There is really very little to actually report when you cover Sri Lanka. That sounds ridiculous, but let me qualify myself: there is no real, first hand information or experience that you can lay your hands on. It’s all potentially tainted somehow.
You spend your time explaining that the other side disagrees with the other side’s claim, and that you can’t tell who’s telling the truth as you’re mostly stuck in a hotel in the capital unable to independently witness the events they are making entirely disparate claims about.
After 26 years of conflict, both sides in the Sri Lankan war – broadly Sinhalese government or Tamil insurgent – have their information war honed.
To see the front line in April and May – the final, grizzly end of the war, in which tens of thousands of Tamil civilians were trapped in a tiny sliver of beach which was repeatedly hit by shellfire, misleadingly called the no-fire zone – you had to travel with the government.
On the other side, you had to rely on the sophisticated means of internet video distribution run by the LTTE – the Tamil Tigers. Daily, remarkably, new chilling images emerged; though of course these were almost impossible to verify, they would have been near impossible to fake as well.
But just like the LTTE, and army provided their own version of events, filming and releasing scenes from the battlefield. Again, almost impossible to verify, but also almost impossible to fake. We ran both sides’ pictures heavily labelled.
Everyone tried every other means. We arrived and I presumed arrogantly that people simply hadn’t been trying hard enough. But they had. It was genuinely impossible to get near the no-fire zone.
Through a lot of patience and skill one of our team secured some rare, independent access to the huge sprawling camps where the displaced from the country’s war torn north were herded.
But even they had to rely on people frustrated enough at the situation in the camps to speak out to help us obtain the footage. Then we were deported for broadcasting the allegations of poor conditions and sexual abuse the testimony contained.
It was simply an impossible task simply to make sense of what the state’s position was at times: the government will tell you that they are not shelling the area, then the next moment say they have been. And when you are at the no-fire zone, listening to what sounds a lot like shelling, they will tell you it’s a mine-clearing operation.
The other side, the LTTE, are a registered terrorist organisation. Not an ideal source. Information from Tamils caught on the other side of the front line sadly always risks being tarred with their brush. And it’s a bad brush to be tarred with.
The United Nations had the best access. They had an invulnerability that other, smaller NGOs working in the field lacked. Without them, the Sri Lankan government would simply have lacked the resources to handle the huge displacement the end of the war caused.
This fact was, sadly, lost on some UN officials, it appeared. Many aid workers were infuriated with the lack of criticism the UN’s senior officials dispensed at the time of the no-fire zone’s shelling. Ban Ki-moon’s office, that of the UN secretary general, were singled out.
Eventually the scale of the tragedy became too obvious for further silence, but many aid workers had for a while looked to the top levels of the UN hoping for a voice of condemnation that never came.
The feeling endured that for some time, the most powerful international agency in the country mistakenly felt they could be shut out of giving aid to the needy, when surely they must have realised they were the only solution the Sri Lankan government had.
But it’s not as though the lack of independent access has helped the government’s cause. The government were incapable of copper-bottoming their claims the LTTE were using civilians as human shields.
You might argue they prevented access as they had something to hide: western journalists, for example, never allowed into the no-fire zone, or even flown over it. We did ask. Repeatedly. The job of reporting became quite methodical in the end: get information from one side, and if it’s not too preposterous or does not conflict with everything else you know about that situation, present it to your viewer together with the other side’s comment on it.
That to me seems like a quite balanced way to report matters. But there was a lack of logic to the Sri Lankan government’s behaviour.
I once questioned the government’s reaction to our report ahead of deportation. I said that we had gone out of our way to get on-camera comment from the defence ministry’s spokesman, haranguing officials for access, and driving across town to make the interview, risking missing our deadline. But, one of the criticisms aired in the Sri Lankan media of the report we were deported for was that it did not carry the government’s reaction.
The official looked at me, almost surprised, but partially amused, perhaps by the absurdity of the situation – the world of non-truth we were both wallowing in. “But this is Sri Lanka” he said, as if that, the 26 years of savage war, meant all bets were off. It’s hard to win in that situation, however balanced you are.
