US stands very firmly on HR issues: Envoy

Srinagar: The United States Friday said that the country firmly stands on Human Rights issues even as it left pro-freedom leadership in the cold while underling that the Chief Minister was the elected representative of the “very important place of India.”  “US stands very firmly and strongly on human rights issues and we are universally working to promote the human rights issues,” US Ambassador to India Timothy J Roemer told reporters during an interaction at Delhi Public School here. In a clear snub to the pro-freedom leadership here, the visiting envoy said that chief minister was an elected representative of people in Jammu and Kashmir.“The purpose of the visit is to meet elected leaders. The chief minister is the person who represents the people here in Jammu and Kashmir,” he said, adding, “Secondly, I am here for limited time, only two days and cannot meet everybody.” He said that the US wants to learn more about people in J&K as it does in other parts of the India. “People here are very engaging, very hospitable and very grateful….we want to get a feel about people, future leaders of Jammu and Kashmir and coming to the school like this you get a feeling that are meeting the future of this very important place in India.”         Referring to his meeting with Chief Minister Omar Abdullah yesterday, Roemer said that it was a very productive, engaging and interesting.   The visiting envoy said that US desires to know the environmental challenges faced by the people here. “We had a chance to take ride boat in Dal Lake to see the challenges faced by the people on environmental issues. We know that India and United States work closely on environmental and educational issues. These are the two things president Obama has outlined as part of the strategic cooperation.”     “There are ways to, hopefully in the future, anticipate what we might be doing in education and environment and all other different areas,” he added.To a question whether the United States would help India in extradition of the army major Avtar Singh accused of killing human rights activist Jaleel Andrabi in 1996, Roemer refused to comment.“I am not going to comment on individual cases,” Roemer, who is on his second visit to the state, said as per a correspondent.  The envoy had visited Ladakh in September last year to distribute aid there.    The ambassador also refused to comment on Wikileaks, saying that the US does not respond to the diplomatic cables. “We do not respond to these diplomatic cables in India, Japan or London and I am not going to do that in Srinagar.”