Sri Lanka's Minister for External Affairs, GL Peiris accused the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights of being "biased", and that she "will not approach the inquiry with an open mind", reports the Daily Mirror.

Speaking at an event organised by the National Intellectual Council, Mr. Peiris accused 'powerful nations' of 'behaving as if there were two governments in Sri Lanka'.

“One government of Sri Lanka convenes at the parliament in Jayawardenapura while the other operates in Geneva," he explained, adding, "these forced interventions into Sri Lanka’s internal processes are a violation of the constitution as well."

Referring to his interactions with his diplomatic counterparts whilst in Geneva earlier this month, Mr. Peiris said it was "clear that their votes were not free of bias and were clouded by their bilateral relationships with the powerful nations."

Addressing the UN Human Rights Council shortly after the release of the High Commissioner's report and the first draft resolution on Sri Lanka, Mr. Peiris said it was "fundamentally flawed" and stated that Sri Lanka rejected the report "in its entirety".

See further comments below:

“One does not have to be a legal mastermind to realize that this move is unjust because she will not approach the inquiry with an open mind. While the war was continuing she said the Sri Lankan government was perpetrating atrocities against the Tamil people under the guise of terrorism, which implied that there was no threat of terrorism in Sri Lanka and it was simply a creation of the Government. Not more than a week after the war ended in 2009, she called for an international inquiry against the Sri Lankan Government. Under what basis did she call for such a move? These statements make it more than obvious that she is biased,”

“Out of a total of 47 countries in the UNHRC, 13 are in Europe. Despite their individual beliefs these countries cast their vote as a bloc in line with the stance of the European Union. Moreover, the discussions I had with foreign ministers of several nations made it clear that their votes were not free of bias and were clouded by their bilateral relationships with the powerful nations,”

“The Human Rights Commission was reinstated as a Council since it was criticised by the United Nations General Assembly as being ‘unduly politicised’. It is unfortunate that even following the reforms, the council continues to be ten-fold more biased and prejudiced than it was earlier.  The UNHRC resolution therefore does not reflect the international community’s impression of Sri Lanka,”