And in the end, the Sri Lankan government managed a remarkable feat: they ended a 26 year war against an internationally condemned terrorist group, but in such a way that their “victory” was mired in accusations of massacres, and demands for war crimes investigations.
You would have thought they’d have been keen to show us the claims made against them were otherwise. And you have to wonder why they did not, and continue to prevent us from doing so.
Commentsoldest first
Courageous reporting by Nick Paton Walsh is applaudable. Given the nature of Sri Lanka, a highly sophisticated player in the divided world politics and deceptions, and the fact it has been persecuting tamils since 1948, It was an opportunity for them to carry out a ghastly war against tamils in blackout. United Nations Mr. Ban and some officials have clearly shown the world that they are not there to protect civilians or vulnerable societies.
IIf a disaster of Sri Lankan scale can be allowed to happen, United Nations is an organization devoid of Civility.
Reporters are not welcome to Sri Lanka. Lasantha Wicramatunga, Chief Editor of Sunday Leader prior to his murder that’ “When finally I am killed,” he wrote, “it will be the government that kills me.”the Sri Lankan government will come to me.
Did anybody from the civilized world prevent this? No. rewarded with IMF loan for bad behaviour.
Tamils are finally made the proverbial sacrificial lambs to the greedy geopolitics and divided world ‘democracies’.
Well, what diffference does it make whether you are able to report or not? Sometimes I wonder whether you Western media people are reporters or spectators, like those in the ancient roman colliseum: thumbs up when you agree, thumbs down when you disagree.
Anyway, the situation in Sri Lanka is much to complex for you to report on in 5 hours, let alone 5 minutes.
Were there reporters at the battle of Stalingrad, the fall of Rome, the seige of Troy? Well, sort of, but mainly there were the participants and they decided what the truth was, no one else.
Nick, when a large portion of subcontinent media reported the news provided by Colombo, What is your problem reporting it from Colombo?
We have Attorney General demanding High Court to withdraw indictments, why do you care about rule of law?
Guardian, UK video interview from Damilvany Gnanakumar is candid eyewitness account on the war crimes to book Rajapakse brothers.
Let’s see what UN, US and EU will take it forward.
well is this not the case in Afganistan or Iraq? When civilians get killed, NATO says something else, local people says something else. This is the realilty when there is a WAR.
In Sri Lanka, even though LTTE is defeated militarily, still there are chuvenistic, racist elemnets who are trying to divide this small island base on ethnicity which could lead to more disaster.
Dividing a country base on ethnicity is not a solution. Only solution is providing jobs, economic security, shelter to all people regardless of ethnicity. Today people from all three main ethnic groups have common problems.
Ordinary Tamils live in SL do not ask a seperate country. Only Tamil diaspora who live outside want to divie our island. Tehy talks about discrimination. This is a joke.
It is sad that some of wester media ( I would say liberal media) also support those racists without really knowing the facts.
What’s the big brother US thought the world when you are on a war footing, you can change the law, there’s no need following international human rights norms, no missions to investigate suspect situations and generate coverage in local and international media.Mr.Nick Paton Walsh may be a child at the time US abused the International laws when it did every thing to wipe out terrorsium from its doorstep.
One more thing is now all these western media talks about those displaced people. But I was wondering where were they, when LTTE existed and those suicide bombers killed 100s of people?
Where were they, when LTTE killed their own people, Tamils themself.
At least now there are no more killings, no more suicide bombers, no more terrorists activities.
Even why those people were displaced. It is no secret anymore that LTTE forced those innocent ordinary people to abandon their homes and ran away with LTTE. In other words LTTE used those people as a human shield.
People have better life compared to what we had beofore. The people who live in Sri Lanka know this truth.
so you are saying…who cares? Let’s start killing right? Nonsense. I wonder how you’ll react if your 14 yr old sister gets raped by SL soldier? Tamils are already hurt and betrayed by the int’l community. Don’t hurt them more with your nonsense comments. Mr. Ban Ki Moon is good for nothing, SLA genocide shows his inablity. Oh well, UN is a toothless tiger, Tamils are betrayed by Int’l community as a whole.
