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| Sunday, 7 August 2005 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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What the world will never see on Tiger TV Light Refractions by Lucien Rajakarunanayake Last week the LTTE launched its TV broadcasts via satellite. The telecasts will be from the Vanni by National Television of Tamileelam (NTT), in flagrant violation of Sri Lankan broadcasting regulations, but being ignored by the Government.
I met a member of the Tiger TV project who was in Colombo for some rest and recuperation, away from the Vanni. Asked about the programming of the Tiger TV using their powerful link with Euro Star satellite, he said they will be very exciting, telling the world the story of the Tamils, their oppression by the Sinhala chauvinists and the Tiger struggle to liberate them. "We have some very exciting, and topical stuff lined up for telecast" he said. "You mean topical stuff like the recruitment of child soldiers?" "Hell, no" he said. "That's not in our topical or current affairs category. That's just routine stuff, not newsworthy". So if any expectant viewers of the Tiger TV programmes are looking out to learn more about the LTTE's recruitment of children, they will be disappointed. The world will not be shown how these little children are abducted from schools and Hindu temples. They will not see them being brutalised and trained to carry arms for the Tigers. There will be a curtain on the punishments meted out to children who dare try to escape from the grip of the Tigers. The world will also not see the tears that mothers shed for those who they realise as their lost children. The protests by angry parents demanding the return of their children will not be on the screen. There will be no news clips of complaints to the Sri Lankan Police and the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission, by parents whose children have been abducted for arms training. NTT will not telecast any UNICEF reports that claim the LTTE is still engaged in recruiting children for their armed cadres. Kofi Annan, Olara Ottunnu his special rapporteur on the use of child soldiers and all others will be shown sanitised footage about these children being those rescued by the Tigers or sought refuge among them. They will be shown how well they are being looked after in the children's homes run by the Tigers, under the stern and watchful eyes of women fighting cadres who could also be trained suicide killers. From what my contact Puli Thooraththil said, Sir Ian Blair, the Head of the Metropolitan Police in London, will not get any help in understanding the moulding of Human Weapons of Mass Destruction that is his biggest worry these days, by viewing the new Tiger TV telecasts. He will have to be content with probing with what happens in suspect "madrassis" in London, Pakistan or elsewhere. There will be no information available on Tiger TV about the rigid indoctrination by the Tigers, and nothing on how those who make the grade as HWMDs, the chosen few, are given a treat at the table of the Sun God and then garlanded with a capsule of cyanide by the deity himself, before being sent out to hibernate for a suicide killer mission later. "What about the entertainment provided?" I asked. "Well we have plenty of good entertainment lined up. They will be about the continued oppression of the Tamils by the majoritarian Sinhala chauvinists, led by the Buddhist clergy and politicians who encourage this oppression and discrimination." "Quite unexpectedly we got some very good footage for entertainment of both Tamils and others abroad from the recent developments in Trincomalee. We've got very talented video-editors who can get the best out of a mass of video footage to make excellent documentaries on Sinhala oppression" said Puli with great satisfaction. "Will you show anything about the current trend of suspected Tiger cadres carrying out attacks that appear to provoke the Sri Lankan troops to retaliate?" "No, why should we? We do not carry out such provocative acts. We are all for peace, as long as it is the peace that we want and not what the Sinhala chauvinists try to impose upon us." "Will there be anything about the large number of violations of the Cease Fire Agreement by the LTTE, now exceeding 3000? "Why should we as a responsible TV station get involved in the wrong arithmetic of the SLMM? Cease Fire violations are matters to be dealt with by the SLMM. Why should Tamileelam TV give any prominence to such assumptions of CFA violations?", asked Puli in reply. "How will your station portray Karuna and his breakaway or renegade group?" "As far as we are concerned we have finished with them. But we will show the world how the Sri Lankan security forces are acting in collusion with some armed militias to attack the Tigers. We believe the world must know the truth about this." "You mean Karuna will be censored by your NTT?" "How can one censor someone who does not exist? As far as we are concerned Karuna is a myth." "Will you show some of the increased violence in the East?" "Yes, but only where we can prove that we have been the victims of that violence." "Do you have a segment about Muslim-Tamil or Muslim-LTTE relations?" "We are Thamileelam TV not Muslim TV. So we won't cater to Muslims. As for the situation here, we will show the world we are always ready to be friends of the Muslims and safeguard their rights, as long as they do not lay claim to our traditional homeland." "What about music and other entertainment?" "We will provide good Tamil music and songs of quality; encourage good Tamil poetry and literature. We will not ape the Sri Lankan TV stations and show cheap Bollywood and Chennai films, but get the better quality films and musical shows from India. We will also produce our own teledramas based on actual Tamil culture, and the travails of the Tamils caused by the Sinhalese. In fact we believe our entertainment segment will draw a large audience in South India, especially Tamil Nadu, giving more than a headache for Jayalalitha." "Will there be newscasts about LTTE pistol gangs killing personnel of intelligence units of the Sri Lankan security forces?" "We will report the deaths when they happen, but not lay the blame on the LTTE". "What about the killing of unarmed political rivals of the LTTE?" "The LTTE has never admitted to such killings, so why should we give any prominence to such deaths?" "What about humour?" "Good you asked me. We have a good stock of humour seeing how the Sinhala politicians have been behaving about P-TOMS, and also the upcoming campaign for the presidential election. That will be great humour. I'm sure the Sinhalese will also tune in to Tiger TV for that." |
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| Produced by Lake House |
This seems another confidence building measure for peace talks, similar
to the smuggling of powerful radio transmitters allowed by the previous UNP
government, via the diplomatic immunity of the Norwegian Embassy. 
