Wickremesinghe told a press conference last week that Strauss-Kahn in a letter to Human Rights Watch Executive Director Brad Adams has said Sri Lanka’s economy had collapsed and the country was facing a crisis.

Brian Aitken, Mission Chief for Sri Lanka of the IMF’s Asia and Pacific Department, speaking to journalists in Colombo last Friday said the IMF Managing Director’s statements in the letter to Human Rights Watch held true not only for Sri Lanka but to many other countries caught up in the global financial crisis.

"When discussions began for a standby facility earlier this year, Sri Lanka, like many other countries, was hit hard by the global economic crisis. So Sri Lanka is not alone," Aitken said.

"The IMF Managing Director (Strauss-Khan) conveyed the idea (in his letter to Human Rights Watch) that it was necessary for the IMF to provide confidence to Sri Lanka’s economy because (otherwise) the humanitarian consequences would be grave," he said.

Sri Lanka was facing a serious balance of payments crisis earlier this year and Aitken said experience showed that without support economies have collapsed.

In his letter to Adams, Strauss-Khan said Sri Lanka’s economy was facing a crisis.

"The Sri Lankan economy is facing a serious crisis and regardless of one’s opinion of the human rights situation in that country, the collapse of the economy cannot be considered a reasonable outcome. The people of Sri Lanka—and especially those who are most vulnerable—cannot be held responsible for the current situation.

"Our role now—as set out in the Articles of Agreement which govern the IMF—is to do everything possible to prevent a collapse, the effects of which would be catastrophic for the people, and especially for the poorest parts of the population," Strauss-Khan said in his letter to Human Rights Watch.

"Like you," he told Adams, "I share the distress of the refugees. The image of those suffering children and of those families set adrift is to me intolerable. The fact is, however, that the economic crisis would only worsen their situation."

"The aim of our support, therefore, is to provide the resources necessary to prevent a full-blown economic crisis, contribute to reconstruction efforts, and sustain social spending aimed at protecting the poor.

"In addition, this program also provides the necessary framework without which international donors would be unable to provide assistance in the areas of infrastructure, roads, hospitals, and schools," Strauss-Khan said.