Well everyone knows Sri Lanka is a human rights violator all-times, especially in the case of Tamils. It is time that the international community do something to make this govt respect all citizens alike.
You question that why the Sri Lankan government is not willing to give the western media a free access to the then so called war zones and now the IDP camps. The main reason is Sri Lankan government and most Sri Lankans do not think the western method of shaming the authorities will do any good. yes, there are so many western media are in Iraq and Afghanistan, but the so called “unbiased” reporting had manged to take action against the big players who are responsible for over one million deaths of Iraqis and Afghans? Western media is mainly try to show that small players like Sri Lanka for their minor actions while being largely mute on US’s, UK’s and EU’s action against innocent Iraqis and Afghans.
If only your impartiality was impartial as to what you (C4) did with iraq or do with Afganistan, then the Sri Lankan government may not have been so ‘illogical’ and the world may have been able to see some truth.
Unfortunately, your impartial journalism is always marred by prejudices, which always get you into trouble, (both domestically and internationally) and you never seem to learn!
I am a Sri Lankan. When I was born some 30 years ago and until few months ago I thought my life in Sri Lanka will always be with a heavily felt war, seeming without an end. But the war has ended. Isn’t it good news. For some it’s not. Especially for the international community; not for all, but for some. A foreigner cannot feel the joy that comes with this victory. It’s a new beginning for reconciliation. There is a new opportunity for harmony. It’s a long way away still but it’s begun. But some of the media are trying to hinder this process of reconciliation by making Tamil people distrust their Sinhala brothers and sisters. This is how the war started. This is the time to help Sri Lanka get reconciled. The international media must help this cause. If the governments gives excuses for the delay in resettling the internally displaced persons, then the international media should help eradicate these excuses. For example if the government says that the delay is due to demining then use the media to get the necessary facilities to expedite this process. Get the Tamil diaspora to help their own brothers and sisters in Sri Lanka rather than giving their money to different organizations. The war is over. We must learn to appreciate the relief the average Sri Lankan citizen feels because of that. ‘The war is over’ for Sri Lanka. Let’s learn to deal with it.
Nick Paton “the cry baby”, be happy that you were only deported from Sri Lanka. In my view, you should have been taken to court and sentenced for openly supporting world’s deadliest terrorist outfit. It was a big mistake that Sri Lankan government did not take legal action against you at that time. At least now they have learnt what to do, and are going to do the right thing finally by taking legal action against C4.
Well said Piyal. These media like Channel 4 are not at all interested in welfare of those people affected. They just want to lay the platform now itself for the war to start again. That is their agenda. If they have the slightest interest on the welfare of our Tamil people, what they should do is exactly what you say. But none of them do so, not even a single western “democracy”. For an example, did any of those countries gave SL government demining machinery, so that SL gvt can quickly resettle them? NO. SL government had to buy 10 of those machines recently. These media people just want to market the SL issue with nice headlines and earn money by supporting the LTTE to start the war back again.
god bless the the tiggers leaders soul. the polpot of asia..
The stance of Sri Lanka on reporters does not give you the right to issue false videos to the public to discredit Sri Lanka. You were kincked out because your story on”Rapes” etc were catered to support the now-extince terrorists, the tamil tigers. Now you are sour at getting kincked out and issue blatant lies to ‘get back’ at Sri Lanka? –
-Get a life!
Channel 4 “video” on Sri Lanka has been proved FAKE:
Channel 4 Fake Video Footage: At last the Original has Emerged Try this link:
http://www.asiantribune.com/news/2009/09/17/channel-4-fake-video-footage-last-original-has-emerged
This comment likely to be ‘deleted according to Ch 4’s “Comment Policy”
Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh
Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh
Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh
(Who “mired accusations’ (false ones) against Sri Lanka? – Empty “reporters” like YOU)
Nick
The dice were loaded aginst you from the start!
Had you decided to accept the Sri Lankan government’s spin unquestioningly, they’d have allowed you anywhere. One of the pillars of the so called winning strategy was highly restricted media access.
