How the world should react to ‘Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields’

Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields — the title echoes the Cambodian genocide — is a documentary that was aired by Britain’s Channel 4 Television earlier this month. It describes the final weeks of the brutal civil war between the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 2009. This was also around the time when thousands of Tamil Canadians demonstrated in Ottawa and Toronto to pressure the Canadian government to ask its Sri Lankan counterpart for a ceasefire.

Some of the scenes in the documentary are so gruesome that it was shown after 11 p.m. Channel 4 has made it available for viewing worldwide for a few more days (and it has been uploaded on several websites already). Having seen it, I can tell you that it is not for the faint-hearted.

In particular, it provides authenticated evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by the Sri Lankan armed forces, which have been vehemently denied by the Sri Lankan government. More important, this documentary is another tragic reminder of the realities of war faced by innocent civilians caught in conflict zones — and the international community’s failure to protect them.

In the early part of the documentary, we see the few UN workers who were based in Kilinochchi, the LTTE’s political capital, leaving in late 2008 (despite the pleas of the Tamil civilians not to do so) after being told by the Sri Lankan government that their safety could no longer be guaranteed. Gordon Weiss, a former UN spokesman in Sri Lanka who appears in the documentary, describes this as a deliberate attempt on the part of the Sri Lankan government to prevent international witnesses from reporting on what happened next.

However, thanks to modern technology, and similar to what has happened in the ongoing Arab uprising, the documentary features graphic video footage captured on cellphones by Tamils under attack and Sri Lankan government soldiers collecting trophy videos. Among the footage shown in the film, one can see the aftermath of targeted shelling of field hospitals and civilians by the Sri Lankan army; LTTE prisoners being shot in the back of the head by soldiers; and female Tamil fighters who have been abused, raped and murdered being dumped into trucks by soldiers making lewd comments about them.

Ironically, many of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) who had been relocated in the so-called government-designated “no-fire” zones in the final stages of the war were also killed by shelling and airstrikes. This is not to say that the LTTE were innocent, as the documentary clearly shows. The Tigers are also blamed in the film for using civilians as human shields and killing those who tried to escape.

Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields thus largely confirms the findings of the UN “Report of the Secretary General’s Panel of Experts on Accountability in Sri Lanka” released in April of this year. As in the case of the documentary, the UN findings were equally denied by the Sri Lankan government, which also refused to let the panel visit Sri Lanka and urged the UN not to publish its report. In particular, the report mentions “a wide range of serious violations of international humanitarian law and international rights law was committed both by the government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE, some of which would amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.”

The UN report says that most civilian casualties in the final phases of the war were the result of government shelling, which also targeted food distribution lines and took place near Red Cross ships that were trying to rescue the wounded and their relatives. It blamed UN political organs and bodies, as well as international officials, for not protecting civilians and not publishing casualty numbers to illustrate the extent of the war. It called for an international investigation, especially in light of the fact that the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC), set up by the government of Sri Lanka, does not meet international standards of independence and impartiality.

It is unlikely that the LLRC will investigate whether violations took place, since its main objective is to reflect on what happened between the ceasefire agreement of 2002 and the end of the war in May 2009. Only time will tell what the commission delivers but three well-known international NGOs (Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the International Crisis Group) have already refused to testify before what they consider a flawed process.

Going forward, Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields represents a powerful case for the international community to follow the recommendation of the UN report and conduct a thorough independent international inquiry into what happened during the final weeks of the 26-year civil war. Although UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has indicated that he does not have the authority to act upon the recommendations of his own panel of experts to launch an international investigation, the UN Security Council or the UN Human Rights Council could certainly do so.

Two years have passed since the end of the civil war in Sri Lanka and it is time for the international community to act to ensure that the victims receive justice. The brutal tactics of the Tigers, which included the recruitment of child soldiers and use of suicide bombers, cannot be used as justification for what happened during the final stages of the war.

Reconciliation and lasting peace in a post-conflict environment cannot be achieved without truth and accountability.

