The US state department has eased restrictions on defence exports to Sri Lanka on Thursday, the same day as the passing of a resolution on Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council, AP reports.

Tensions between the countries are high, as Sri Lanka rejected the US-sponsored resolution and condemned the interference into what it says are internal matters.

Dayashri Jayasekara, an MP with Sri Lanka’s main opposition United National Party (UNP), told parliament that Rs. 6.35 million sent as aid to areas highly affected by floods in the East of Sri Lanka in 2011 had been misappropriated.

Jayasekara stated during a debate that several officials involved with the bank had been involved with embezzlement.

Writing in The Guardian on Tuesday, UK MPs, including former UK foreign secretaries, Douglas Alexander MP, David Miliband MP, Jack Straw MP and Margaret Beckett MP, urged member states to back a resolution tabled at the UNHRC.

Extracts reproduced below:

New evidence has emerged detailing the sequence of events that led to the killing of the senior LTTE commander, Colonel Ramesh, after in the custody of the Sri Lankan army, The Global Mail reports.

In an interview to the Debrief news channel, Robert O'Blake, the US Assistant Secretary of State for Central and South Asia, warned of renewed violence in Sri Lanka if the government failed to take "real concrete action".

The UN Human Rights Council has passed a resolution calling on Sri Lanka to investigate alleged human rights violations.

The resolution, sponsored by the US and co-sponsored by 40 other nations, was passed by 24 votes to 15, with 8 abstentions.

“This is a very good start, but it is just a start. We need to keep up the pressure to make sure there is real change. The call for an independent international investigation remains, and will until it is answered.

Speaking to journalists on the resolution tabled at the UNHRC, the US ambassador, Eileen Donahue, said,

"We don't think of this as a symbolic vote,"

In a joint statement, a large coalition of activists and civil society actors in India have urged the Indian government to follow through on its recent statements expressing an inclination to support the resolution.

"Our communications with activists and community leaders in Sri Lanka have confirmed need for significant improvements, including efforts to help trace the missing, to devise and implement a political solution, to widen space for civil society groups and to address land conflicts, remain pressing issues, which if left unaddressed can undermine the existing situation in Sri Lanka, where there is a real opportunity for lasting peace."

“The unwillingness of Sri Lanka to make progress on the LLRC and other measures such as the talks with the Tamil National Alliance is the fundamental obstacle to move forward.

"It is thus incumbent for other governments, such as ours, to encourage the Sri Lankan government to do so."

“The U.S.-sponsored resolution calls for Sri Lanka to report back to the UNHRC on the implementation of the LLRC and to accept technical support from the U.N. to implement it. We sincerely hope that the Government of India will follow through on its own statement by supporting this resolution, and strongly urge it to do so."

Giving the term ‘public-private partnership’ a new twist,

Sri Lanka’s leading corporations staged their own demonstration Tuesday against growing international pressure over accountability for mass atrocities in the final months of the island’s war.

The Sri Lanka Campaign for Peace and Justice has released a series of witness stories from the final war zone in Sri Lanka during the past week, marking the run up to a vote on a resolution regarding Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council.

The stories have been released under the pseudonym "The Social Architects", who compose of a group of writers that have collected witness testimonies.

Extracts from the stories have been reproduced below. See all eight stories on their blog here.

Rasadurai’s story:

“They used phosphorous bombs in Udaiyarkaddu... It melted tarpaulins and the pieces fell onto the people below and burned them. It keeps burning once it gets on the skin. I saw one man badly burned by phosphorous lying on banana leaves.”

“They used a variety of types of cluster bombs. The main bomb explodes in the air and splits into many pieces. One kind of cluster bomb, used in Iranaipalai, produced colorful ribbons. Children were attracted and picked pieces up; as they handled the pieces they exploded.”

“The Army soldiers were throwing grenades into the bunkers and killing the people all night.”

“One soldier said in Sinhala, “The commander has given the order to kill everyone.” They ordered us to remove our upper clothes. Then we argued, “We are priests. These are children.”... They had black cloths tied around their faces and they were like animals ready to kill.”

“We walked on the road past burning vehicles with charred corpses under them. It was a scene like hell. The soldiers were laughing, saying, “We have killed Pirapakaran, Pottu Amman, and all the leaders, and now you are our slaves.””

“There were about fifty soldiers who had piled up about three hundred naked corpses. They had placed tube lights to show off all the bodies, and they were laughing and taking photos of them. It was like a celebration. “

“The first week of internment at Menik Farm we had no food or water and no toilet... We felt our lives were in danger there... They treated us like animals.”

Shamanthi's story:

“I don’t know if my husband was killed or if he is alive. This is why for two years I have refused to go to Canada where my father is living. Until I know more about my husband, I don’t want to go there. On Maveera Nal (Heroes Day), my daughter wished to light the lamp of her own accord. I didn’t stop her because she is used to this culture as a Tamil. She can follow our traditions. I should raise my children with good education, then they can decide for themselves. We will support the Tamil people.”

Hundreds of Sinhala Buddhist monks protested against the resolution tabled at the UN Human Rights Council urging Sri Lanka to investigate the allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

In a statement, read out at the end of the protest, the protesters said,

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced on Monday that India was ‘inclined’ to back the resolution on Sri Lanka being circulated at the UN Human Rights Council.

The Congress party came under strong pressure by parties and organisations from across India, especially from the southern state of Tamil Nadu.