The ramifications of the Channel 4 documentary ‘Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields’
Repost This Article
The recently telecast Channel 4 documentary on ‘Killing Fields of Sri Lanka’ sheds no new light (despite claims to the contrary), in terms of groundbreaking evidence, regarding the incidents related to the end of the war in Sri Lanka. If anything, it will seek to entrench already hardened attitudes and decrease the ever reducing space for dialogue and reconciliation.
From the government’s perspective, it will seek to discredit the documentary as fake as it feeds into the insecurity that it surrounds itself with, of a perception that the west has been influenced by a highly successful pro LTTE lobby. The end result will be the securing of its ‘credibility’ especially as a ‘victim of an external conspiracy’ consequently rallying the people’s sympathy, thereby making any genuine attempt to hold the government accountable for anything fruitless.
On the other side, for the pro LTTE lobby (largely represented by their supporters in the UK, US and Canada) this will be a ‘vindication’ of their claims regarding the Government and its conduct of the war, thereby serving to boost their movement and support whilst ignoring the part that they have played in fund raising and supporting the LTTE (despite the proscription of the LTTE as a terrorist group). This has been helped by a fairly sympathetic media (angered at being excluded from the front lines by the Sri Lankan Government) which so far has tended to focus on the government’s part in the end of the war rather than also holding these representatives in the West, accountable for the crimes committed by the LTTE.
It is this decrease in the space to explore mutual understandings that lie at the heart of most people’s disapproval of moves like Channel 4 or the UN to talk about War Crimes. At the end of the day, the repercussions will not be felt by the Diaspora in the Global North or even by the Government. It will be felt by the ordinary people in Sri Lanka who have to live with the consequences. For those of us who are active in trying to work on post conflict reconciliation, it is not about defending the indefensible. We are not here to deny or justify abuses. War is never just or civil, even when it is fought against a proscribed terrorist organisation. There is no excuse for abuses to be meted out. But the question remains how, who and when should accountability take place? Is it when the wounds are still fresh or is it when there has been enough time for healing to have taken place? Equally when accountability is demanded it has to be done against all responsible and for all crimes. Whilst blame is very often vociferously laid at the feet of the Sri Lankan government for its actions, nothing is said with the same intensity about the atrocities committed by the LTTE such as: the ethnic cleansing of 100,000 Muslims from the north (who still live in refugee camps today in the north west of Sri Lanka, with no one voicing any concern about them); the assassination of key political and intellectual leaders (of all ethnicities) or the forcible recruitment of child soldiers. The reports do not carry any discussion of how the LTTE combatants mingled with civilians and forcibly conscripted them to fight in the final stages, as has been documented in an interview given by a former Tamil National Parliamentarian who was trapped inside the war zone during this period. This former Member of Parliament said that he saw people being shot and killed by the LTTE. No explanation is given about the fact that during the heaviest of fighting, the LTTE also moved its heavy artillery positions near the no fire zones and within the hospital compounds and used them. The Tamils who objected to this move were brutally shot dead which has been corroborated by the war victims and even former LTTE cadres and can be viewed on You Tube. Nor do they discuss the phenomenon that Mark Meadow’s 2010 book ‘Tea Time with Terrorists’, describes of how former LTTE fighters have explained LTTE tactics such as “LTTE cadres dressing up in Sri Lankan army uniforms, then firing at unarmed civilians to put false blame on the army”.
The truth of the matter is that the conflict in Sri Lanka is not black and white. The truth is somewhat blurred in between. Unfortunately, in the midst of this flurry of interest once again in what happened in Sri Lanka in 2009, the real discussion is becoming sidelined, for whilst it is important to look at the past, it is vital that an eye is placed towards the future at all levels, not just political. How can Sri Lanka learn from the mistakes of the past that sidelined the minorities and caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands of civilians? Successive governments have always hid behind the pretext of winning the war and defeating the LTTE militarily without addressing some of the fundamental key issues concerning minorities. Now with the defeat of the LTTE, there is a real opportunity to address the legitimate grievances of the minorities to ensure that the country is not subject to a repeat of the conflict ever again. The questions becomes, how can Sri Lanka, despite more than sixty years of independence, develop a constitutional framework that will satisfy the aspirations of all its citizens and deliver an environment of peace and harmony? Moreover at a grass roots levels, how can people work towards reconciliation between polarised communities (growing increasingly suspicious of each other thereby encouraging inward looking clannish tendencies) and ensure an environment of peace, justice and equity that can hold politicians accountable for good governance? Like it or not, it is at the grass roots level where ideologies take root and prosper or fester and also where consequences are felt, either way.
Those involved in conflict resolution and peace building will often talk about a period of healing in order for accountability to take place. The Bloody Sunday acknowledgement by the British Government took 38 years after a 12 year investigation. Poland and Germany still have strained relations incurred during the Second World War. The period of healing for Sri Lanka is still in a baby stage of 2 years yet is not being addressed. As it stands it is doubtless felt that such endeavours will in fact damage efforts being undertaken to achieve reconciliation.
What is critical for Sri Lanka is the rebuilding of trust which can only be rebuilt when a space is created for effective dialogue and understanding. Rebuilding trust is about honouring unity and celebrating diversity, working towards equity and justice and ensuring the eradication of social prejudices in building a collective identity. Sri Lanka needs the space for this to happen. It needs time for its people to go through the healing process. Its people need to come up with their own locally developed solutions.
Transparency, accountability and social justice are the pillars of a mature democratic society. Sri Lanka’s journey is still very early in trying to achieve this, but nevertheless it has started. Accountability will come in time once people are ready to not allow the past to become a ball and chain for the future. The release of this documentary and other reports provides unwarranted distraction from the main issues that the government (and any government in a post conflict country) should be held accountable for including: steps taken towards reconciliation, stemming the rising cost of living, tackling corruption and trying to ensure law and order. By demanding it from outside, it also abrogates responsibility from all the stakeholders at all levels within Sri Lanka to ensure that seeds are planted at the grass roots that will not fester into another conflict. This is possibly the biggest disservice we do to those people who died (on both sides) of the conflict for something they believed in or were forced into due to other’s selfishness.
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Note on author: Amjad Saleem was previously the Sri Lankan country director of British based NGO Muslim Aid, where he oversaw post tsunami and post conflict reconstruction and rehabilitation. He was at the fore front of relief efforts for the current crisis which saw 300,000 people being displaced as the war came to an end in Sri Lanka.
His main interest is in building bridges between communities to help further respect, understanding and acceptance. He was instrumental in developing a unique partnership in Sri Lanka between Muslim Aid and UMCOR (United Methodist Committee on Relief), based in the States, which was heralded by the Commonwealth Foundation as the ‘missing link’ between interfaith dialogue and grass roots action. Using this partnership, Amjad was instrumental in bringing religious and civil society leaders together in December 2008 to discuss real practical ways of reconciliation post conflict in Sri Lanka. Amjad is currently consulting with the Congress of Religions and The Methodist Church in Sri Lanka to establish an Interfaith Coalition for Peace to undertake practical projects using spirituality as a resource for reconciliation and rehabilitation.
Amjad is currently working as Head of Communications for The Cordoba Foundation, an independent policy, research and public relations think tank based in London promoting intercultural dialogue and positive coexistence among civilisations, ideas and people , and advocating dialogue and action to promote understanding and acceptance of inter-communal and inter-religious issues in Britain, Europe, US and beyond.
How on earth can any one rely on a video and make allegations against Sri Lanka, when we all know that in videos there can always be the chance that ‘ACTORS DRESSED AND PLAYING THE PART’.
The fact that this video is relied on by the LTTE diaspora, makes it abundantly clear that it had been made for propaganda purposes.
This video could have been created by any of the following scenarios.
1. LTTE terrorists dressed like sri lankan soldiers killing innocent Sri Lankan civilians.
2. LTTE terrorists dressed like sri lankan soldiers killing disobedient LTTE terrorists.
3. LTTE terrorists dressed like sri lankan soldiers killing members of the LTTE suicide squad, for they were anyways prepared to die.
4. LTTE terrorists dressed like sri lankan soldiers killing sri lankan soldiers who were were caught.
5. LTTE terrorists dressed like sri lankan soldiers killing Indian Civilians, just like how the LTTE killed Rajiv Gandhi and civilians in India.