Most Sri Lankan journalists were either harrassed or “White Vanned” into self-censorship when it came to questioning the government line. Those who `spoke out aginst excesses paid the price. In an ironic way, the Government adopted the LTTE’s strategy when it came to handling the media: intimidation and impunity
The war is over but the peace could be shortlived.
if srilanka had nothing to hide, why wasnt no international community allowed in? why all those journalist who reported/exposed those truth have dead/disappered/dead/put in jail for maximum jail time, left country fear death from srilankan government/army focrces. more than 80000 dead, about 300000 still held in small crowed in area, in poor conditions,
beging for food/water, safety. many young gals/ womans raped and murdered,. everyday many young children/woman corpes being found. Srilankan army forces who went to haiti as un peace keepers were caught by media try to solicit/rape underaged gals and were thrown out. while in their own land, many , many young childrens/womans being found dead. for these, these ruthless barbarians, baby /children rprapists, instead of being prosecuted, they are being awared in high posts/with money in srilankan govern ment army/police/navy forces. every day many young children/woman/men being found dead.
thsese forces murdered in thousands and thousands with people, young, and old, , pregnant womans, seniors, babies in houses/shelters, temples/churches/libraries, hospitals, media were bombed , with high artelaries /heavy weapons bought from other countries. journalists, mirnority goverment forces, young babies, pregnant womans, aid workers have been murdered, while those with poweres lived in luxury livees, these people /young babies, pregnant womans, adults living in poor conditions/malnutritions. ship full of medicine, food/water.clothing which had sent to help these poor people were sent babk, all were blocked from going into the affected area.
god be with those 300000 people who are still living in that poor conditions.
US and British forces lilled thousands of civilians in Iraq,Afganistan and Pakistan. Thosands displaced. why u don’t go there.
There is no such thing as independent media.You idiot only want Moon to condemn Sri Lanka.Stop taking money from Rich Tamils.
Nick walsh , if you want to find the root of this conflict ,please try and visit valvettiturai (in jaffna) this is a place where i born.
in may 1984 about 100 tamil youths were rounded up and taken into a building and blown up by security forces in a revenge attack. then 12 or so men were taken to a building and their hands were tied and killed. to date there is not single enquery to find justice for this murders. srilankan government had simply denied such event took place. entire village had withnessed the event. this is what frustrated the youths and more and more youths joined tigers to fight the injustice.
25 years had gone by srilankan government had not changed a bit , they still deny every crimes commited by the security forces this is why the conflict will continue forever.
First She should be subjected to LIE ditectors.
Exactly!! Fernando. You just said it for all of us Sri Lankans. !!!
There was an Indian journalist and several Sri Lankan journalist inside the war zone. Also there were enogh evidents, that the Tamil civilians were kept forecebaly as human shield. Infact they were not residents of Wanni. But dragged from all parts of North to use as human shield. I don’tknow where you were living as the information you have is what the LTTE were saying. Every day we see tons of lies and misinformation , that we know of ,spread by LTTE and its supporters ,and LTTE paid media. All Sri Lankans know they are NOT true. And thats why all Sri Lankans think you are LTTE paid . This is nothing to do with GOSL. This is between Sri Lankan community and you. For us your connection to LTTE is clear as crystal.
Birchmount wrote: “Guardian, UK video interview from Damilvany Gnanakumar is candid eyewitness account on the war crimes to book Rajapakse brothers.”
You tried to push that link at StrategyPage. Both the Guardian and Gnanakumar fail to mention that the LTTE were holding Tamil civilians at gunpoint as human shields. According to a February 17, 2009 dispatch by the UN News Centre:
“The LTTE continues to actively prevent people leaving, and reports indicate that a growing number of people trying to leave have been shot and sometimes killed, the statement said, adding that there are indications that children as young as 14 are being recruited into the ranks of the LTTE. In addition, 15 UN staff and 75 of their dependents, 75 of whom are women and children, remain in the same area, having also been prevented from leaving by the LTTE.”
Nick Walsh wrote: “There is really very little to actually report when you cover Sri Lanka.”