Yiagadeesen Samy is associate professor of International Affairs at the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, Carleton University and research associate at the North-South Institute.

http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorialopinion/article/1014232--how-the-world-should-react-to-sri-lanka-s-killing-fields

புலம் பெயர்ந்து வாழும் யாழ்கள அன்பர்களிடம் ஒரு வேண்டுகோள்:

http://www.youtube.com/all_comments?v=qQ7ga6q9Er8

மேற்காணும் Channel 4 காணொளிகளின் இணைப்பை அழுத்தி நேரடியாக U - Tube தளத்துக்குச் சென்று சிங்கள பயங்கரவாதிகளின் கருத்துக்களுக்கு உரிய பதில்களைக் கொடுக்க வேண்டியது ஒவ்வொரு தமிழ் உணர்வாளரின் கடமை. அது போல "Vote Up" "Vote Down" Button களையும் பொருத்தமாகக் அழுத்த வேண்டும். உங்களுக்கு இது ஒரு சிறு, இலகுவான முயற்சிதான். புனை பெயரிலும் செய்யலாம்.

இதில் பதிவை மேற்கொள்ள U - Tube உறுப்புரிமை வேண்டும் என்பதால் தாயகத்தில் உள்ளவர்களால் பயத்தினால் இதைச் செய்யும் வாய்ப்புக்கள் குறைவு.

http://www.youtube.com/all_comments?v=qQ7ga6q9Er8

மேற்காணும் Channel 4 காணொளிகளின் இணைப்பில் பெரும்பாலான சிங்கள பயங்கரவாதிகள் பதிவுகளை மேற்கொண்டுள்ளனர். ஆனால் ஒருசில தமிழர்கள் தான் செய்துள்ளார்கள். அதையும் சிங்களவர்கள் SPAM ஆக்கியுள்ளார்கள். நாம் இதை முறியடிக்க வேண்டும். இங்கு நாம் தமிழர் என்று காட்டுவதை விட, பதியும் கருத்துத்தான் முக்கியம். நாமும் சிங்களவனின் கருத்துக்களை SPAM ஆக்க முடிமா? எனக்குத் தெரியவில்லை? தெரிந்தவர்கள் செய்வீர்களா? புனை பெயரிலும் செய்யலாம்.

சிங்கள பயங்கரவாதிகளின் கருத்துக்களை அறிய மேலுள்ள இணைப்புக்குச் செல்லுங்கள்.

அவர்களை இத்தளத்திலும் முறியடிக்க வேண்டும். இல்லையா?

அதையும் தேவைப்படும் போதெல்லாம் தொடர்ச்சியாக செய்யவேண்டும். இதுவும் எமது கடமை என நினைக்கிறேன்.

ஒரு சில வீரத் தமிழரின் கருத்துக்கள் கீழே:

This has been flagged as spam

Well done Channel 4 Team.

You have exposed the most ruthless criminals to the world.

You have exposed the barbaric singala state terrorists to the world.

jesulivesjesu 1 day ago

This has been flagged as spam

Shavendra Silva is a real war criminal of the Singala State Army which massacred more than 100,000 innocent Tamil civilians in 6 months.

Singalese are group of descendants of a group which was banished for misconduct. Now, their behaviours have evolved to worst level though appear civic. These ruthless state terrorists are very capable of cheating the international committee, under the guise of democracy, humanitarian operation. But real barbarians. Very good liars.

jesulivesjesu 1 day ago

This has been flagged as spam

he is stupid. He is bluffing. anyone can understand it

aathipan 1 day ago

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haa haa what is he saying .. is he a fool ??

Zukzinza 1 day ago

Edited June 25, 201114 yr by ஆராவமுதன்

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0122nj9/Nihal_Discussion_on_the_Channel_4_documentary_Sri_Lankas_Killing_Fields/

“Honest friends” : An op-ed on Sri Lanka by Mr Alistair Burt, Foreign Office Minister for South Asia

The Sri Lankan government has said that the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) will report in November. We note the timetable it has set itself and have been clear that we also believe that progress on accountability must be made by the end of year. It is important that the LLRC’s work and report reflects international standards, established through similar post-conflict reconciliation bodies, in order to give the findings maximum credibility and lay this painful time in history to rest.

I have made this point in public statements this month because the UK wants an open and honest relationship with Sri Lanka. An honest friend would not stand aside and remove the need for difficulties to be confronted.

http://ukinsrilanka.fco.gov.uk/en/news/?view=PressR&id=622454582

.Sri Lanka’s Diplomatic Offensive Won’t Make Killing Fields Disappear

(New York) – The Sri Lankan government continues its diplomatic offensive, denying and dismissing the growing evidence of war crimes during the final bloody battles between the Sri Lankan armed forces and the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) that ended in May 2009.