The LTTE diaspora has become the Global Pariahs of Terrorism.
Sri Lankan:
There are a lot of questions you have posed – and precisely the reason why an investigation is needed – and as the SL regime would not do it – after all it is the one stands accused – then an independent foreign investigation is needed.
Amjad:
It is not true that the LTTE has been spared of aits atrocities – and rightly so for being a ruthless terrorist organisation. But surely you cannot equate the actions and the standards between the two parties – a government behaving even worse than a terrorist outfit should not be excused by hiding behind the need for reconciliation, etc. For the recalcitrant attitude of the LTTE it got proscribed as a terrorist – and a ruthless one at that – by many countries. Does that give the SL regime to go on a killing spree and rampage?
James:
Well, something more ridiculous than what you have suggested seems to be riding the rounds – that there was not one even a single civilian casualty and the soldiers went into battle with the rifle in one hand and the human rights book in the other.
Sri Lankan,
Simple. One way to find out is to allow independent investigations rather than deny, deny, and deny such violations took place.
Dear MV;
Are you asking to let that innocent “Trojan Horse” in?
Very smart!
Thanks!
“Killing Fields of Sri Lanka’”, Directed by LTTE?
Thanks!
and Hitler never sent one Jew to the gas chamber. Pol Pot never committed any atrocities. If Channel’s four’s programme was all lies and your government has nothing to hide, why won’t it allow the international war crimes investigators into your country to prove just that? What does Channel four have to gain by fabricating such evidence. Did they dress actors in army uniforms and stage executions just for entertainment? I see you speak Tamil so travel north and ask the people – see what they have to say.
Do the people who rely on this video, also believe that David Blaine can do levitation ?
Seriously, are these people so dumb ???
Channel 4 is LTTE supporter. please take off your hand form democracy of SL’ and see what your country is doing at the war in Libia, Iraq, and inside of your country
Amjad,
Thanks for the well balanced article.
However, I have some questions. Since LTTE leadership is no more there (Except KP) who should be blamed for the atrocities committed by them during the past 30 years? Just like in Germany after WW11 we could have taken the LTTE leadership to a something like a Nuremberg Trial it they survived.
Then what about the atrocities committed by the GOSL during past 30 years? Is any body ready in the present SL to talk about the numerous killings and massacres committed by the SL armed forces during the past?
Has any body taken any meaningful steps to investigate what happened in 1971 and 1987-89 JVP insurrrections? How many of our friends went missing and still we do not know what happened to them.
The SL Government machinary has a pathological tendency to committ violence aganist its opponents irrespective of their ethnic origin. This has never been investigated and no body has been taken to account for those atrocities committed against its own citizens.
Therefore, it is my opinion that this trend has to be stopped forever. The first step towards it is to make the GOSL accountable for what has happened in the past. If we push this under the carpet agains within another 5 years time we would see repeat of the hisory again.
Healing of this kind of wounds never happens by its own. Sombody has to do something for them to heal. Acting as if nothing has happened is not the way to go about it.
@ PitastharaPuthraya – thanks for the response. I do agree with you. on your first points, I think taking the LTTE leadership on the ground to courts would probably have been more problematic for the SL government. However there are the de-facto leaders of the TGTE and the GTF / BTF who are still residing in the west and who should equally be taken to justice.
As you rightly say, the GOSL equally guilty for its transgressions over its opponents and should be held acocuntable. however I feel that it should come from within and not be imposed upon us. The reasons why governments have gotten away with things in the past, is because people have opposed them not on principle but on party patronage. A continuation of the ‘we can do it better than you’ attitude has infested all opposition parties in Sri Lanka’s independent political history. Thus each government that comes in, has an insecurity about their opposition.
We need to rise above these party political affiliations and call a spade a spade. this means accepting history and mistakes being made.
lastly it needs people, particularly the elite in Colombo and much of the diaspora, to actually give a damn. i have seen people here in the UK not getting upset with the negative spotlight on Sri Lanka simply because they want to punish the government. This ‘anti government’ camp finds itself as natural ‘bed fellows’ to the pro LTTE camp who are also intent on ousting the government, in order to keep their movement alive. What this camp loses is the opportunity to hold the government accountable on real issues of governance such as the rising cost of living or allegations of corruption whilst securing the credibility of the government especially as a ‘victim of an external consipracy’ consequently rallying the people’s sympathy.
However the biggest problem is those who feel nothing, say nothing and ultimately do nothing.
this has to change. If you want to see change, be the change as Ghandi said.
i am sorry that i seem to be preaching, but i accept the frustration
Dear Amjad
“However there are the de-facto leaders of the TGTE and the GTF / BTF who are still residing in the west and who should equally be taken to justice.”
But given that these de-facto leaders won’t be taken to justice, doesn’t that make all the baying for MR and uncle Gota’s blood rather one-sided?
Amjad Saleem //I think taking the LTTE leadership on the ground to courts would probably have been more problematic for the SL government.// //However there are the de-facto leaders of the TGTE and the GTF / BTF who are still residing in the west and who should equally be taken to justice.//
My view on this two point varying with you.
1. Already GoSL has been proved that itself is a War Criminal through the UN panel report and authentication of video footage. So, it is not correct to say, that taking LTTE leadership to court by GoSL will not give fair justice. Lot of LTTE cadres have surrendered before GoSL and they are now in custody. Also LTTE persons, who are outside, has given node for investigation. So, it is correct to say that an International Independent Investigation has to be set up for fair investigation.
2. In your statement you are blaming TGTE, GTF / BTF etc, are de-facto leaders and they have to be taken for justice. How you have decided that these leaders has to be taken for justice. Are these leaders commit any War Crime or Crime against Humanity? Supporting political ideology for separate State, will not be a crime one and this separate State also came front after 60 years of GoSL atrocities.
People whoever commits War Crime and Crime against Humanity has to be take for justice and Tamil Diaspora will not be against for this at any point of time.
@Amjad Saleem. I thought I heard a hopelessness in your article – perhaps I imagined it. Certainly I often feel that way living in Sri Lanka and working for peace and reconciliation here. The space for ideological difference or even a balancing civil society or free press voice here is decreasing as the authoritarian power of the state and the Rajapaksa government and family inceases. Perhaps this is a function of the fear of being held to account for the post war crimes described in the C4 documentary on Tuesday. Whatever the reason the stand made by the GoSL has made every comment I have read here redundant. They have simplified all arguments – either civilians were bombed by them in designated safe areas or not – evidence says yes – GoSL refuses to accept the evidence. If they have lied then everything else that they have denied needs to be looked at. The issue of UN inaction here and abroad and western abuse of human rights elsewhere is irrelevant to that issue. Also, the issue of LTTE human rights abuses is documented and accepted. The only issue remaining is that until those individuals (or groups) within the GoSL and its army who are accused via this evidence are indicted or vindicated there can be no reconciliation here. Once the truth-is-out the next problem becomes how to deal with it – whether to punish, kill and destroy – or to find a more constructive justice that involves mercy, forgivenes and true reconcilliation. Thus I do not agree with the conclusion in your article. The more we pretend the future is not coloured by the past, the more we fool ourselves in the present … so that, for example, all university students as of last month are forced to undergo Ministry of Defence “leadership” courses which include a rewritten mono-ethnic history of the recent and distant past and inculcation in the correctness of the state’s “conflict management” through the enforcement of new law and prioritisation of security rather than negotiation between factions and rights of individuals.
Finially, I reiterate, until these events are investigated there will be no reconciliation here.
Amjad,
Echoing Pitastharaputhraya’s comment, I thank you on this balanced perspective on the possible impact of the Channel 4 documentary. Like you, I don’t believe it will really help the process of reconciliation.
Having just finished watching Channel 4 film, I have to say there is a real need for Sri Lanka to embrace of process of sharing the truth of what happened in the last few years (at least since the breakdown of the CFA). For those who lived through the suffering shown in the film, there is no possibility of pretending those events never happened.