So if you can’t REPORT the news, then you choose to BE the news. Is that how it is? It’s a small wonder that the media is suffering from a credibility problem.
Piyal is a well intentioned intellectual who will be spurned by his compatriots for his broadmindedness. The facts are these. The roots of enmity between the two communities in Sri Lanka run deep to be uprooted. This is a universal truth. Look at the world, at America, at Dafur, at Israel, at Zebrinca,at the Holocaust, Racism never dies. In Sri Lanka it is nurtured by the Buddhist monks. Sri Lanka is a Theocratic state. The exultation of the army , the government, and the common people is evidence.
The Rise of the Tigers is a post Indepen-dance phenomenon spurred by the constant marginalisng of the TAmils. The history of this victimisation started ostensibly with the Pan -Sinhala cabinet of 1930 butwas ingrained in the Sinhala-Tamil ethos. Prabharan was the symptom and the cure from the Tamil youth afater the 1083 riots. Were you born then?
Suffice it to say that unless Mahinda Rajapaksa boldly rises to use states- manship and shares power with the Tamils, there will be no permanent solution It has to be Federalism or an Independent Eelam. The die was cast, Piyal long before you were born
Yes people who live outside of Sri Lanka will never realize how happy Sri Lankans are now. Even displaced people have better life now compared to what they had before. As somebody said here, now its time for reconciliation. But Tamil diaspora has something else in mind. They want to see continuation of WAR. They want to divide Tamils and Sinhalese. They want to divide our country.
Yes there are some exceptional cases. (Especially at the begning of the WAR, behavious of some SL soldiers were not acceptable). But things have changed. Now Sri Lankan army is well diciplined force.
We all know how hard Tamil diaspora fought to stop the WAR against LTTE terrorists. If they really care about innocent civilians what they could have done was stop sending money to LTTE. But instead of doing that, they asked government forces to stop the war against those brutal terrorists.
well just think about If SL army did not defeat LTTE and still they exists, how many people could have been killed by now?
Just see howmany thumbs up and howmany thumbs down for your article. It is a good measure that C4 reporting is not approved by largerr public. You always lie
Channel4 published a video of a ‘massacre’ by Sri Lankan forces. It was a fake, but the damage to Sri Lanka’s image was immense. Now the original has emerged, where the shooters speak in Tamil. Shame on Channel4.
http://www.asiantribune.com/news/2009/09/17/channel-4-fake-video-footage-last-original-has-emerged
When LTTE was killing and maiming thousands of citizens of Sri Lanka over last 27 years channel 4 reporters were not even intersted. When msot ruthless terrorist organisation of world was about to be defeated all western media channels were suddenly wanted to be in war zone in Sri Lanka. The reason is they have juicy piece of action to sell to the world. I honestly don’t think any of western media channels are least interested in Sri Lanka. this was shown when boxing day tsunami happened in 2005. IN early days Sri Lanka was allover news channels and a year later all was forgotten.
Sri Lanka is a soverign country and it has a right to decide visitors who are a threat to country’s stability to be kicked out. Western media has no bloody divine right to mess around third world countries.
Nick Paton Walsh, you clearly have been at pains to try and write a “balanced” story. Yet, no matter how good your intentions might be (or how tainted they may well be), you and your ilk cannot but do damage to the Sri Lankan cause, which is reconciliation, peace, and a new beginning.
Leave the Sri Lankans to decide how best to approach this task. The Rajapaksa government knows what it is they are doing and why they are doing it. They also know that the Sri Lankan people are quite capable of changing their governments as they have done many times in the past. If the Rajapaksa government’s peace time efforts do not turn out to be as successful as its war time efforts, they will be booted out of power.
As for foreigners, the only ones who are equipped to properly relate to the tragedy that has unfolded in Sri Lanka are the people and governments of the region . They understand the geopolitics of the region in their proper historical context. They know well the role the country and people you represent played in all of this unfolding tragedy. They are the ones therefore who will know how to constructively help. The west at best will provide nothing more than mere band aids, and at worst, will be a total nuisance, which they currently are.
