Oncology drugs purchases run into a storm: Supplies suffer critical breakdown-  Board of experts to be appointed 

BY SURESH PERERA-March 8, 2014

Amidst a conflict with the College of Oncologists on the procurement of an Indian drug to treat cancer patients, a comprehensive board of experts comprising oncologists and pharmacologists is expected to be appointed for evaluation and recommendation on government tenders, a high-ranking health official said yesterday.

Oncology drugs purchases run into a storm Supplies suffer critical breakdown-  Board of experts to be appo... by nelvely

BMICH cancels BASL booking 

By Niranjala Ariyawansa-March 10, 2014

The Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL), charged that a meeting which had been organized for 20 March by the Bar Council of Sri Lanka, having obtained the consent of the BASL in this regard, had been cancelled by the administration of the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH) for no valid reason.


President of the Bar Association, Attorney-at-Law Upul Jayasuriya, said the meeting was to be held to discuss the government's Gazette notification which stipulates that police powers of 22 districts will be handed over to the Army, as well as the collapse of the rule of law in the country.


Jayasuriya added that the venue had been cancelled by citing that a meeting headed by President Mahinda Rajapaksa was to take place at the BMICH on the said date.
He noted that the venue had been booked and the cost of hire of the same had been paid by the BASL several months ahead of the planned date.

The BASL President added that, strangely, a meeting headed by the President had not been scheduled for 20 March at the BMICH. "We had planned the meeting months ahead, and sent out invitations to the guests.
"We paid for the venue and have the receipt issued for the same.

"Suddenly, we are being told that the hall has been reserved for a special meeting at which the President is due to preside. This is a lie. This is the sad state of affairs in the country with regard to the rule of law," Jayasuriya told Ceylon Today.
According to the President of the Bar Association, the participants of the meeting would include engineers, lawyers, intellectuals, trade unionists and retired judges.

He further said the government was intimidated by the fact that the agenda of the meeting was due to focus on the shootings of the labourers in the Katunayake and Chilaw Free Trade Zones, as well as the assault on the residents of Rathupaswala, which was carried out by enlisting the Army to quell the protesters.

The violent side of Sri Lankan Buddhism

The Stream uncovers the roots of Sri Lanka's violent, hardline Buddhists.

The tensions have spurred political cartoons, like this one, which suggests Sri Lanka must protect its children from racism:

On Monday, March 10 at 19:30 GMT:

Hardline Buddhist monks are targeting Muslims and Christians in Sri Lanka, where the civil war’s end has spurred a new wave of sectarianism bent on preserving Sinhalese culture. Since the conflict ended nearly five years ago, groups like Bodu Bala Sena have emerged as Sri Lanka's self-appointed watchdogs of Buddhism. At 19:30 GMT, we discuss the violent side of Sri Lankan Buddhism.

 Full Story>>>

BBS and Myanmar’s PAM reach consensus

 Monday, 10 March 2014 

Bodu Bala Sena representatives, led by Galagodaatte Gnanasara Thera, presently on a study tour of Myanmar, have reached consensus with the Patriotic Association of Myanmar during talks in Yangon between the two sides, BBS CEO Dilanthe Withanage told Lanka News Web.

On the basis of this agreement, it has been proposed the two organizations will make a lengthy study about the conversions taking place in the two countries by other religions and submit their study report to the UN secretary general.

Representatives of BBS and PAM will begin the study in the two countries within the next few weeks, said the CEO.

They have already decided to hold an international Buddhist convention in Sri Lanka at the end of this year to arrive at an agreement on promoting aspects of Buddhism to suit the needs of the 21st century.

The BBS delegation is due to return home this week. It has invited Bhikku Wirathu, who is resident at Mandali and branded by the western media as the symbol of Buddhist terrorism, to visit Sri Lanka.

Manhunt on for Pakistani drug trafficker 

By Ruwan Laknath Jayakody-March 10, 2014
 
The Pakistani mastermind behind the smuggling of 36 kg of heroin worth Rs 270 million, which had been seized by Sri Lanka Customs (SLC) last week, had managed to slip away, authoritative sources told Ceylon Today. Customs officials on Saturday (8), had handed over the 36 kg of heroin, which had been shipped from Karachi as well the investigation into the racket, to the police.
 