However, the government has painted itself into a corner by giving a blanket amnesty to the armed forces by repeatedly stressing that there is no chance that the armed forces could be responsible for any atrocities. However, as Pitastharaputhraya notes on another thread there is a history of Sri Lankan armed forces committing atrocities in the 1980s during the JVP insurrection. With their bombastic attitude, the government makes it impossible to investigate and hold to account cases where groups of soldiers committed atrocities (such as those shown in some of the ‘trophy footage’ in the Channel 4 film) without contradicting itself. Whilst I am uncertain if there is any evidence to show that the GoSL policy was to systematically target civilians, I *am certain* that no individual who participated in (or condoned) the acts shown in the film should be protected by the government either.
It is shameful, sinhala terrorists are so inhuman.The only possible reconciliation is living as two separate countries.
Kumar, is that really a good idea? The last time you tried that, 40,000 Tamil civilians got killed (according to Gordon Weiss). Isn’t there another way?
Dear Wijeyapala,
What is the other way? The Tamil political leadership has been trying to negotiate with the Sinhala political leadership ever since 1956 and what did we get? Riots.
People keep asking, what about another way? well the Sri Lankan government is not willing to negotiate. If they had then there would have been no war. Why was there a war? So that the Sinhala government can say we rule every inch of the land. And can dictate terms to the Tamil political leadership. If the Sri Lankan government had allowed the North and East to go its own way then there would have been no war. Something like how Czechoslovakia split into the Czech and Slovak republics. The Tamil people using their democratic vote voted for independence from SL in 1977 elections. Why did the GoSL listen to the Tamil peoples’ wishes? So you see, there doesn’t seem to be many options.
Maybe external pressure can help lead to another way??
The Sri lankan people, mainly those responsible in conducting this war current govt, and those who brought them to power will be given appropriate justice in times to come for killing these innocent civilians ( not the LTTE fighters). They will pay for these atricities and time will prove that. There is no point going to the ineffective UN.
But Sam, wasn’t it the LTTE who brought MR to power? Don’t you believe that the people who had bankrolled the LTTE which used the people as human shields should get appropriate justice too?
The Ch4 documentary DOES NOT support the LTTE. It is stated very clearly at the start and during the documentary that the Tiger rebels were ALSO guilty of committing war crimes, along with the SL govt. The people in the UK and around the world praising the showing of this documentary are well aware that it shows the LTTE as well as the SLgovernment committing these atrocities, NONE of these people are supporters of the LTTE. Know that both the LTTE and SL govt are responsible. The main people who were killed or displaced were innocent Srilankans, mainly tamils but also the sinhalese as well. We must all stand up and have our voices heard, the SLgovt seems to think the world is made up of fools, as they are constantly lying about the crimes they have committed. We can see through these lies and as SriLankans all over the world, sinhalese and tamils, and also the supporters of equal human rights from any country, we will not stop screaming until you have paid for your actions and JUSTICE to all those who were killed is done.
Dear Ciara,
The C4 film’s director, Callum McCray’s own words betrays his position. A few key phrases:
“The brutal Sinhalese government of President Mahinda Rajapaksa..” , “..world’s media have been excluded”. “perhaps 40,000 civilians.. perhaps far more” etc etc..
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/jun/13/sri-lanka-war-crimes
If you could stop screaming about ‘justice’ for minute, answer me this about wanting justice for all (everyone wants justice, no?)
Who will give justice to the LTTE cadres who died in the struggle for Eelam? Will it be the LTTE supporters? Is there a pension scheme for the scheme for their families? Does the diaspora contribute?
Who will give justice to the 14 civilians bystanders murdered by an LTTE suicide who successfully targeted Jeyaraj Fernandopulle in 2008? Will LTTE supporters who funded the organisation and are thus equally responsible for those murders be held culpable?
@ Amjad,
I think you distilled the whole issue with this “..By demanding it from outside, it also abrogates responsibility from all the stakeholders at all levels within Sri Lanka to ensure that seeds are planted at the grass roots that will not fester into another conflict.”
Outsiders seem to have an insatiable Sri Lanka itch that shows no signs of abating and thus helping the headbangers in the current govt.
Hi Ciara,
“we will not stop screaming until you have paid for your actions and JUSTICE to all those who were killed is done.”
Who is “you.” Is it me?
Ciara, 15/06/11.
Is this why West/UK still providing refuge to Aunty Adele, LTTE legal advisor Rudrakumaran, current LTTE leader Nediyavan?
Wait a sec.
So are all those demanding independent international investigations are part of this “pro-LTTE lobby”?
For how long can these nations get away with committing mass murder by using anti-west sentiments at its disposal? or the fact that LTTE is no more is neither an excuse for turning blind eye to the brutal repression of the state against the Tamil population.
Can these be valid excuses?
Can the author suggest how can there be a check on these governments so that these kinds of crimes against humanity do not repeat elsewhere in the future?
Or could the author suggest how those who were accused themselves will carry a ‘credible’ investigation meeting international standards, where the culpability lies at the top?
Sorry to say this piece is lacking on many aspects.
MV,
Answer to your questions can be found when a standard criteria is applied by a world body in conflict situations.
Different prescriptions cannot be applied in civilian deaths in Iraq, Afganistan, Libya, Palestine, Bahrain, Afganistan, Pakistan, Sri Lanaka in recent and current conflicts. Same applies for the past too in Korea, Vietnam etc.
If there is disagreement, the options available are only through inter governmental processes through UN general assembly, UNHRC and UN security council. No unilateral impositions would be accepted by affected countries and their communities. In fact such actions will be resisted by the larger population living in Sri Lanka. To them GOSL acted to protect the sovereignity, territorial integrity and safety of the people of Sri Lanka. It stopped the violent destruction in May 2009, saved lives of 300,000 innocent Tamil civilians who willingly came under GOSL protection. Took more than 11,000 LTTE members including hard core combatants and rehabilitated and released majority of them. A government hell bent on war crimes doesn’t behave in such manner.
James,
There is a heavy weight to any event that’s caught on Camera now days. Unlike old days, these images have meta tags behind each frame that authenticates time, date, manufacturer of the camera, and even GPS coordinates to it (iphone). Manipulation of any raw image is impossible, again the meta tags will point out that it has been altered.
Not only these videos, but the UN and other foreign establishments were removed prior to these chain of events, this includes media. You must draw a conclusion that these actions were planned ahead of time. “War without Witness”
@Amjad Saleem
According to you – however I feel that it should come from within and not be imposed upon us – perpetrators of these crimes should be let alone and correct by themselves, not by outsiders, though they kept on playing no-crimes committed card, let alone zero-civilian causalities song, while overwhelming evidences say 10s of 1000s of Tamils are killed?
This ‘Mukkal’ showed his turn-coat traits, telling reconciliation trumps justice regardless of how badly helpless were raped and killed.
Two points, that I think are obvious but need stating:
1. The LTTE leadership has been almost entirely exterminated. There is hardly anyone left to “bring to justice”. Hence, there is less of an imperative for documentaries such as this to focus on the LTTE. True, there are LTTE fundraisers in western nations still “on the loose”, but it’s wrong to say that there’s nothing happening on that front. There have been many arrests and convictions over the last 5 years especially.
2. In the digital age, no one can stop the spread of photos and video footage. Hence it makes little sense to blame a documentary for being impositional. If these Brits hadn’t put it together in this (relatively neutral) form, then racist pro-LTTE sources would have done it, with much more destabilising consequences!
I was and borne raised in Srilanka until I was 21 Years, I am 47 now.
a) Tamils plea for Justice ignored by respective Srilanka governments.(1948-1980).
b) Frustrated Tamil youths without any option started LTTE in 1980′s, end in Genocide and War Crime in May 2009.
c) Average Sinhalese (apart from few handfuls) never showed any respect for Tamil and their rights and always supported their government.
d) There have been many Government sponsored “Riots” against unarmed before the birth of LTTE Tamils (it is in fact Ethnic cleansing) program, in which not a single Sinhalese were brought to justice.
e) International community played “dump” to what went on last 60 years in Srilanka, International Community placed “financial Interest first” as always.
f) It is Time all Sinhalese take responsibilities and face the consequences. Grandview point of view is wrong, it is one sided.
Solution:
1) Current President and his Fellow cabinet, top Army commanders must be convicted under War crime.