You pussyfooting western journalists for your part should stick to matters you are able to comprehend, and if not, able to properly research, assess and write on rather than cry foul at being denied easy and cheap access to “zones” that feed your sensation-mongering credo. Only accurate scholarship in this world can unearth the whole offence, a maxim that this era of “instant” journalism so profoundly lacks.
Sri Lanka could win the war because Sri Lanka did not allow so called International Journalists to ward zone. There is no independent media in this world. Everything is a business. Best example is Cahhnel 4, they want to publish anything they want to attract its Viewers .
Also it there are overwhelming evidences that many NGOs and INGOs involved with LTTE and pumped money. so Sri Lanka had to take measures to Identify Good NGOs and Bad NGOs
Channel 4, why do you so bother about Sri Lanka, why dont you write siimilar articles about british and Nato forces in Afghanistan and Iraq? they are doing bigger crimes
Very sad for media in Srilanka
Thankyou very much for exposing the wild,arrogant attrocities of the Srilankan government.Keep up your honest,good work , please!
Unfortunately Mr. Nick P your Western media bias and Ignorance re Sri lanka and the terror we have endured for 30 years continues to disgust and disappoint.I have lost faith/respect for you Channel 4 nonjournalistic ‘reporters’.Western doubel standards on terror,misreporting on Sri lanka and acceptance of Terrorist supporting diaspora ,s smooth propoganda machine and terror funds continue.You lot are sorry the terrorist war is Sri lanka is over and USA,UK,NATO,EU failed to get a strtegic hold in Tamil Eelam in the Indian Ocean.Help Sri lanka demine the North, settle the IDPs and promote peace between all.The terror diaspora will not reconcile – they are a big danger and continue to collect funds for terror and war and you have fallen in to their trap! Just stop maligning Sri lanka – we dont trust you to report honestly and in an unbiassed manner – hence we dont want the terror supporting likes of you or John Snow /Krishnan Gurumoorthy in Sri lanka. You lot keep spewing anti-SL venom.First the doctored video and then the obviously lying IDP Gnankumar who was working with the LTTE terror group in N Sri Lanka.Unfortunately for her she was caught.After being taken to the camp she was handed over to the British counsel- as soon as she got to the UK she started spewing out UNVERFIED facts against Sri Lanka. I live in the UK and your channel disgusts me and many English people too realise what you media personnel are up to. SHAME ON YOU. CHANNEL 4 HANDS OFF SRI LANKA unless you want to be honest.
Who is allowing Channel 4 to shame and bring the British media into disrepute.Repeated false biassed reporting obviously paid for or somehow wrangled through the Tamil Diaspora is shameful. LTTE terrorists wreaked disaster on SL.What is your problem against Sri Lanka Nick P Walsh?John Snow?Krishnan Gurumurthy? Why have you not come on your news channel and apologised to Sri lanka for showing a faked doctored video maligning Sri Lanka? Why do you show an unverified account of a Tamil Tiger woman who has a British Passport and just happened to be with the LTTE terrorists? We did not even need a lie detector we could tell! Why do you not report on how LTTE supporting Tamils in UK,EU,Norway ahve used terror funds to bribe politicians.Investigate why David Milliband used tax payer’s money to go to Sri lanka not to ask the LTTE terrorists to release the civilians they used as a human shield but to save the Tamil LTTE terror outfit and it’s leaders? Who allows the LTTE terror front organisations to continue in UK and USA. Look at what they do in the UK. By the way the British are more interested in honest journalists and media reporting. Not the likes of you.Please show us what is going on in Iraq,families of Afghan civilians and Pakistanis in the SWAT valley, Kosovo – countries I am ashamed as to how the British government and politicians have sent our loyal good soldiers who they treat like cannon fodder to go and murder and destroy peoples lives in these poor countries.Report on Iraqui peoples lives and what the British politicians are responsible for, We would like to see Tony blair and Gordon Brown being investigated for War Crimes and starting wars that were not indicated and destroyed hundred of thousands of peoples lives.Investigate the NATO bombing of Belgrade and how UK,USA,NATO took Kosovo from the Serbs. Channel 4, you lower all standards of the media and journalism that Britain used to be proud of.
