Secretary for Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, Michael Posner, as saying: "India is "a big country with lots of human rights challenges."

"The Indian Government is doing a lot of very positive things, although there are some challenges, but we continue to regard India as a very important ally and friend," he added.

He also said that Washington is aware of the human rights situation in Sri Lanka, and would continue to engage directly with the Mahinda Rajapaksa Government to address those issues.

"We continue to engage directly with the Sri Lankan Government on those issues of looking at the past. The UN has an expert that's now doing its work. We're going to watch that closely," Posner said.

"There is a very real internal discussion here about what our alternatives are. But we are aware of some of the humanitarian issues that continue to be of concern, as well as the issues of how to deal with the past," Posner added. (ANI)