The boxes containing the narcotics, shipped under the guise of building materials, were found on Thursday (6) night at the Orugodawatte Customs Clearing Yard. The Pakistani national is said to have escaped while being transported in a three-wheeler, to be questioned by the relevant authorities. The licence used by the Pakistani, who is said to have checked into a hotel in Colombo during the period of clearance after submitting a private address to which the consignment had to be delivered, is also said to be a fake as was the Pakistani passport he had in his possession, which had expired in 2010.
 
However, denying allegations of arresting the Pakistani national or of him having escaped, Customs Media Spokesperson, Leslie Gamini, said: "On Saturday (8), in the evening, we handed over the entire investigation to the Police Narcotics Bureau (PNB). Prior to this, we arrested four suspects, but they also have now been released. These suspects were wharf clerks and shipping agents. However, we never arrested a Pakistani national in relation to this incident."
 
Although wharf clerks are hired to clear consignments coming into the country, they are however exempt from any responsibility for the contents of the imports.
Meanwhile, officials of the Department of Immigration and Emigration have been notified about the details of the Pakistani's expired passport.
 
"The Pakistani national has not left the country. We are going to trace him. The contents were not in a container but in wooden boxes in the midst of household items. The presence of bolt nails had aroused the suspicion of the Customs officers on duty. The two wooden boxes had been shipped in his name. We have deployed a special team," Police 

Media Spokesman, SSP Ajith Rohana, said.

Welimada SLFP organizer remanded

March 10, 2014

The Welimada SLFP organizer A.S.R. Bandusena has been remanded until March 21 by the Welimada Magistrate Court today. Bandusena was arrested by the Welimada police for allegedly threatening and insulting the Director of the Welimada General Hospital.

Child labour: mineral make-up boom raises fears over ethical extraction

Modern cosmetics often include mica, a mineral which creates a glowing complexion – but at what cost? Photograph: Alamy

Huw Nesbitt

Monday 10 March 2014 

The market for mica, a mineral used in beauty products, is growing fast but India's export industry remains unregulated

More on this: Mineral make-up boom raises fears over ethical extraction

After media reports of alleged links between cosmetic makeup and illnesses including cancer, discerning consumers have switched to mineral cosmetics in an attempt to find a more natural beauty alternative. Many of these mineral products contain mica, a glittery substance used in blusher, eyeliner, eye shadow, mascara, lipstick and foundation.

Today the main source of this material is India, which accounts for 60% of global production and possesses an industry that is estimated to havegrown by 8.5% during the last two years.

Nonetheless, concerns about the safety of the country's mica supply chains are increasing. According to the Australian newspaper The Age,child labour is endemic in India's mica mining business and 86% of the country's mica exports in 2010-2011 were unregulated.

Presented with this evidence, British cosmetic brand Lush, which uses mica from India in its handmade products, was shocked. "That's appalling," says co-founder Rowena Bird. "I became aware of this issue a few years ago, which is why we require our suppliers to issue a certificate declaring that its mica production is free of forced labour of all kinds. Of course, such declarations are based on trust, but now that this issue has been raised again, we will discontinue the use of mica in our products."

The obstacles Lush encountered in establishing an ethical source of mica are affecting the entire cosmetics industry. Many companies rely on assurances from their distributors to ensure their mica supply chains are free from child labour. However these guarantees are difficult to assess, since they are often not subject to external evaluation.

One solution is social auditing. Through consistent checks undertaken by external parties, suppliers of mica can provide evidence to prove they do not use forced labour. Recently, L'Oreal's mica supplier in India, Merck, has undertaken such steps. Since 2007 it has employed human resource consultants Environmental Resource Management to carry out monthly assessments of its mines.

Aidan McQuade director of Anti-Slavery International, is not convinced by this method. "Audits take individual samples of working conditions and often miss bigger issues," he says. "There's also the problem that evidence of child labour is frequently hidden during these audits, as these processes are open to corruption. And, since audits are not designed to look for specific problems – as an investigation would – they are arguably engineered to ignore them."