Mr Walsh, you should have got the message now from all the above. I suggest if you really want to do something investigative about Sri Lanka there’s 2 things you can do that won’t require a visa & you don’t even have to travel out of the UK. Please start an investigation into the political & financial relationship between the LTTE and certain UK MPs. Also please investigate why the UK Foreign Secretary came to Sri Lanka a few months ago to try to pressure the SL government to allow the escape of the LTTE leaders in exchange for them releasing the hostages.
If did just one of those projects you might go some way to restoring Channel 4’s credibility in Asia.
Don’t say you didn’t recieve this letter from Tamil poiticians who look after welfare of IDPs in the camps.
Vhttp://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2009/07/23/eros-accused-british-tv-channel-over-glorifying-terrorism/
See what Tamil dispora who visited the IDP camps have to say about them.
http://www.dailymirror.lk/DM_BLOG/Sections/frmNewsDetailView.aspx?ARTID=59396
What Tamil leaders say about your vedios.
http://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2009/05/08/channel-4-news-story-of-rapes-and-unnatural-deaths-at-idp-welfare-camp-is-a-hoax-says-moderate-tamil-leader-sangaree/
I cannot understand how a country that practices Buddhism as a religion- one of the most peaceful in the world- can kill innocents; strip any human beings of all their dignity. Thamil’s rights have been removed, and they live as animals in the concentration camps. All of this is forced upon them by the Government of Sri Lanka and the Sri Lankan Army while the Sinhalese majority lives a civilized life. There is no compassion or humanity being practiced by the Sri Lankan Government of Rajapaksa in Sri Lanka, although this is what their Buddhist religion calls for.
Tragedy is a norm in Sri Lankan Concentration camps….
A malnourished IDP child slowly dying..
http://transcurrents.com/tc/2009/09/govt_violates_constitution_by.html
Thanks again Nick for bringing the subject of Sri Lanka. Nothing really changed from the day you were deported from that country which doesn’t like genuine reportes like you.
Over 300,000 innocent Tamils are still suffering in the so called welfare camp with no proper shelter or food with absolutely no freedom!
The western world, powerful media like Channel 4 and the UN have to continue to pressure SL government to face war-crime charges for the killings of Tamils.
Pls don’t give up your fight until the justice served and please continue to be a voice for those voice-less.
Nick
As journalists in Sri lanka are censored, you’ve a double job to speak up. You’ve done it very well. Thank you.
Channel 4,
TV News Media.
Honourable Sir/Madame,
We Tamils all over the World come to know that you are under pressure by Murderous Srilanka Govt. for reporting their Army’s summary execution of Tamils-naked,blind folded.both hands tied behind.
It is very horrific. These poor Tamils have to die like this by this brutal Srilankan Army. You are very much correct and brave enough to publish this to let the world know. This barberic act was continuing for the last 61 years against Tamils. This is the first time it came to light through your respected channel 4.
You did the correct thing. You brought the truth to the world. The whole Tamil Nation is very grateful to you,and are behind you. You have brought the HUMAN suffering in the hands of BRUTAL rulers and their brain washed racial Army.
Now the World Leaders have some strong clues to to prosecute The Srilanka regime, if they are really willing. Please continue more and more. The Tamils all over the World numbering more than 80 million(India Tamil Nadu 70million,Srilanka 5million and the rest in West and North America,Australia,New Zealand,Malaysia,Singapore and South Africa) will give strength to you. We will be backing you. You are not alone. Any problem we will to-gether face it. At any cost JUSTICE SHOULD PREVAIL. Otherwise the world will get destroyed.
International Community should speak for Channel 4 and back them. This brave and HONEST media should be safeguarded against the brutal Srilanka regime.
Thanks.
Selva.
Toronto,
CANADA.
People who were killing Sinhalese for the last 30 years are now preaching Bhudism.You try to achieve your dream Ealam through killing innocent Tamils by taking them as human shield and when they die to accuse SLA of non existing “genocide”. I see you lying and misinforming on many places. Millions of TAmils live well in the South with Sinhalese Bhudist. Tamils killed and chased all the Sinhalses Bhudist from the North making it mono ethnic. STOP LYING.