2) There should be UN supervised referendum where Tamil Diaspora must be able to vote question should be “Do you want to separate from Srilanka?”, Yes/No, If the answer is Yes, UN supervised creation of UN member country Tamil Eelam must be created.
IF above does not happen?
There will be other group like LTTE will borne, Tamil youngsters will join out of frustration of May 2009 events, this video will served as Justification. This time this group will not only local it will be international.
Note: Being a Tamil who have followed the issue since 1970′s this is my take on it. This is the truth nothing but the truth.
Dear Warean,
Thank you for sharing your insights and your idea of the truth. There is something you have left out though.
When the war started in 1983, the battle lines were clearly Sinhala vs. Tamil. The youth you are referring to were frustrated but not shell-shocked.
Today the lines are no longer clear. Somehow over the last few decades the conflict shifted from Sinhala vs. Tamil to Tamil vs. Tamil, with the massacres of other militant groups, internal killings, schisms etc. The average Tamil is trying to survive and doesn’t have the luxury of dreaming revenge the way you do. And whatever their sentiments, the youth growing up in Western countries are losing touch with the ground realities and their kin in Sri Lanka as the years slip into generations.
If these youth did not return to SL to save the LTTE in 2006-2009, then what makes you think they will return now, without a Tamil nationalist organisation to join?
Amjad says:
“The end result will be the securing of its ‘credibility’ especially as a ‘victim of an external conspiracy’ consequently rallying the people’s sympathy”
Perhaps one should expose the duplicity of GoSL in this regard. On the one hand it co-operates with the interests of Western powers (US) and implements IMF, while on the other hand it irks anti-imperialist sentiments to mobilize the masses whenever faced with war-crime calls (despite the fact that West backed SL’s war as Wikileaks cables show except voicing concerns for civilian casualties toward the end).
Although the CH 4 documentary sheds some light into war crimes committed in the so called ‘humanitarian operation’, it is only in the interests of some powers to exert pressure to take this matter further up, which is doubtful.
The Chanel 4 film should be shown to all Sri Lankans and we need to work towards getting rid of the Rajapakse regime who are AGAINST PEACE. The film provides incontrovertible evidence that Rajapakse Bros Inc had command responsibility for war crimes and is a well researched and ground breaking production so it is incorrect to say that it “adds no new evidence”. Rather, it adds a huge amount of evidence which conclusively cooks Rajapakse’s goose. Like the LTTE was a curse on the Tamil people, the Rajapakses are a cures on the Sinhala people and this county which will never develop with them in charge. After seeing this documentary we all know that there is only one place for the Rajpakse Bros and that is the Hague International Criminal Court – let’s send them there and then we can live in peace in Lanka. We want regime change to save this country.
Dinu
“Like the LTTE was a curse on the Tamil people, the Rajapakses are a cures on the Sinhala people and this county which will never develop with them in charge.”
Who says the truth, your mind or your hand? I’m sure you meant “……The Rajapakses are a cure on the Sinhala people…”
What ever happened whether it was the truth or fake, we cannot bring back anything. After all, anyone who has gone through era of suicide bombings by LTTE knows how crazy was it. So please..what matters is not there is peace in Sri Lanka and anyone can go any where free ( No more bombings in buses, trains, and office buildings). So please don’t take this peace away by creating this kind of fake or whatever documentary and then start fighting with each other. Everyone in sri lanka lives peacefully, except the people who support LTTE ( which they call them selves tamils ) creates issues. PLEASE, don’t take the peace we have now in sri lanak away. Important fact is there is no war any more.
There aren’t any ramifications since the documentary does not prove anything. This is not a gotcha documentary rather a slander fest. From the very tone of the presenter, you know the agenda.
Excellent piece, Amjad.
For all of you wondering why this film doesn’t have any evidence, though it claims to, and those who wonder what the point of it is, think about this. The Darusman panel report also has no evidence, only allegations. But like the Ch4 film has only one objective, to overcome SL resistance to investigations. So showing evidence of Tiger atrocities is pointless, since it isn’t the Tiges who are resisting.
The problem now is there are these fake videos. How do we overcome this? We simply trump their effort.
I seriously think GOSL should renact the entire sequences of the videos and reproduce more versions and release them. Even more graphic and heinous. Dilute the scene… just entirely flood it! Enough to keep every body at the UN up at night for months… Let the all the special rappertours chew on it for a while. Throw a few tantrums. Give Channel 4 and the Guardian a bit of an erection. Then release the “how it was made” special! With all the actors who were naked and that died in these videos taking a bow at the end for their stellar performance.
What a lot of rubbish to go through to prove the videos are fake!
I am sure it would make a lot of ‘useful idiots’ happy, especially some in the diplomatic corps, but would it not be better to invest all that energy spent in acting and making movies in doing sopmething that would make the Tamils in Sri Lanka feel less alienated?
Dear Observer:
A brilliant idea! Another poison to counter the poison.
Thanks!
I love this video …this is definitely Tamil LTTE terrorists, wearing Sri Lankan Army uniforms, killing Tamil terrorists. We know how Mahattaya (yet another tamil terrorist, who was considered disloyal) was killed by the LTTE tamil terrorists.
If the tamil terrorists were able to plan and kill for example Rajiv Gandhi and Indian civilians which is caught on video, this is absolutely nothing.
I have watched this video many times. Thank you very much Channel 4 and the LTTE tamil diaspora for giving this to us.
Sorry gotta go …wanna watch it again.
The gall of the tamil diaspora is sickening. No Sinhalese will want to help you after you’ve insulted our country in international media. That’s how I feel anyway.
http://transcurrents.com/tc/2010/08/outline_of_submission_made_to.html
Jayantha Dhanapala’s written submission to Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission(LLRC), 30 August 2010: ‘’Each and every Government which held office from 1948 till the present bear culpability for the failure to achieve good governance, national unity and a framework of peace, stability and economic development in which all ethnic, religious and other groups could live in security and equality.
http://www.llrc.lk/images/stories/docs/August2010/LLRC-JD-Transcript.pdf
Oral submission, Jayantha Dhanapala to LLRC: Our inability to manage our own internal affairs has led to foreign intervention but more seriously has led to the taking of arms by a desperate group of our citizens.’’
http://www.llrc.lk/images/stories/docs/August2010/Mangala%20Moonasinghe.pdf
Mr. Mangala Moonasinghe, 17 August 2010:
‘’… so, who started terrorism – it was we – and then gradually naturally the youth, Tamil youth, went into terrorism in the north. … So terrorism did not come on its own. We created them sir, we created them. ….’’
http://groundviews.org/2010/09/23/submissions-before-lessons-learnt-reconciliation-committee-llrc-by-chandra-jayaratne/
Submission before Lessons Learnt & Reconciliation Committee (LLRC) by Chandra Jayaratne, 23 September 2010: ‘’…… Years of inequitable allocation of national resources and consequential disparities in regional economic development, infrastructure development and public service delivery have sown the seeds of discontent and disillusionment leading to conflict, insurrections of the South and the North and even the armed struggle towards a separate administration….”
Dear Amjad,
I know a bit of your work during your time as Muslim Aid Head.
I’m a bit disappointed to read this post by you. I thought you were a more broadminded person than this article suggests.
Let me respond in detail:
you state:
The recently telecast Channel 4 documentary on ‘Killing Fields of Sri Lanka’ sheds no new light…….
my take:
well, Ch 4 has said it is from the video they aired back in 2010 or before that. I don’t think it was supposed to shed new light but give a fuller context of the atrocities.
You state:
If anything, it will seek to entrench already hardened attitudes and decrease the ever reducing space for dialogue and reconciliation.
My take:
Is there any space for dialogue and reconciliation in the first place? The GoSL actions viz a viz the destruction of LTTE monuments and grave yards, etc is to say there was no ethnic conflict and hence no need for reconciliation?
You state:
……………..thereby making any genuine attempt to hold the government accountable for anything fruitless.
My take:
if a genuine attempt is to be made then Ch 4 video will help with bringing forth the evidence and discussion and scrutiny needed. But who is going to hold the government accountable? Who are you talking about? Are you referring to the UN? Or the International Criminal Court at the Hague?