Last week, at a panel presentation of the Channel 4 film, the ‘Killing Fields of Sri Lanka’, Sri Lanka’s United Nations Ambassador Palitha Kohona said, “To suggest that the Sri Lankan military was so foolhardy as to deliberately target the civilians, I think is a blatant lie… We had no intention of creating martyrs, we had no intention of creating more volunteers for the LTTE.”

If the killings of civilians were not deliberate, the Sri Lankan army attacks were clearly indiscriminate, which is no less a war crime. The recent findings of the panel of experts set up to advise UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon concluded that up to 40,000 civilians were killed in the final stages of the conflict, many as the result of indiscriminate shelling by government forces. The report also concluded that both government forces and the Tigers conducted military operations “with flagrant disregard for the protection, rights, welfare and lives of civilians and failed to respect the norms of international law.”

http://groundviews.org/2011/06/30/sri-lankas-diplomatic-offensive-won%E2%80%99t-make-killing-fields-disappear/?replytocom=33867#comment-33875

சனல் 4 'இலங்கையின் கொலைக்களம்' காணொளியின் தொடர் இறுவட்டுப் பரப்புரை

[ கனடியத் தமிழர் தேசிய அவை ] - [ Jun 30, 2011 12:32:21 GMT ]

இன்றுவரை 43,000 இறுவட்டுக்கள் கனடியத் தமிழர் தேசிய அவையினால் மக்களுக்கு வினியோகிக்கப்பட்டதுடன் ஏனைய நாடுகளுக்கும் அனுப்பி வைக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது.

யூன் மாதம் 27ம் திகதி 2011 திங்கட்கிழமை கனடியத் தமிழர் தேசிய அவையும் நாடுகடந்த தமிழீழ அரசாங்க ஜனநாயகவாதிகளும் இணைந்து ஒட்டோவா பாராளுமன்றத்திற்கு முன்பாகவும் அதனைச் சுற்றியுள்ள பகுதிகளிலும் சனல் 4 தொலைக்காட்சியின் 'இலங்கையின் கொலைக்களம்' காணொளி இறுவட்டுப் பரப்புரையினை மேற்கொண்டனர்.

இக்காணொளிப் பரப்புரைக்கு மக்களிடமிருந்து நல்ல வரவேற்புக் கிடைத்துள்ளது. அன்றையதினம் 2,000 காணொளி இறுவட்டுக்கள் மக்களுக்கு வழங்கப்பட்டன. இதனைப் பார்த்து உங்கள் தொகுதிப் பாராளுமன்ற பிரதிநிதிகளுடன் தொடர்பு கொண்டு உண்மை நிலையினைத் தெரிவியுங்கள் என்று எடுத்துக் கூறப்பட்டது. பல்கலைக்கழக மாணவர்கள் மிக ஆவலுடன் விளக்கம் கேட்டுப் பெற்றுக் கொண்டனர்.

கனடியத் தமிழர் தேசிய அவையின் இறுவட்டுப் பரப்புரை யூன் 17, வெள்ளி 2011 ரொறன்ரோ மையப் பகுதியில் அமைந்துள்ள மைய ஊடகங்களான City TV, CP 24, Global TV மற்றும் டண்டாஸ் சதுர்க்கம் (Dundas Square), அமெரிக்கத் துணைத் துதரகம் முன்பாக வைத்து வேற்றின மக்களுக்கு இரண்டாயிரம் (2,000) இறுவட்டுக்கள் கையளிக்கப்பட்டன.

16 யூன் 2011 வியாழக்கிழமை ஆயிரம் (1,000) இறுவட்டுக்கள் வன்கூவரில் நடைபெற்ற புதிய ஜனநாயகக் கட்சி மாநாட்டில் அரசியல் பிரமுகர்களுக்கு வழங்குவதற்காக அனுப்பப்பட்டன. அம்மாநாட்டில் கனடியத் தமிழர் தேசிய அவை உறுப்பினர்களும் கலந்துகொண்டனர்.