Ordinary Tamils living in Sri Lanka don’t speak out because of fear. Only Tamil Diaspora can speak out for their brothers and sisters in Sri Lanka.
We can argue much we want it is true 300000 in camps and no independent media or free press now s.l gov moving IDPs to other camps so no one knows how many in the camp or dead on top that now prison guards attacked on the Tamil prisoners , we all know if you are Tamil or sinhalese dosen’t matter if you open your mouth the next minute you aare gone this is the democratic sri lanks
Hi Nick,
You are the voice for the voiceless Tamils in sri lanka.
mahinda regime will pay the prize for the violation of human rights
Thanks for at least publishing the links to the original massacre video. I hope Channel 4 has the sense of decency to broadcast it, with the same proviso they did with the fake (ie. ‘we can’t verify the authenticity.. blah blah)
I personally thank you for your efforts and courage to bring the truth to the world about what happened in Sri Lanka during the war between the Sri Lankan Government and the LTTE and about the post-war humanitarian crisis in the IDP camps.
You can’t detain a quarter of a million people for many months because you think there may be some criminals amongst them. There may be more drug dealers in the city of Colombo– do you put a fence around it and let no one move until they have been “weeded out”. It is the most insane and ludicrous attempt at so-called security measures the world has ever seen. If I happened to be caught up in an area with terrorists and was kept in a camp for many months because I was in the wrong part of the country, because it was my bad luck to be born there, with no rights of movement, unable to see my family, living in baking hot tents, flooded, sharing a toilet with 1000 other people – I would be very, very angry. Are Sri Lankans incapable of this tiny bit of empathy and unable to see how people might FEEL – i.e. other human beings???? It is the most insane thing I have ever witnessed.
Right now there is a War Witness Damilvany Gnanakumar. The International Community should act faster to take Srilanka to the International Criminal Court.
It is a great reporting by Nick Paton Walsh.
Nick, you sound like you are cowering to the threats posed by the rogue terrorist state of Srilanka. The entire world (UN and the international community) knows that the Rajapaksa government committed war crimes and massacres on a much bigger scale than Srebrenica. Till now, I thought you were one of the very few news organizations (and journalists) that was courageous enough to report the truth especially given the government was trying their level best to hide the truth from emerging. When it emerges slowly albeit surely you were bold enough to report on it. I thought it was a very balanced reporting. So why do you now feel the need to be introspective? If the rogue government of Sri Lanka had any remains of civility, humanity and respect for its own citizens, they would have let international media and aid organizations into the affected areas so that the people that remain there could be saved and the media could engage in first-hand reporting. Instead they keep their own citizens in barbed wire internment camps, intimidate, imprison and murder the local journalists. When you have a so-called democratically government that behaves this way, what is there to be doubtful about? Do you think they have any interest in telling the truth or bringing justice to the Tamil people. You think about it, but please don’t let yourself be intimidated by this murderous brutal regime (that’s worse than that of present day Iran, Libya or Sudan) and do your duty. For you are one of the few that the defenceless, oppressed and brutalized Tamil people have left to save them. Thank You!
Gentlemen,
It is our expectation that a media Institution of the stature of Channel 4 will be strong enough to withstand intimidation tactics of the Sri Lankan State. Succumbing to the spin being variously attempted questioning the authenticity of the documented visuals through verbiage largely contributes to dilution of culpabability. At whatever cost TRUTH should prevail and if Channel 4 believes in that incriminating video footage, as we know it does, expressly and by implication, Sri Lankan Tamils all over the world and indeed the whole civilized world will be grateful to channel 4 for standing up for the truth.
Please keep up the good work.
Sridas Sivasambo
Great article, and thank you Channel 4 for continuing to try and investigate the issues in Sri Lanka despite such difficult conditions. The propaganda war is still going strong but if you keep presenting information from all sides then at least awareness of the problems will be raised, even if the perfect truth remains hidden.
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