D.C. District Court grants time extension for IMF case

[TamilNet, Thursday, 04 June 2009, 03:25 GMT]
Judge Richard J Leon of United States District Court of District of Columbia, issued an order granting the Motion for Extension of Time filed by Bruce Fein, counsel for plaintiff, Tamils Against Genocide, in response to the Motion to Dismiss filed by U.S. Attorney John R. Coleman of U.S. Department of Justice, representing Defendants, Secretary of Treasury Timothy Geithner, and Executive Director of IMF Meg Lundsagar. Judge Leon allowed TAG's attorney till 29th June to file the response. Since the case will be "pending" until the Court makes a determination, which cannot take place at least until counsel Bruce Fein files a response, the U.S. is unlikely to vote on the IMF loan before 29th June, legal sources in Washington said.

An official of the activist group TAG told TamilNet, while the resources required to provide an effective rebuttal to the Government's position is very high, TAG's counsel has not ruled out filing a reply before the 30-day extension expires.

Opposition to IMF loan has been voiced by several NGOs including Humans Rights Watch (HRW), Amnesty International (AI), and Reporters without Borders (RSF), while major media organizations and Western governments are seeking investigations into war-crimes committed by both sides of the conflict.

Chronology: