ABC urged to stop screening of CH 4 film
by Shanika SRIYANANDA
Sri Lanka’s High Commission in Australia, which protested the
screening of Channel 4 video “Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields” on ABC’s Four
Corners Program, has written to the Executive Producer Sue Spencer
requesting to avoid telecasting the documentary, as it is completely
biased and contains unsubstantiated allegations against the Government
of Sri Lanka.
Acting High Commissioner Shashikala Premawardena, who also had a
telephone conversation with Spencer, had urged the ABC not to give any
coverage to the video as the views expressed in the documentary were
without any guarantee of authenticity. The program is tentatively
scheduled for telecast on ABC1 tomorrow.
In her letter to Spencer, she has described the LTTE’s brutality in
executing civilians, policemen, leaders of the country, religious
dignataries and also all those who went against the LTTE.
“There is a possibility that this footage is from LTTE executions
that have been released to discredit the Sri Lankan government.
The military uniforms of the individuals do not clearly establish
that they are Sri Lankan Army personnel.
The shots in the video clip could well be a treatment meted out by
the LTTE in Army uniform.
The obvious bias of the program is further illustrated by the fact
that a major portion of the video footage has been acquired from the
LTTE and its sources”, she said.
She also stated that the portrayal of the ground situation in the
program is as if the LTTE never existed in the areas that were being
filmed and the Government forces were deliberately targeting innocent
civilians. “This is a clear distortion of facts and the ground reality
that existed at that time. Another aspect which did not get captured in
the Channel 4 program was that the LTTE was a formidable fighting force
that had developed a conventional military capability”, Premawardena
said.
She has also recalled that the steps taken by the government to send
food, medicine and other facilities while fighting with the LTTE were
not shown in the video. “None of these facts are presented in the
program which is a deliberate attempt to distort the true situation”,
Premawardena said adding that the nature of presenting the facts in the
video is clearly demonstrates the liberties taken by the program
producers in twisting the truth to fit in with the agenda of the
program.
Premawardena has explained that there were countless evidence in the
video which clearly demonstrates its bias.
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