You state:
…………………which so far has tended to focus on the government’s part in the end of the war rather than also holding these representatives in the West, accountable for the crimes committed by the LTTE.
My take:
the media reports have focussed on the GoSL (government of Sri Lanka) because they are the ones who are alive to be prosecuted.
Not all willingly gave money, some were forced to – aka – extortion.
But then taking your line of reasoning, the IMF giving money to the GoSL which was committing atrocities would also have to be held accountable. Where does that lead to? And what about all the other fundings?
You state:
It is this decrease in the space to explore mutual understandings that lie at the heart of most people’s disapproval of moves like Channel 4 or the UN to talk about War Crimes.
My take:
First of all, is there any space for mutual understanding? The GoSL has not accepted that there was a problem. They are not interested in negotiating. The President said he wanted to give 13th amendment plus in an interview to NDTV. But now he says, to the Indian Delegation, he is not willing to give land and police powers that are already there in the 13th amendment to the constitution. Hence given this obvious dishonesty which is clear to all who keep a breast of political developments in SL, What MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING are you talking about?? Who is this “most people’s disapproval” that you talk about? Maybe most sinhalese people disapprove.
You state:
At the end of the day, the repercussions will not be felt by the Diaspora in the Global North or even by the Government. It will be felt by the ordinary people in Sri Lanka who have to live with the consequences.
My take:
Well, the government will feel some of the repercussions. After all, that’s the whole point to pressure the government to push for reconciliation. The ordinary people will feel it but the government is not willing to help the ordinary people, especially the Tamils of the Northeast who suffered the most. The government does not allow for psychosocial trauma counselling of the IDPs, for example.
You state:
War is never just or civil, even when it is fought against a proscribed terrorist organisation. There is no excuse for abuses to be meted out.
My take:
You are right war is not civil, but it can be JUST. But then again that depends on your definition of war. What’s your definition of terrorist? And who is doing the proscribing? If you ask me, both the LTTE and the GoSL are terrorists.
You state:
But the question remains how, who and when should accountability take place? Is it when the wounds are still fresh or is it when there has been enough time for healing to have taken place?
My take:
The question is, is the government allowing for healing to take place? I’m all for an internal (Sri Lankan investigation) but can we trust it? Will an internal investigation ever hold the executive president to account? There is a story circulating that the Former Chief Justice was threatened by the President regarding the Sarath Fonseka case and subsequently he offered his resignation. If that is true, then how can we expect any internal mechanism to do justice to the victims? What happened to all the other commissions of inquiries and presidential commissions? I think the question relies on the WHEN and not the WHO or HOW.
You state:
Whilst blame is very often vociferously laid at the feet of the Sri Lankan government for its actions, nothing is said with the same intensity about the atrocities committed by the LTTE such as: the ethnic cleansing of 100,000 Muslims from the north (who still live in refugee camps today in the north west of Sri Lanka, with no one voicing any concern about them)
My take:
in the whole scheme of things, in this civil war of Sri Lanka the GoSL is the bigger perpetrator and hence deserves more blame. Another reason why the GoSL is intensely blamed is because the GoSL considers itself a democratic government and has international legitimacy. While this is not the case with the LTTE. But the atrocities of the LTTE have also been well documented and criticized. Although maybe not as much of recent, and the reason for that is the fact that the LTTE leadership who made those decisions are not alive. But then again, What about Karuna Amman and his atrocities, some against the Muslims in the east?? Why isn’t the government talking about that? Why aren’t you Amjad? As for the displaced Muslims in the Northwest of Sri Lanka, there are NGO’s that have worked with them and provided housings and other essentials. So much so that the Muslims living in Puttalam had a problem with the displaced Northern Muslims receiving aid from NGOs, as they felt they were being neglected and the displaced ones were getting aid due to the simple fact that they were displaced. But other Muslims in the Northwest (Puttalam district) who are languishing in poverty were disturbed by the displaced muslims getting all the aid and trouble started brewing. This is not surprising in a state of poverty.
You state:
………..the assassination of key political and intellectual leaders (of all ethnicities) or the forcible recruitment of child soldiers.
My take:
Well, what do you expect in a war situation? What about the assassinations by the Sri Lankan government? What about the forcible recruitment of child soldiers by the Karuna faction, which the GoSL allowed?
It all depends on whose side your on Amjad.
You State:
The reports do not carry any discussion of how the LTTE combatants mingled with civilians and forcibly conscripted them to fight in the final stages, as has been documented in an interview given by a former Tamil National Parliamentarian who was trapped inside the war zone during this period. This former Member of Parliament said that he saw people being shot and killed by the LTTE.
My take:
The UNSG’s Expert Panel did report on the LTTE shooting civilians. Tamil civilians themselves have said that the LTTE shot civilians while trying to escape. Channel 4 may not have had videos of that and that’s why they didn’t telecast it. If they did I’m sure they would have. As for the Tamil National parliamentarian he didn’t really have a choice did he? He was under government custody when he was asked to make those statements. I’m not saying that he lied, in fact he only talked about the LTTE shooting people. But if he was in a truly free environment then he would have said that the GoSL was bombing civilians and hospitals, etc, etc as well.
You state:
…………..which has been corroborated by the war victims and even former LTTE cadres and can be viewed on You Tube.
My take:
So now you want us to believe any video on You Tube?? Is that it? At least the Channel 4 video has been authenticated by various sources and even the UN special rapporter
You state:
Nor do they discuss the phenomenon that Mark Meadow’s 2010 book ‘Tea Time with Terrorists’, describes of how former LTTE fighters have explained LTTE tactics such as “LTTE cadres dressing up in Sri Lankan army uniforms, then firing at unarmed civilians to put false blame on the army”.
My take:
But these same tactics were used by the government. For example there was an STF safe house in Athurugiriya (suburb of Colombo) where LTTE uniforms were found. It was inadvertently discovered and news spread. This was in the early 2000s.
You state:
How can Sri Lanka learn from the mistakes of the past that sidelined the minorities and caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands of civilians?
My take:
When the GoSL is not willing to accept that there was an ethnic problem how can we learn? First there must be an acceptance of the truth only then can we move forward.
You state:
The questions becomes, how can Sri Lanka, despite more than sixty years of independence, develop a constitutional framework that will satisfy the aspirations of all its citizens and deliver an environment of peace and harmony?
My take:
Amjad, this is easier said than done. It is a cliched statement. Soon after the war the 18th amendment was passed, which further entrenched power with the executive President and allowed him to extend his term. When the Sri Lankan government is refusing to implement the Sri Lankan constitution in FULL then what’s the point of all this talk?
You state:
Moreover at a grass roots levels, how can people work towards reconciliation between polarised communities (growing increasingly suspicious of each other thereby encouraging inward looking clannish tendencies) and ensure an environment of peace, justice and equity that can hold politicians accountable for good governance?
My take:
The Sri Lankan government won’t allow it. They have said there is no ethnic problem. The government can stop any effort at reconciliation as they are now doing in the Northeast. When the government is deliberately polarising the communities then we need outside help to rectify our problems.
You state:
Like it or not, it is at the grass roots level where ideologies take root and prosper or fester and also where consequences are felt, either way.
My take:
I would rather say that ideologies are put forth my leaders who then convince the people to join their ideologies. It generally is a top down approach. You always need someone to lead and organize the masses.
You state:
Those involved in conflict resolution and peace building will often……… The period of healing for Sri Lanka is still in a baby stage of 2 years yet is not being addressed. As it stands it is doubtless felt that such endeavours will in fact damage efforts being undertaken to achieve reconciliation.
My take:
On the contrary such endeavours like the Channel 4 reports will push the government to start the process of reconciliation, which it has up till now failed to do. As for period of healing – maybe for the sinhalese and muslims there is some healing but for the Tamils no healing.
You State:
What is critical for Sri Lanka is the rebuilding of trust which can only be rebuilt when a space is created for effective dialogue and understanding.
My take:
Right now there is no space for effective dialogue and understanding. Let’s hope the Channel 4 reports and UNSG Expert Panel reports will help open up the space for the dialogue and understanding.
You state:
It needs time for its people to go through the healing process. It’s people need to come up with their own locally developed solutions.