உலகெங்கும் வாழும் பல்லின மக்கள் மத்தியில் பெரும் பரபரப்பை ஏற்படுத்திக்கொண்டிருக்கும் சனல் 4 இன் இலங்கையின் கொலைக்களம் காணொளி இறுவட்டு கடந்த இரண்டு வாரமாகக் கனடியத் தமிழர் தேசிய அவையினால் பல்லின மக்களுக்கும் அரசியல் கட்சி உறுப்பினர்களுக்கும் அரசியல் பிரமுகர்களுக்கும் கையளிக்கப்பட்டு வருகின்றன.

அந்த வகையில் யூன் 20,2011 திங்கட்கிழமை யூனியன் தொடருந்து நிலையம் (Union Station, Downtown) முன்பாக வைத்து 2000 இறுவட்டுக்கள் வேற்றின மக்களுக்கு வழங்கப்பட்டன. மாலை 4.00 மணி தொடக்கம் 7.00 மணி வரை வழங்கவென்று 2000 இறுவட்டுக்களுடன் சென்றவர்கள் 5.30 மணிக்கே 2000 இறுவட்டுக்களையும் வழங்கியமை குறிப்பிடத்தக்கது.

அதேவேளை மொன்றியலிலும் மைய ஊடகங்களை நேரில் சென்று சந்தித்துக் காணொளி இறுவட்டையும் ஐ.நா அறிக்கையையும் கனடியத் தமிழர் தேசிய அவையின் அறிக்கையையும் கனடியத் தமிழர் தேசிய அவை உறுப்பினர்கள் வழங்கியதுடன் வேற்றின மக்களுக்கும் காணொளி இறுவட்டை வழங்கினார்கள்.

யூன் 21,2011 செவ்வாய்க்கிழமை கனடியத் தமிழர் தேசிய அவை உறுப்பினர்கள் ஒன்ராறியோவின் புதிய ஜனநாயகக் கட்சித் தலைவி அன்ட்றியா கோர்வாத் (Andrea Howrath, NDP Ontario Leader) மற்றும் போல் பெறைறா (Paul Ferreira, Ontario NDP Cadidate for York South Western) ஆகியோரை நேரில் சந்தித்து காணொளி இறுவட்டையும் ஐ.நா அறிக்கையையும் கனடியத் தமிழர் தேசிய அவையின் அறிக்கையையும் கையளித்துள்ளனர்.

யூன் 24,2011 வெள்ளிக்கிழமை மிஸ்ஸிஸ்ஸாகாவில் அமைந்துள்ள Square One வர்த்தக மையத்திலும் பிரம்ரனில் (Brampton) அமைந்துள்ள பிரமலியா நகர மையத்திலும் (Bramalea City Center) காணொளி இறுவட்டுப் பரப்புரை மாலை 4.00 மணி தொடக்கம் 7.00 மணிவரை நடைபெற்றது.

யூன் 26.2011 ஞாயிற்றுக்கிழமை ரொறன்ரோ மையப்பகுதிகளில் அமைந்துள்ள தேவாலயங்களின் முன்வைத்தும் இறுவட்டுக்கள் வழங்கப்பட்டன.

கனடியத் தமிழர் தேசிய அவைப் பணிமமையில் வந்து தங்களால் இயன்ற பண உதவியையும் சரீர உதவியையும் வழங்கிக்கொண்டிருக்கின்ற எம்முறவுகளுக்கு நாம் நன்றியினைத் தெரிவித்துக்கொள்கின்றோம்.

தொடர்ந்தும் கனடியத் தமிழர் தேசிய அவை இவ்விறுவட்டுப் பரப்புரையில் ஈடுபடவுள்ளதால் கூடுதலான தொண்டர்கள் இணைந்து காலத்தின் தேவைக்கு உதவுமாறு கனடியத் தமிழர் தேசிய அவை வேண்டிநிற்கிறது.

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மூலம்: கனடியத் தமிழர் தேசிய அவை

பிரசுரித்த நாள்: Jun 30, 2011 12:32:21 GMT

Ravi Shankar: Scarring our moral universe

Dates are history’s booby traps. 9/11 was the deciding moment in Sri Lanka’s war against the LTTE. It took nearly eight years to reach May 18, 2009, when Foneska’s soldiers killed Velupillai Prabhakaran -- Sri Lanka’s Osama Bin Laden. In history, there are victims and there are victors. The catechism of civilization is to choose the hero among the victors. By the time the LTTE’s obituary was written in the killing fields of Killinochi, the world had changed. Terrorism was the enemy that united society.