Merck is also working in partnership with NGO Bachpan Bachao Andolan (Save the Childhood Campaign) to create 'child-friendly villages' in mica-sourcing Indian communities, helping to reduce the level of child labour in these areas. Fellow cosmetics giant Esteé-Lauder has also been involved with BBA, and claims that its affiliation with the National Resources Stewardship Circle – a commercial council promoting responsible sourcing for the beauty industry – is prompting a collaborative resolution to problems in the supply chain.

"By introducing the NRSC to our work with BBA we've been able to involve several cosmetics companies to the project too," says Esteé Lauder spokesperson Anna Klein. When asked the exact amount of financial investment they had made, Klein says: "For us, it's not about the financial investment we've made but about the human investment."

Anti-Slavery International believes such partnerships are beneficial but can be self-serving. "Unless Esteé Lauder is investing at least 1% of their pre-tax profits into this scheme, it's a token gesture," says Aidan McQuade. "However, the way we could start fixing this problem is if the UK government included compulsory reporting of forced labour as part of its anti-slavery legislation. That way, it could also make companies responsible for labour abuses in their supply chains in the same way they have through similar reforms to corporate bribery."

McQuade may be right. The issue of child labour is so endemic that reforms to one sector alone cannot overturn the practice. In 2010, the International Labour Organisation estimated that 215 million childrenaround the world are forced to work. The organisation has spearheaded efforts to eradicate child labour by encouraging its members to adopt a minimum working age. Despite this, companies still have no legal obligation to conform to its suggestions.

Bird agrees that there is a culture of wilful ignorance in the supply chains of many western industries. "The beauty industry turns a blind eye to lots of things, but it's not the only one using mica," she says. "It's also used in paint, mobile phones and has many industrial uses. It's also sourced in other places with similar supply chain issues such as China and Africa. The point is, however, that once you're aware of these things, it's up to you to do something about it."

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Nude Protest at In’t Women’s Day in Paris by Iranian and Arab Females

Defending Iranian Democracy (DID)March 9, 2014

I call this unusual rally an extreme feminist protest by some intellectual ladies with Iron fists against unjust Islamic codes towards womanhood, you go women! [DID]

A number of Arab and Iranian women staged an unusual protest in the Louvre Art Museum’s Square to call for equality and secularism on the occasion of the International Women’s Day, March 08, 2014. Tunisian activist Amina al-Souboui, Egyptian Alia al-Mahdi and five other Arab and Iranian women demonstrated fully naked and called, in French, for freedom, equality and secularism. Protest organizer Safia Lebdi says the demonstration was connected to International Women’s Day. She says the women waved flags of Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt and Iran to highlight the many legal and cultural restrictions imposed on women in the Muslim world.

.Naked women protest Islam Paris March 8 2014

Nude Protest at In’t Women’s Day in Paris by Iranian and Arab Females by nelvely

Scott Neeson left Hollywood to save children rooting in Cambodia's garbage dumps

Scott Neeson, a former head of 20th Century Fox International, cares for more than 1,000 Cambodian children and their families.

Gemma Harris/Cambodian Children’s Fund                  moral equation."

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PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA

By Tibor Krausz, Correspondent / August 10, 2012

He sold his mansion, Porsche, and yacht and set off for Cambodia to provide food, shelter, and education to destitute children.

Scott Neeson's final epiphany came one day in June 2004. The high-powered Hollywood executive stood, ankle deep in trash, at the sprawling landfill of Stung Meanchey, a poor shantytown inCambodia's capital.

Scott Neeson Left Hollywood to Save Children Rooting in Cambodia's Garbage Dumps by nelvely

Sri Lanka: new video evidence of grotesque violations

WARNING: PAGE CONTAINS EXTREMELY DISTRESSING VIDEO FOOTAGE

SUNDAY 09 MARCH 2014

There has been no shortage of distressing images emerging from the final two or three years of Sri Lanka's awful civil war. But this footage is amongst the worst I have seen, writes Callum Macrae.

Warning: viewers may find footage in the below video extremely disturbing.

Sri Lanka New Video Evidence of Grotesque Violations by nelvely

What worth, our ‘sovereignty’?

Sunday, March 09, 2014

Sri Lanka’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations declared in Geneva this week that the draft resolution lodged with the Human Rights Council by the United States, the United Kingdom and three other member states violates Sri Lanka’s Constitution, is highly intrusive and breaches territorial integrity as well as peoples’ sovereignty. Let us look at one specific component of this defence, namely that the resolution violates our constitutional provisions.