My take:
The GoSL is not going to allow an acceptable solution for all. It will give what is acceptable to the sinhalese. Sri Lankans had for more than 50 years (from 1956 onwards) time to come up with solutions, but failed to. What makes you think that now they will come up with one??????
You state:
Transparency, accountability and social justice are the pillars of a mature democratic society. Sri Lanka’s journey is still very early in trying to achieve this, but nevertheless it has started.
My take:
Has it started? Really Amjad can you show me? Or is being in the UK playing with your perceptions?
You state:
Accountability will come in time once people are ready to not allow the past to become a ball and chain for the future. ……………. steps taken towards reconciliation, stemming the rising cost of living, tackling corruption and trying to ensure law and order.
My take:
We have waited for accountability for the 1983 riots. What did we get? What about accountability for all the other massacres, like in the late 80′s? Amjad are you naive or are you just playing with us?
You state:
By demanding it from outside, it also abrogates responsibility from all the stakeholders at all levels within Sri Lanka to ensure that seeds are planted at the grass roots that will not fester into another conflict.
My take:
all the stakeholders at all levels are subject to the Executive Presidency. They will only follow what the President orders them too. They have no choice. The grass roots revolution that you talk about, would be great, but I don’t think it is realistic in the present structure of government in sri lanka.
@ Lankan Thinker – thank you. I think I was alluding at this in terms of grass roots. The issue is that everyone thinks from a political perspective
@ myil selvan – thank you for your comments. I am sorry that it was not ‘broad minded’ for you. from your responses, it seems that you think somehow I have come out in support of the GOSL. I think you have misread it completely, Your arguments all seem to come from a political solution, and trying to impose a solution from above. whilst you may agree to this, i certainly do not. whilst a political solution is part of the comprehensive solution, it is not the only one. If you are familiar with my work previously, you would know that I have always been keen on grass roots work and starting bottom up. so for me if people from the bottom up can sort out their problems, they will not accept something from above. We see the arab spring as an example of that. my other frustration is that like you accused me off, the diaspora here in the uk do not even want to allow discussions to take place and don’t accept anything else. you are either with us or against us. not the way to move forward.
if you were familiar with what is happening on the ground, you will know that people are trying to increase the space (granted not at the top level, but that is now that we are working on) whilst the same is trying to be done in the UK.
friends
thank your for your comments. I think we need to make something clear. if you want to accuse people of responsibility, discuss all responsibility to everything connected with this war. then it makes it easier to move forward.
it is not about defending what has happened.
truth, justice and reconciliation are part of a process and the question is about this.
at the end of the day, the political system and all governments of all parties are culpable of the mess the country is in: the corruption, the antagonism, the party patronage. it is not the individual or the party but the whole system. this has to change and can only be done from a grass roots perspective, no matter how long it takes. this process has to start my friends.
however,the responsibility is also ours. as diaspora here in UK who seem to be ‘enlightened’ and who can advise politicians etc on what to do, the issue is that even we don’t. we complain about corruption and partonage in Sri Lanka, but when we are there for holidays, we call in favours from friends hgh up (to get bumped up to business class; or to get something done quickly)or engage in corruptions (such as paying to avoid traffic fines) etc.
so the process is start to with yourself and move forward. be principled and speak against all injustice not selective.
apologies for the preaching
I recently came across the following article that presents a viewpoint on the South African experience of Truth and Reconciliation – Storey, P., A Different Kind of Justice: Truth and Reconciliation in South Africa, New World Outlook, July – August 1999 – Link: http://bit.ly/mofPWu.
I have only followed Groundviews since around late 2009 and am curious if contributors here have discussed the applicability of restorative (as opposed to retributive) justice in the Sri Lankan context. From the comments I have seen in response to the articles on the UN report and Channel 4 film, it would appear that most are interested in retributive justice.
However, I wonder if we would do better to explore the possibility of a system of restorative justice in relation to acts of violence committed in Sri Lanka between the GoSL and the LTTE? Of course there would be many details concerning the scope, time period, etc., to which this process would be applicable. But surely these can be worked out if there was agreement in principle to engage in telling the truth about what happened with the primary objective of using this knowledge to ensure these terrible events never happen again.
Perhaps that is the ultimate goal of the grass roots initiatives that Amjad refers to in his article.
I think the Eelamists should set-up their Eelam in where ever in London Channel 4 runs from. The people there seemingly have an insatiable lust for Tamils..
Really Thambi? Or should I call you Malli?
What is the Sinhalese heritage? Are they not mostly descended from South Indians (Tamils included)?
J.R. Jayawardene’s ancestor is from Tamil Nadu
S.W.R.D. Bandaranaiyake’s ancestor is Neela Perumal, a Tamil
Need I say more?
If sinhalese will accept the truth instead of holding on to the myths of the Mahavamsa it will probably solve half the problems regarding the ethnic issue.
Dear myil selvan;
You may read the discussion in the given link below. You can read my posts too.
http://dbsjeyaraj.com/dbsj/archives/1956
Thanks!
SRI LANKA NEEDS TO FIND AN EXIT STRATEGY FROM POWER FOR RAJAPAKSE BROS. INC.
1. Sri Lanka needs a viable EXIT STRATEGY for the Rajapakse Brothers at this time. This is the SINGLE biggest challenge for all concerned citizens, trade unions, the opposition, university lecturers, public intellectuals and all those who are patriots and care about Sri Lanka’s development and want to see values of decency and diversity upheld and respected by the Sri Lanka State. As long as the Rajapakse Brothers who are implicated in War Crimes continue to deny the facts and evidence, they will continue to Militarize the country to protect themselves against all those who disagree with their policies. Sri Lanka’s long awaited economic development will not happen with threatened economic sanctions by neighbouring Tamil Nadu, nor will the tourism sector develop if we are international outcasts. India is one of the largest tourist sending countries to Sri Lanka
2. The truth will set us free. There needs to be an INDEPENDENT investigation into the rapes and other war crimes shown in the Channel 4 film, as well as, the “credible allegations of war crimes” set out in the UN Report on Sri Lanka’s”. Those who are responsible in the LTTE and the Sri Lanka military need to be punished, but it is unlikely that would happen as long as Gotabaya Rajapakse, a US citizen, is in charge of the Sri Lanka military. That is why we need to find an exit strategy from power for the Rajapakse Brothers.
3. The UN Secretary General is very popular and has the support of ASIAN countries for a second term and the Sri Lanka government’s attempt to attack him and destroy his reputation has failed. Likewise, Britain’s Channel 4 is a very highly respected TV Chanel in Britain and the rest of the world and Gotabaya Rajapakse’s claim that they took funds from the LTTE to make the film which seeks to cause reputation damage and defames the Channel 4 (much like he tried to defame Mr. Moon) will fail and may be challenged in Court. The Rajapakse’s need to learn to control themselves and their loose talk and not bring further disgrace on this country, since it is the Asian countries that are supporting Mr. Moon and putting him forward for re-appointment as UN Secretary General when his term comes to an end
4. Until the last stage of the 30 years of war the Sri Lanka military behaved in a fairly disciplined manner and neither party in the conflict committed rape in a systematic fashion (unlike in many other such internal conflicts where rape was committed to humiliate the “other” community). Where there were excesses in Sri Lanka the civilian authorities took the necessary action – until this last stage of war under the Rajapakses. The Crishanthi Coomaraswarmy case shows that the State took action on military excesses. However under the Rajapakse’s command the military have committed rape and other war crimes because the leadership fostered a culture of impunity and immunity and are therefore responsible for the crimes committed.
5. The Channel 4 film is not against the whole of Sri Lanka, it points a finger at the few people who committed war crimes and their bosses, the Rajapakse Bros. who are militarizing the country to protect themselves from an eventual war crimes trial at the International Criminal Court in the Hague.
6. We, concerned citizens, the political opposition and civil society need to work together to find a smooth EXIT STRATEGY FROM POWER for the Rajapakses who need to be sent to the Hague and to the United States where they are U.S. Citizens and subject to US jurisdiction — for trial for war crimes. Like the LTTE who became and were a curse on the Tamil people, the Rajapakse Bros. Inc has become a cures on mother Lanka and we need to free ourselves of them!
