U2 yesterday dissociated itself from the use of the band's image in the Smurfit annual report published last week.
Under the heading "Leading Global Player", pages 4 and 5 of the report feature a photo of Bono on stage beside a single paragraph outlining Smurfit's advance in four continents and over 30 countries.
The rights to the use of the photo were purchased from Retna UK, a photo agency.
A visiting Colombian environmental activist, Mr Nestor Ocampo, wrote to Bono through the band's management company earlier this week, saying the band "was well known and respected in Colombia both for their music and their stance in defence of human rights".
Mr Ocampo travelled to Dublin last week where he attended the Smurfit a.g.m., accusing the company of destroying Colombian rain forests to turn them into paper pulp.
In a letter to U2's management agency, Mr Ocampo called on the band's management to withdraw permission for Smurfit to use the image.
"I can assure you, we, too, were very surprised to see page 4 of the Smurfit annual report for the year 2000 adorned with an image of Bono," replied Ms Barbara Galavan, on behalf of Principle Management. "Part ic ularly since we had refused permission for an image of U2 to be included in this report last January. The image they used in the report is one we do not own the copyright to.
"However, as its inclusion can clearly be interpreted as an endorsement by Bono/U2 of the Jefferson Smurfit group we have asked them to issue a statement to the contrary along with an apology. We have been assured that this is forthcoming."
A spokeswoman for Smurfit, Ms Mary Finan, yesterday expressed surprise at the U2 statement. "Smurfit obtained permission to use the image from a photo agency, having paid the appropriate reproduction fee," she said.
The U2 management statement said: "Please be assured that Bono and U2 do not endorse any activities of the Jefferson Smurfit Group that have damaged the environment, displaced indigenous people or infringed any human rights laws."