Hard progress needs to be evidenced
In making this assertion, the Permanent Representative has not explained exactly how constitutional provisions have been violated. Sri Lanka had voluntarily signed on to the Human Rights Council and had made pledges moreover subsequent to being granted membership of the Council with a view to ensuring conformity of its domestic laws and policies with international standards. Implicit in this undertaking was the promise that it would abide by the procedures and processes of the Council.

Sri Lanka initially signed onto the Council’s mandate in the full belief that it could avoid obligations thereto by using a noxious combination of clever promises in theory and cynical disregard in practice. Yet the time limit on these disingenuous tactics appears to have come close to running out. Complacency on the part of some that resolutions may come and go but no visible impact will be felt is most assuredly a dangerous misconception.

Looking to the pressure points of the LLRC recommendations
The Government has taken strong objection to that part of the resolution before the Council which attempts to vest an investigative mandate, as well as of monitoring and assessment in the Office of the High Commissioner in regard to alleged abuses of human rights and related crimes. But the unpalatable truth is that it is the Government itself which has strengthened its own critics by refusing to show real progress in investigating and prosecuting perpetrators.

A litany of work-in-progress implementation of ‘soft’ recommendations of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) will not do any longer. Hard progress needs to be evidenced on the LLRC’s findings regarding extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances, demilitarization of the North, implementing impartial land dispute resolution mechanisms, strengthening formerly independent civil institutions, devolving power, securing freedom of expression and rule of law reforms. These are precisely the pressure points of the resolution before the Council. Indeed, this administration’s disregarding of those imperative recommendations is what violates the Constitution, if one may be brutally frank.

Bypassing international obligations reaches beyond accountability questions
But we must remind ourselves that disregarding of this country’s international obligations has had a long history encompassing far more than accountability questions. In the strict constitutional structure, Article 27(15) (Directive Principles of State Policy) mandates the State to ‘…endeavor to foster respect for international law and treaty obligations in dealings among nations.” Though these Principles could not be used directly as basing a claim on rights violations, they were specifically mandated to frame and guide legal policy and the making of laws as per Article 27(1) of the Constitution.

Since the late eighties, the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka had used these Principles to expand local jurisprudence through the judicious use of international law. In fact, as one judge of the Supreme Court said, (at a time when the Court commanded rigorous respect), in relation to views of the United Nations Human Rights Committee under the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the State must respect international law and treaty obligations in its dealings with its own citizens, particularly when their liberty is involved. The State must afford to them the benefit of the safeguards which international law recognizes (Weerawansa v AG, [2000] 1 SriLR 387,409, see the late MDH Fernando J. in ‘Judicial Development of Human Rights; Some Sri Lankan Decisions’, Sri Lanka Journal of International Law, Volume 16, 2004, Faculty of Law, University of Colombo).

From the legal to the political scrutiny of the UN
Such comfortable precedents served to keep Sri Lanka away from the gaze of international human rights law. These safeguards were however cast aside by the Singarasa decision (S.C. SpL (LA) No. 182/99, SCM15.09.2006, per SN Silva CJ.) which first put the country on a collision course with the United Nations’ jurisprudential branches with the Court declaring that Sri Lanka’s accession to the ICCPR protocol was unconstitutional.

From thereon, the focus shifted from the jurisprudential to the political arms of the United Nations as the country came increasingly under scrutiny for its inability to conform to international law standards. This was not only in relation to the manner in which the last stages of the war in the Wanni was conducted but also in relation to far broader issues of the Rule of Law and credibility of local legal and justice institutions.

Perhaps the Rajapaksa Presidency, in its customary rumbustious style, may see it to, using its numbers in Parliament, repeal this constitutional provision enjoining the State to ‘foster respect for international law and treaty obligations in dealings among nations.’ We may then be clearer on the ruinous course that we are pursuing in the community of nations rather than this dizzying and infinitely confusing perambulations comprising of back-door pleadings and front-door truculence.