7. They claim that the UN Report and the Chanel 4 film spreads racial hatred in Sri Lanka when it is their policies of militarizing, discriminating, oppressing the minorities and civil society that has spread racial hatred. They have also delayed on a political solution and justice delayed is justice denied. Time has run out for the Rajapakse Brothers Inc.’s power run in Lanka!
8. Finally, the Rajpakse Bros. should also stop finding FAKE experts to deny truths that are self-evident. Rjapakse’s FAKE experts are saying that the overwhelming evidence of war crimes committed in the last stages of the war in Sri Lanka are FAKE. They already have a FAKE Dr. Mervin Silva who is a goon with a fake doctorate in their midst. They insult to the intelligence of Sri Lankan citizens!
Can there be any reconciliation without justice? Or at the very least some humility and acknowledgement of what people have gone through? If even 1/10th of what was shown in the Channel 4 video is true (and I’m sure it is because we heard many reports during those weeks and months despite the ‘war without witnesses’), I don’t see how there can be healing and reconciliation without acknowledging the loss people faced and reaching out to them with humility and sincerity rather than the current approach to ‘reconciliation’.
Of course, there may be efforts on the ground but I’m not sure how much space there is for these and how much impact they could possibly have without political leadership backing them.
In this scenario, doesn’t the ‘international community’, many of whom backed the govt in the war, have some responsibility in the face of the failure of the govt to carry out some of these steps towards reconciliation with truth/justice?
In the last para I was referring to the international community’s responsibility to put some pressure on the Lankan govt to take steps towards reconciliation, not ‘do reconciliation’ themselves.
Amjad Mohamed-Saleem, for all his many words, has it appears missed out on much of the value and message of the Channel 4 documentary.
Whatever the LTTE did or is alleged to have done it does not at all absolve the GOSL of responsibility for the war crimes committed by its forces most likely on its orders.
As many comentators have observed in relation to the murderous putting down of the JVP, the armed forces of Sri Lanka are extremely crude and brutal – someone I know from a village down south told me how the army drove a metal rod through the head of a JVP suspect and then tied the rod to the jeep and drove around the village as a warning.
So, especially given that the 1983 riots were about giving the Tamils a lesson, why is anyone surprised that the armed forces were extremely brutal toward the Tamils?
What about taking this as an opportunity to change the brutal culture of the Sri Lankan forces and dishonesty of its politicians!
Amjad is obviously pro-GOSL and anti-LTTE: so for example he has got rather muddled up in his over-zealousness in protecting the GOSL by saying ho bad the LTTE was.
According to Amjad one of the really bad things the LTTE did was to expel the Muslims from Jaffna (Amajd says 100K but others might differ on that count!). Amjad then continues to say, as if the LTTE were sooooo bad, that the Muslims are still homeless two years later! But surely the fact that the Muslims are still homeless is the fault of the GOSL (and no doubt including many of the Muslim politicians too).
Amjad also does not appear to be very observant: for example the supposed ex-LTTE person in youtube looks terrified, as if he is under severe duress to say what he is saying.
And Amjad may have at least retained some credibility (though not much perhaps) if he had chosen Rohan Gunaratnes instead of Meadows as a source for an insight into the LTTE!
Amjad’s message between the lines is this: leave the staus quo as it is, and forget about everything.
Dear sambar,
“Whatever the LTTE did or is alleged to have done it does not at all absolve the GOSL of responsibility for the war crimes”
So you are holding the GOSL responsible for the LTTE using Tamil civilians as human shields?
Dear Wijayapala,
Don’t be silly: if you read what I actually wrote you will see I never said the GOSL was responsible for the things the LTTE is alleged to have done.
To repeat: The GOSL is entirely responsible for its own many horrendous war crimes (committed with impunity mainly under the Rajapakse regime – see Dinu’s post above). What the LTTE did or did not do has as much bearing on that as does whether or not you ate string-hoppers last week!
If the LTTE did use human shields then of course it is they who must be held to account for that.
However, it must also be noted that apart from the GOSL claims (in order to paint the LTTE as really bad), there is no clear evidence that the LTTE was deliberately and methodically using human shields.
But I think the GOSL is also to be held fully responsible for forcing the civilians into such a small space where they had no choice but to be among the LTTE.
In all this one of the things that really surprises and disgusts me is the fact that the UN, the west and India were fully aware of what would eventuate, were witnesses to what did eventuate, continued in their complicity with Rajapakse regime after the war, but are now shedding hypocritical tears.
In fact also if not for their direct help and indirect support the GOSL forces would have got nowhere.
So who is to blame in the end? The dog that did the biting or the dog owner who instructed the dog and let it loose fully knowing what it was capable of!
Dear Wijayapala,
There is evidence that the GOSL armed forces murdered well over 40,000, probably even over 100,000.
Also it was probably closer to 500,000 civilians who were trapped with the LTTE – and you are most certainly right in supposing that they were not overjoyed by their predicament.
If you believe what David Blacker wrote in another post – that initially the LTTE moved out of the no-fire zones until they realised that it was a GOSL ploy to ocupy those areas – then it follows that the LTTE could not have had any intention of using the people trapped with them as human shields.
It would seem that the LTTE proximity to the civilians was not due to the LTTE using human shields, but due to the fact that the civilians were forcibly trapped with them by the GOSL.
Do you really expect the civilians to say anything against the GOSL/SLA with them watching? And of course they would have spoken against the LTTE in order to try to save themselves after the war – as you say UTHR said.
May I ask why you are responding (to what I said earlier) to my reply to Dr-spin.DJ?
Dear Wijayapala,
Its a matter of simple arithmetic:
The diffference between the number trapped and the number who came out …
You are probably going to ask for evidence about the number who were trapped, etc. Right?
Of course this asking for evidence game can go on and on, so let’s reverse the onus of evidence demonstration:
How do you know it was not around 100,000?
Again you have posted in the wrong place – if you don’t see a reply button next to this post just go to the reply button in the post to which this is a reply.
@ sambar
thank yuo for your comments. You claim that that the 100k Muslims are not an accurate figure. However I would challenge you to bring figures that quote less than that. In terms of the responsibilities vis-a-vis the refugees, my point was that if you want to blame or for people to take responsibility, take it at all levels and not just a portion of this. The Muslim refugees are not the responsibility of the ‘muslim’ politicians. they are the responsibility of the whole country as is all those who have been displaced. Likewise they are the responsibility of the diaspora. by not voicing their concerns and only the concerns of those from 2 years ago, betrays the true agenda of people who are ethnically biased. my take is ask for responsibility for everything.
i realise, that we will have to agree to disagree, because if i had quoted Rohan Guneratne, the criticism would have come as well.
thank you for your thoughts.
Amjad,
You have completely missed the point of what I wrote … but never mind, try reading it again.
However you have keenly latched on to a side-issue: my disputing your claim of the number of Muslims expelled from Jaffna – you are still insisting on 100,000. By doing so you have lost even more credibility.
The information as to how many Muslims were in Jaffna over the years is widely available if one wants to genuinely find out; and going by memory (of what I read before) the Sri Lankan Census department put the number of Muslims in Jaffna in 1981 at a little under 14,000.
Since 1981 lots of Muslims left Jaffna.
Therefore the actual number of Muslims the LTTE expelled from Jaffna would have certainly been much lower than 14,000 – probably no more than 10,000 on a very generous estimate.
And I repeat: the reason why any Muslims, not to mention the much much larger number of Tamils, have not been settled is due to the corrupt political scene of Sri Lanka (which include many Muslim politicians).
The Tamil diapora did not make the Sri Lanakn politicians selfish and corrupt, but rather they became the diaspora because of such politicians!
But I guess you would claim that even Quetzalcoatl should share responsibility for the way Sri Lanka is.
You also missed my joke in mentioning Rohan Gunaratne.
But my point: would anyone who wants what they say taken seriously quote fiction writers (like Meadows) who’s only concern is making money???
There is also something very sinister about prominent people (like yorself) who try to fool others with false information.
