The Ceylon News

The presidential office said in a statement that Russian President Dmitriy Medvedev told Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse on Tuesday in a telephone conversation that Russia considered Sri Lanka an old friend and ally, and looked forward to continuing the warm relations between the two countries.

He assured that Russia will give all assistance to Sri Lanka for the restoration of peace, reconstruction, and for necessary and expeditious relief to the large number of internally displaced persons, according to the statement.

Rajapakse thanked the Russian president for the considerable assistance given to Sri Lanka, especially in the UN Security Council and other UN organizations at the last stage of civil war.

The Sri Lankan president also conveyed his thanks to Russian Prime Minister Vladmir Putin, who had also been very helpful to Sri Lanka in the battle against the rebels, during his term as the president, said the statement.

In the telephone conversation that was initiated by Medvedev, it was agreed that Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will visit Sri Lanka in October this year, the statement added.

Sri Lanka's 30-year civil war came to a conclusion last week with the total defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

Claiming discrimination at the hands of the majority Sinhalese dominated governments, the LTTE began to fight for an independent Tamil homeland in the north and east since the 1980s, resulting in the killing of more than 100,000 people in Asia's longest civil war.

Both sides have been accused of committing abuses against civilians

The UN's high commissioner for human rights has called for an independent investigation into alleged atrocities by both sides in Sri Lanka's civil war.

Navi Pillay said it was the only way to build a sustainable peace in Sri Lanka.

Her comments to the UN's Human Rights Council (UNHRC) come amid growing concern for more than 250,000 civilians now living in government-run camps.

Sri Lanka has rejected Ms Pillay's demands and has called instead for financial aid to rebuild the country.

In her opening speech to the UNHRC's emergency summit in Geneva, Ms Pillay said there were "strong reasons to believe that both sides have grossly disregarded the fundamental principle of the inviolability of civilians".

She said an "independent and credible international investigation" should be carried out to establish "the occurrence, nature and scale of violations of international human rights and international humanitarian law, as well as specific responsibilities".

"Establishing the facts is crucial to set the record straight regarding the conduct of all parties in the conflict," she said.

"Victims and survivors have a right to justice and remedies."

Her comments were echoed by the UN's Under Secretary for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes, who told the BBC an investigation was essential if the country was to move forward.

Mr Holmes said the Tamil Tigers (LTTE) had used civilians as human shields "in the most cynical and brutal way", but that civilians had also been "affected very badly" by being caught up in army shelling.

'Outrageous'

The rights council's special session is considering two different draft resolutions.

One put forward by 17 European and Latin American countries calls on the Sri Lankan government to investigate allegations of rights abuse and for aid agencies to have greater access to displaced people.

But Sri Lanka has drafted its own document calling for UN co-operation in providing humanitarian aid.

Its resolution cites the "principle of non-interference" in states' internal matters and says it is addressing the needs of civilians.

Sri Lanka's ambassador to the UN, Dayan Jayatilleka, said it was "outrageous" to suggest that the government should be investigated.

The country's resolution has been supported by India, whose representative to the council said his country had "serious reservations about the objectives and usefulness" of the session.

A Gopinanthan said the focus of the international community should be on promoting reconciliation and healing in Sri Lanka.

The BBC's Imogen Foulkes in Geneva says it appears that the widespread allegations of violations are not being seriously addressed at the meeting, much to the frustration of rights groups and Ms Pillay.

The end result of the session is likely to be a bland and consensual resolution which does not demand much action from anyone, says our correspondent.

Cramped conditions

Ms Pillay has also called for journalists and human rights monitors to be given access to the camps for internally displaced people.

Agony in Sri Lankan camp Sri Lanka rejects Tigers' offer

The Sri Lankan army is currently controlling the closely-guarded camps and there is concern about the poor conditions in which up to 300,000 people are now living.

The BBC's Ethirajan Anbarasan was taken by the Sri Lankan military to two camps housing tens of thousands of displaced people.

He said conditions in one camp were very basic, with people complaining of a lack of water, proper food and sanitation.

At another camp - also run by the military - conditions were better, although still cramped.

The government has said it is addressing the problems but has also accused the rebels of infiltrating the camps.

The Tigers' defeat has almost brought to an end their 26-year fight for a separate Tamil homeland with most senior leaders believed to have been killed in recent weeks.

FROM THE WORLD AT ONE More from the World At One

But Daya Mohan, head of the political wing of the LTTE in the eastern district of Batticaloa, told the BBC Tamil service that the remaining fighters in the east were not thinking of surrendering.

He said the groups were "capable of carrying out guerrilla attacks" and were waiting for a decision from their leadership.

On Tuesday, Sri Lanka's defence secretary rejected an offer from the Tamil Tigers to enter a democratic process after their military defeat.

Gotabhaya Rajapaksa told the BBC the LTTE rebels could not be trusted to give up "terrorism".