Defences of ‘people’s sovereignty’ ringing hollow
At this point of time, frenzied retorts of Government representatives that resolutions submitted against the Government at the Council violate the people’s sovereignty and the Constitution can only ring hollow when the people are ill served by continuing gross human rights abuses, militarization and the highly authoritarian overreach of the Executive Presidency. The LLRC’s recommendations merely reiterated existing constitutional and statutory law regarding the protection of rights. Yet these recommendations have not yet been implemented, including a right to information law (which the Rajapaksa Presidency appears to be afraid of as much as an international commission of inquiry) and a properly drafted victims’ protection law.

If this is people’s sovereignty, of what worth is the very term ‘sovereignty’ itself?

TNA On Draft Resolution: Statement By TNA Leader Sampanthan And NPC Chief Justice Wigneswaran

March 9, 2014

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has given careful consideration to the draft resolution on Sri Lanka proposed at the 25th sessions of the Human Rights Council by the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Montenegro, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Mauritius. The TNA is committed to the achievement of permanent peace and reconciliation in Sri Lanka, which will enable all Peoples in Sri Lanka to live with dignity, equality and justice. We believe that tangible progress on accountability and genuine reconciliation are necessary ingredients to the achievement of a peaceful, united Sri Lanka. To this end, it is paramount that the truth should be ascertained, an acceptable political solution evolved and swift action taken to terminate and reverse the harmful trajectory on which the government has set the country.

Wigneswaran and Sambanthan

Of particular concern to the Tamil people is the mass scale appropriation of land by the military, the overbearing presence of the military in civilian life, and the increasing reports of sexual violence targeting Tamil women in the North and East. The Sri Lankan government is also aggressively engaged in changing the demographic composition of the Northern and Eastern provinces and debasing the cultural and linguistic identities of these areas. These actions do not create a conducive atmosphere for reconciliation and do not inspire the confidence of the Tamil people in the state. Further, the government has colluded in and presided over an appalling increase in religious violence and intimidation of religious minorities. The breakdown of the rule of law and independence of the judiciary has exacerbated these problems by depriving victims of the protection of the law.

We therefore welcome the fact that the draft resolution envisages the establishment of an international investigation led by the High Commissioner for Human Rights, both in respect of war-time abuses committed by both sides and violations of human rights throughout the country since the end of the war. We look forward to the co-sponsors effecting revisions to the draft over the following weeks that will clarify and strengthen the scope of the forthcoming investigation. We will remain engaged with the international community to this end, and also to ensure that the outcome of the resolution will be overwhelmingly positive for all Sri Lankans, particularly for victims of grave abuses committed during and after the war.

The passage of a resolution on the lines of the draft under consideration will be a significant next step by the Human Rights Council toward reconciliation and accountability in Sri Lanka. The TNA will continue to urge the international community to move expeditiously towards mandating an international commission of inquiry in respect of past violations committed by both sides as well as ongoing violations throughout the country.

R. Sampanthan - Leader, Tamil National Alliance and Justice C. V. Wigneswaran - Chief Minister, Northern Province

Reprisals against HRDs in Sri Lanka: Civil Society Organisations accused by state broadcaster for their appeal to UNHRC

Reprisals against HRDs in Sri Lanka: Civil Society Organisations accused by state broadcaster for their appeal to UNHRC

MARCH 8, 2014

Sri Lanka Briefing Note,  Special Topic  8/2 - 10 March 2014

In its 8 PM  prime time news bulletin on 06 March 2014 the state controlled Sri Lanka Rupavahini (TV) Corporation  accused 24 Civil Society organisations in the country for issuing the JOINT CIVIL SOCIETY MEMORANDUM TO THE HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL AND THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY   

As the accusing news item was read the photographs of 8 civil society leaders were shown in the back ground with the names of the Civil Society Organisations they associated with.

Read as a PDF here

Rape Of Tamil Women, Men And Children By Sri Lankan Armed Forces And Their Collaborators

By Brian Senewiratne -March 9, 2014 |

Dr. Brian Senewiratne

Executive summary

The rape of Tamil civilians (women, girls and even men)  in the Sri Lankan North and East by the Sri Lankan (Sinhalese) Armed Forces (at all levels), Police, specialised Police units such as the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), the Terrorism Investigation Department (TID), the Colombo Crime Division (CCD), National Intelligence Bureau (NIB), and the Sri Lankan Intelligence Service (SIS), pro-government Tamil paramilitary groups, and even Sinhalese workers relocated or sent to the Tamil areas to work on several projects, has now become a major problem.