Two years later, the world is horrified by a new chapter of telehistory unfolding; award winning documentaries and photographs reminiscent of the brutal beauty of Robert Capa about the Sri Lankan army’s pogroms unleashed on Tamil civilians has scarred our moral universe. The world has a morbid fascination for horror so long it is happening far away; tales and pictures of distant wars remind us that we sleep safe and our children dream of burgers and fries and pajama parties. It is not happening to us; the shellfire that keeps coming closer, the whistle of bombs falling, the deadpan chatter of machine guns, the fighter jets leaving behind their beautiful signatures of smoke after their deadly cargo has sown death on the earth.

Kosovo was so long ago. The world is already bored with Middle East protests. Egypt is so yesterday. Syria has become banal-after all how many tears can be shed at the sight of alien tribesmen killing each other? Bahrain, well, its not as if the place has gone to hell like Johannesburg or Pretoria -- you can always go out to a decent restaurant without getting mugged. Women are driving in Saudi Arabia, at least on Facebook; so what’s all this kerfuffle about?

So, where to get some conscience popcorn? The Killing Fields of Killinochi, maybe. A Channel 4 documentary on the Tamil genocide is a poignant, heart wrenching portrayal of innocent people trapped in a war that was not really their own, but whose shadow made macabre visitations off and on like some Dravidian Canterville Ghost. The documentary is a telling visual narrative of the UN’s helplessness in the face of global politics: United Nations vehicles leaving Killinochi (what a irony, that ghoulish name) with blue flags fluttering in the Sri Lankan wind as the camera shifts and pans out on hundreds of Tamils leaving the war zone with whatever possessions they had.

However, the fact is, for Sri Lanka the Tigers had to be put down. They had wreaked enough damage on the country, killing thousands of soldiers, blowing themselves up in markets murdering hundreds of civilians, assassinating Presidents, generals and even Rajiv Gandhi -- the misguided, well intentioned Indian politician who was deceived by death in the form of a young Tamil woman’s garland. The Sri Lankan economy was in shambles; its tourism subsisting on war discounts; the only employment available for young men was in the Army. The Sri Lankan army was hogtied by India for decades; that bully of a neighbor up North who had Tamil domestic votes to worry about.

The legendary Tamil outlaw, Velupillai Prabhakaran is a martyr to Tamils. Yet, the secret life of martyrs is shrouded in secrecy by dramatic historians to retain the romance of a just war. If Indian intelligence is to be believed, LTTE financed its war with a multi-billion drug trade; it carried out contract killings of politicians and businessmen for big bucks. To the hundreds of Tamil Tigers, Prabhakaran was the god they were willing to die for. The cause was Eelam. Prabhakaran was Eelam. Then 9/11 happened. The world suddenly woke up to terrorism. Suicide bombers are the new evil. 9/11 was the turning point in Sri Lanka’s fight against terror; something that was by and large not part of daily newsprint. The Indian government couldn’t, especially after the 26/11 Mumbai attacks sympathize with a terrorist organization. In fact, it was the intelligence provided by the Indians that helped a lot for Mahinda Rajapaksa to annihilate the LTTE.

Some 2,996 innocents died when airplanes crashed into the Twin Towers. No one really knows how many civilians died in the final war in Sri Lanka. Rajapaksa’s planes bombed civilian zones and shelled hospitals. Prabhakaran has been a ruthless guerrilla -- Indian intelligence and Sri Lankan army sources say many Tigers had joined the civilian exodus to escape in order to fight another day, and had taken refuge in the refugee camps. Rajapaksa’s only aim was to eliminate the Tigers and he was willing to do it any cost, even if it is a moral one.

Prabhakaran had used the same refugees as human shields as the Sri Lankan army advanced. There may be a new Nuremberg trial on Sri Lanka. Maybe not. But the real heroes of the Sri Lankan struggle are the thousands who died in the crossfire. Only Abu Ben Adam knows the dates of their redemption.