@ Sambar
once again, thank you for the response and for elevating me to the position of ‘prominent person’, though I am not sure why I deserve such an accolade.
the problem for me is that once again there is an assumption made that in writing what i have written, i am somehow pro government. unfortunately that is the decreasing of the space for critical thinking and an increase in the intellectual challenge that exists within this debate.
if you have read some of my other responses, you would have seen that i have tackled the issue of the Sri Lankan political system which (regardless of which government is in power) is contributing to the problem. Nevertheless, I am tired of hearing only one side of the story of just the Tmail refugees etc, when there are also other refugees who have been failed by everyone. That is the point, if you want to hold people responsible, hold for all the failing, don’t lick and choose.
everyone has a responsibility for their actions. it is not just the politicians, but the people who elected them (or didn’t) and the way we deal with the issues. You not even willing to acknowledge the Muslim refugees in your argument, shows me where you are coming. it is not about leaving the status quo, but about building the capacity of people to challenge that so that they bring the change themselves, but then again, perhaps this is too subtle an argument
anyhow, without wishing to prolong this argument, which it is obvious, you have more time for, I did not mention 100k from jaffna, but from the north, which includes other areas.
thanks
Amjad,
I accept my mistake about conflating Jaffna with the north when I read your article.
Even so, your number of 100,000 Muslims is vastly exagerated. The number commonly found even according to most Muslim sources is only around 75,000!
(But even that seems too high if you go back to the census numbers of the Muslims actually in those areas earlier on.)
Amjad,
I accept my mistake about conflating Jaffna with the north when I read your article.
Even so, your number of 100,000 Muslims is vastly exagerated. The number commonly found even according to most Muslim sources is only around 75,000.
(But even that seems too high if you go back to the census numbers of the Muslims actually in those areas earlier on.)
Had you said 75k in your article I would not have taken you to task, because that is the number that is usually mentioned. However you seem to have magically added a further 33.333..% more to that figure!
I see that you have tried to misrepresent what I said:
Amhjad: “You not even willing to acknowledge the Muslim refugees in your argument, shows me where you are coming.”
I did not dispute that there are Muslim refugess, but only your imaginary number of how many. I also noted that the fact they they are still not settled is the fault of the GOSL including Muslim politicians who (like you) prefer to blame the LTTE even after they are not even in existence!
So perhaps that dishonesty (of completely misrepresenting what I said) says where you are coming from?
I did not elevate you at all – besides “prominent” does not necessarily mean the same as honoured or elevated. However from what you have said about yourself in “Note on the author” you have sought to emphasise a degree of prominence for yourself.
Sambar
thanks for this. i accept your premise as well. it has been fun discussing with you. i hope we can continue these discussions further in an attempt to come to a consensus of moving forward as people and eventually as a country.
best wishes
Amjad
Amjad,
Since you say wish to move toward a consensus, it is appropriate that I ask you to clarify what exactly you are referring to when you say
“i accept your premise as well”.
Could you clearly specify what the/those premise/s you accept are.
Sambar, i was talking about the reference to the numbers of refugees, since that is what i saw first, and not the second bit of you last comment
Amjad,
Since my reference to the number of Muslim refugees (that you wildly exagerated), is not a premise I must conclude that you just use words without attending to their meaning!
This sort of attitude would makes discussion and consensus impossible.
The main points I mentioned earlirer concerning your article (which you appear not to have grasped):
You, Amjad, are trying to place the blame for the problems of SriLanka (including the current plight of the displaced Muslim, not to mention the much much larger number of displaced Tamils)on the LTTE that has been gone over two years. You also apear to want to blame the Tamil diaspora for everything.
You, Amjad, appear to advocate that the staus quo is to be left alone and all investigations be left to the GOSL, and that the past should be forgotten whatever its horrors without atending to issues of justice.
Anyhow, do you at least admit that you have considerably exagerated the number of Muslim displaced?
Dear sambar,
“There is evidence that the GOSL armed forces murdered well over 40,000, probably even over 100,000.”
Kindly present this evidence.
An international transparent investigation is a must for this accusation and videos. Sri Lankan government banned international/Independent medias during final war. There is no red cross/NGOs,so no one knows what happened actually. Even after the war victory, Tamil civilians kept in highly militarized camps,even today it is very hard to investigate people in Northeast without knowledge of defense ministry. Also Sri Lankan government supported many riots against Tamils in the past decades where they were burnt alive,raped,robbed and faced many critical situation. These things weakened the government.
However,Human rights violations should get proper investigation and justice,no matter who did.
Hi everyone,
I can not believe why everyone worry about this video.Channel 4 is bias media group belong to imperialist propaganda unit. Not even one independent journalist work there. They are rubbish media group hardly run their business for their living.What happens to Julian asange? he reveal the truth of Western conspiracy.They shut his mouth by force.He is true journalist people all over the world respect.what is channel 4 ?This is bunch of crooks work for money with no future in media world.Please relax,this is just for there course to mislead the people and to make some cash for their retirement.Do not worry , the future of channel 4 is not that good.
Sam,
You are right that there are indeed lots of conspiracies and secret agendas.
But Julian Assange and Ch4 are on the same side!
Good essay, reasoned and balanced.
The mounting external pressure reminds me of the combo of terrorism and the CFA years: the cumulative result was the backlash which resulted in a tougher regime.
If the Diaspora campaign, Tamil nadu pressure and the raucous external lynch mob for ‘investigations’ piles up, there is a prospect of further polarisation, ‘radicalisation’ and shift (including intra-regime dynamics) which will result in an outcome, populist and proto-praetorian, that makes MR seem like Jimmy Carter!
And that won’t lead to isolation, collapse and Tamil Eelam, any more than the LTTE’s option for polarisation at the elections of 2005 did!
So, guys and gals, be careful what you wish for.
Dr Dayan Jayatilleke has obviously not read enough of Gramsci, or has read but not understood:
Since the specificities of the context CFA period are completely different to what they are now, the claim that what happened then is also likely to happen now is unsustainable.
Neither of course will pressure for investigations make things as Dr.DJ suggests. In fact, with the LTTE out of the way and in the present global political and information availability context another 1983 will most likely lead to a kind of Balkanisation of the island.
But the reason why MR & co (Dr-spin.DJ’s masters) might survive is because all those powers who are now calling for investigations are the very ones that backed MR and made the military defeat of the LTTE possible; and they are also at least complicit by their utter silence while the mass massacre of the Tamils was going on!
That Dr.DJ approves of Amjad’s article is definitely something to take note of.
Amjad and DJ are both of the view that the status quo should be left alone, ‘investigations’ be left to the GOSL and the past forgotten.
Dear sambar,
“However, it must also be noted that apart from the GOSL claims (in order to paint the LTTE as really bad), there is no clear evidence that the LTTE was deliberately and methodically using human shields.”
You mean the same way that there is no clear evidence that the SLA murdered 40,000 civilians??
And those 300,000 Tamil civilians were overjoyed to stay with the LTTE to the bitter end and get crammed at Nanthikadal?? The UTHR was lying when it claimed immediately after the war that the overwhelming feeling of the victims had been directed against the LTTE, and not the SLA?
Dear sambar,
“You are probably going to ask for evidence about the number who were trapped, etc. Right?”
Actually I was going to ask your evidence that it was the SLA which did all the killing.
If you see the suffering of past Sri Lanka(all the communities) the last part of the war is only the remedy.(If the film is 100% correct you cant match it with past 30 years suffering)
Now the war is finished, and do you know how many lives saved in these 2 years?
No other solution took place in past 30 years.But in Srilanka everyday we saw & read papers regarding bomb blastings and killings in every where.
You can see how brutal and ruthless these so called freedom fighters as they kept there own people(Tamils) by force to get killed by the fighting. They didn’t allow at least to go away kids or women. But they used an orphan kid(without his knowledge)as a suicide bomber to blast where tamil people able to escape and come to surrender at SL army.
If we didn’t do the final war due to human shield, the war is still there and thousands of Innocent Tamil Sinhala and Muslims are still dying. So the solution will never come for another 30 years or more.
Is tamil diaspora still approve what there freedom fighters had done to there people here. If so they are no exception and they too ruthless as LTTE.
Please watch the Sri Lankan governments reply on this video. The link is below.
Congratulations on a sensible and well presented article from an independent person.
The lesson is that revenge and reconciliation are not compatible.