With the brutal (Sinhalese) military and police running the North and East, treating the Tamil civilians as the ‘spoils of war’, and the area as ‘conquered territory’, backed by the Government of President Mahinda Rajapaksa that does what it likes to whoever it likes with no accountability, international intervention is mandatory and urgent.

A leading organisation for women in Sri Lanka said, on 14 July 2013, that in Sri Lanka a woman is raped every 90 minutes. With well-documented under-reporting because of shame or fear, the actual number of people subjected to rape and sexual violence in the Tamil areas, is much higher.

Rape is defined in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC). Rape is a war crime when inflicted with impunity by victorious armies. Broader than rape, any form of sexual violence is prohibited under both customary International Humanitarian Law and Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions. International human rights law prohibits sexual violence.

Sexual violence consists of actions of a sexual nature committed with a person without their consent, which besides including the physical invasion of the human body, may include acts that do not imply penetration or even any physical contact whatsoever. Examples include forced nudity or virginity tests. Covering a broad range of gender-based offences such as rape, sexual slavery, molestation, sexual mutilation, forced marriage, forced abortion, enforced prostitution, forced pregnancy and enforced sterilisation, sexual violence is defined as any act of a sexual nature that is committed on a person under circumstances that are coercive.

                                                                              Read More   

Cameron calls for Sri Lanka probe

Prime Minister David Cameron during November's summit in Colombo, Sri Lanka

Sunday 9 March 2014

David Cameron is pushing for an independent, international investigation into alleged atrocities during the Sri Lankan civil war to begin within a year as pressure mounts on the regime in Colombo.

The Prime Minister has personally sought the support of several fellow leaders for a United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) resolution authorising a UN-led probe.

As many as 40,000 civilians are estimated to have died in the final months of the Sri Lankan government's 26-year fight with Tamil Tiger separatists - which ended in 2009.

Both sides in the brutal conflict are accused of widespread human rights abuses - including executions and rapes of prisoners by state troops.

On a visit to the island in November for a Commonwealth summit, Mr Cameron warned president Mahinda Rajapaksa that he had until this month to set up a credible domestic inquiry.

A probe into some 16,000 people still listed as missing has been dismissed by critics as a sham and there has been little or no progress on promises to set up a truth and reconciliation commission.

Mr Cameron confronted the president after meeting displaced Tamils who have spent more than 20 years in a temporary camp, during the first visit in 60 years by a world leader to the battle-scarred north.

An angry Mr Rajapaksa, who denies claims of war crimes and ongoing abuses against the minority Tamils, accused Mr Cameron of seeking votes from the UK's large Tamil community.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, has concluded Colombo does not have the will to investigate properly and will present her latest assessment at this month's UNHRC meeting.

The UK - with the US, Montenegro, Macedonia and Mauritius - has tabled a resolution due to be voted on at the Geneva gathering which includes provision for her office to lead the detailed investigations.

British Tamils have criticised the "insubstantial" draft for renewing previous calls on Colombo to conduct its own probe and requiring another assessment by the Commssioner.

But Downing Street made clear Mr Cameron believed Mr Rajapaksa had "failed" to meet his demands and was keen for an international probe to be up and running within 12 months.

"When the Prime Minister was in Sri Lanka, he said that this month was the deadline for the Government of Sri Lanka to take concrete action to establish a credible, thorough inquiry into what happened during their civil war, including its final stages," a Number 10 spokeswoman said.

"Therefore the UK, along with four other countries including the US, has tabled a resolution on Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council supporting the call by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights for an international, independent investigation into violations of human rights and related crimes by both sides during the war.

"We want this to take place in this year's UNHRC session. There will be a vote on our resolution at the end of this month."

The UK was " working hard to secure support from other countries", she said, with the PM writing to the leaders of several countries represented on the Council - Mexico , Sierra Leone and South Korea.

It came as Channel 4 disclosed what it said was m obile phone footage of soldiers celebrating the deaths of Tiger fighters and performing "acts of grotesque sexual violation" on the bodies.

The Sri Lankan High Commission dismissed the film - which the broadcaster said had been verified as genuine by an independent expert - as "unmitigated and unsubstantiated rubbish".