(Ravi Shankar is Editor of New Indian Express in Delhi. He can be reached at: ravi@newindianexpress.com)

http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/07/11/157081.html

Lanka war crimes: No comments, says Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao

The Indian government has had nothing to say for the last four days on the gross violation of human rights in Sri Lanka.

Four days after Headlines Today aired chilling evidence of Sri Lankan army's atrocities against Tamils, India has maintained a defeaning silence. Meanwhile, Colombo claims the atrocities were committed by the LTTE fighters.

Chilling evidence of crimes against humanity was aired by Headlines Today on Thursday night. The Channel 4 documentary, Sri Lanka's Killing Fields, presents perhaps the most disturbing images ever shown on any TV channel.

The images clearly proved that war crimes of the worst kind were committed against the Tamil rebels in Sri Lanka by its armed forces in the culmination of the civil war two years ago.

However, despite the glaring evidence, India's Ministry of External Affairs has avoided reacting to it.

When asked for her reaction on the video footage, Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao said, "I will not comment on this matter."

Asked if the Indian government has failed in its response, former external affairs minister Jaswant Singh had told Headlines Today on Friday, "The government must act constitutionally and politically. No government can afford to sit on the fence."

The UN report on Sri Lanka had recommended an international investigation, but the Sri Lankan government has done nothing.

Former UK foreign secretary David Miliband had also said that the report was shocking and that Sri Lanka must allow international probe into the war crimes. "There is a need to give Lanka a deadline to look into the war crimes and see to it that the deadline is fulfilled," Miliband told Headlines Today on Friday.

Lankan military spokesperson Maj Gen Ubaya Medawale maintained there was "no need for international probe".

"The video, done by individuals who come from the ranks of refugees spread over different parts of Lanka seeking international assistance, is fake," Medawale had said on Friday.

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/story/india-stays-mum-on-lanka-war-crimes/1/144419.html

DAP man on mission to help war victims

DAP’s M Manogaran is determined to help Sri Lankan Tamils deal with the aftermath of the 30-year civil war in their country.

He told reporters today that he would seek help from India by engaging with both New Delhi and the Tamil Nadu state government.

The civil war ended in 2009, when the Sri Lankan army crushed the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in the island nation’s Tamil-dominated north.

Since then 300,000 civilians have been living in camps under military rule.

“We will meet Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalitha in a week or two,” said Manogaran, who is the MP for Teluk Intan. He visited Sri Lanka last month with Sungai Petani MP Johari Abdul and Senator S Ramakrishnan.

They held the press conference today to publicise their fact-finding report.

“We are seeking India’s help for meaningful change to happen for the war victims,” Manogaran said.

India is seen as an influential big brother in South Asia.

Manogaran also spoke of plans to form a parliamentary caucus on Sri Lanka, but said he was not confident of its effectiveness. “We have a caucus on Myanmar, but motions are not allowed.”

He added that he and Ramakrishnan would meet Foreign Minister Anifah Aman to brief him on their findings and to “explain why Malaysia should take a pro-active stand”.

Malaysia is Sri Lanka’s largest trading partner.

Manogaran said he was making his group’s report available to the public in an effort to spread awareness about the Sri Lankan situation. Those who are interested can order copies by email at manotelukintan@gmail.com

http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/2011/07/13/dap-man-on-mission-to-help-war-victims/

Sri Lanka's Killing Fields

A Channel 4 film

8pm, Tuesday August 9, 2011

Free for members, 150 Baht non-members

A hard-hitting documentary exposing the final weeks of Sri Lanka's exceptionally vicious, nearly three-decades-long civil war, this film has ignited a storm of controversy even as the Sri Lankan government seeks to fend off accusations of war crimes.

The film on the final stages of the war in April-May 2009, in which Sri Lankan government forces closed in on Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) forces fighting a desperate last stand - with civilians caught in the middle - features horrific and deeply disturbing scenes which viewers are cautioned that they may find distressing.

A newly released short follow-up film also by the British broadcaster Channel 4, in which two interviewees allege that Sri Lanka's defence secretary gave orders to a senior military commander to "finish it off the way it has to be done", will also be screened after the first film.

The Sri Lankan government has strongly disputed the authenticity of parts of the films, which it maintains contain a number of distortions. Part of the Sri Lankan government's offensive has included a video it has produced to counter the revelations in the Channel 4 documentary. This official response will also be screened.

Screening such a video package is a first at the FCCT, enabling the audience to get a broader understanding of a conflict where close 100,000 people died, yet one that did not attract international media headlines as some of the other civil wars in these times.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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http://fccthai.com/items/652.html

Headlines Today to air new documentary: ‘Inside Lanka's Killing Fields'

New Delhi-based news channel, Headlines Today, which has brought wide media focus in India on Sri Lankan war crimes after broadcasting the Channel 4 documentary Sri Lanka's Killing Fields followed with a debate recently, on Monday said it was to broadcast an exclusive documentary of its own on Tuesday, titled "I witnessed Genocide: Inside Lanka's Killing Fields".

The new documentary to be aired on Tuesday will feature eyewitness accounts of shelling and aerial bombardment of designated safe zones, hospitals and other civilian targets, rape, sexual harassment at IDP camps, use of chemical bombs, use of cluster munition, denial of food and medicines to civilians etc., media sources in New Delhi said.

Meanwhile, the editor of Headline Today, Rajesh Sundaram, on Monday brought an exclusive interview with Sri Lankan Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa. In the interview, the SL presidential sibling has hit out at Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa for her recent comments seeking international war crimes investigations and economic sanctions on Sri Lanka.

"This [the resolutions in the assembly and statements by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa] must be for her to gain political advantage...It is not reasonable, because in Sri Lanka regardless of being Sinhala, Tamil or Muslim, we are Sri Lankans. We are more worried about our citizens than anyone else. This [the resolution and statements by Jaya] is without knowing facts,” Gotabhaya Rajapaksa was telling the Headline Today.

Mr. Gotabhaya advised the Tamil Nadu chief minister to focus her attention instead on the need for rehabilitation of the Tamil people in the war ravaged areas, the Headline Today reported.

On the call for international investigation of war crimes committed in the island Gotabhaya Rajapaksa expressed confidence in continued support from the New Delhi establishment: “We have strong backing from the rest of the world, starting from Russia and China and I am sure of it from India, Pakistan and a lot of the countries from Africa, Middle East and South East Asia. That is the international community. A few people in the world can't say they are international community."

http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=34285

ஹெட்லைன்ஸ் டுடே நிருபர் இலங்கை சென்று முகாமில் இருக்கும் தமிழர்களை பேட்டி கண்டபொழுது ஒரு ஏழு வயது தமிழ் தம்பி ஒருவனிடம் என்ன வேண்டும் உனக்கு என்று கேட்டாராம்.. தம்பி உடனே சொன்னானாம் "விடுதலை" என்று... இந்த செய்தி கேட்டதில் இருந்து என்னுள் புது தெம்பும் நம்பிக்கையும் பிறந்து இன்னும் வேகமாய் செயல்படவேண்டும் என்று தோன்றுகிறது.. தவறாமல் நாளை ஹெட்லைன்ஸ் டுடே பார்ப்போம்.. வேண்டும்..

(முகநூலில் இருந்து)

Headlines Today to air new documentary: ‘Inside Lanka's Killing Fields'

New Delhi-based news channel, Headlines Today, which has brought wide media focus in India on Sri Lankan war crimes after broadcasting the Channel 4 documentary Sri Lanka's Killing Fields followed with a debate recently, on Monday said it was to broadcast an exclusive documentary of its own on Tuesday, titled "I witnessed Genocide: Inside Lanka's Killing Fields".

The new documentary to be aired on Tuesday will feature eyewitness accounts of shelling and aerial bombardment of designated safe zones, hospitals and other civilian targets, rape, sexual harassment at IDP camps, use of chemical bombs, use of cluster munition, denial of food and medicines to civilians etc., media sources in New Delhi said.

Meanwhile, the editor of Headline Today, Rajesh Sundaram, on Monday brought an exclusive interview with Sri Lankan Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa. In the interview, the SL presidential sibling has hit out at Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa for her recent comments seeking international war crimes investigations and economic sanctions on Sri Lanka.

"This [the resolutions in the assembly and statements by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa] must be for her to gain political advantage...It is not reasonable, because in Sri Lanka regardless of being Sinhala, Tamil or Muslim, we are Sri Lankans. We are more worried about our citizens than anyone else. This [the resolution and statements by Jaya] is without knowing facts,” Gotabhaya Rajapaksa was telling the Headline Today.