The fight is on!

Tuesday, 13 March 2012 00:29 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

CHANNEL 4 has done it again. Just as the Government approaches a crucial time in lobbying to defeat a US resolution on Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council, the axe seems to have dropped again. However, whether the video which is to be aired on Wednesday will have a crippling effect on the Government campaign remains to be seen.

Sri Lanka has categorically rejected what it calls malicious allegations in the second Channel 4 video launching an early volley ahead of the video release. Nonetheless, this would be expected and may not have as deep an impact as the Government would like.

Sri Lanka’s High Commission in London told Channel 4 it ‘categorically rejected the malicious allegations’ made by the program and accused the British television group of a ‘continuing hostile and biased editorial position’ with regard to its reporting on Sri Lanka.

The High Commission said Channel 4 was focusing attention on ‘a number of highly spurious and uncorroborated allegations’ and seeking, ‘entirely falsely,’ to implicate members of the Sri Lanka Government and senior military figures.

The High Commission also said the Channel 4 was ‘choosing to ignore the many positive post-conflict developments now taking place in the country’ it said their approach would ‘harm the ongoing and comprehensive reconciliation process’.

Meanwhile, the London Daily Mail reported that the second Channel 4 documentary showed graphic new footage of executed civilians in Sri Lanka, including the son of the leader of the Tamil Tigers, and it seeks to provide conclusive evidence of war crimes by its Government.

The 60-minute documentary, ‘Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields: War Crimes Unpunished,’ will be screened days before the England cricket team flies out to the country, the newspaper said. “This forensic investigation reveals damning new evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by Sri Lankan Government forces,” said Channel 4 Jon Snow, the program presenter.

According to the newspaper, the video seeks to prove that LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran and 12-year-old son were captured and executed. In the stills released to the media as a preview there are pictures of Prabhakaran’s son riddled with bullets that ballistics experts say are from close shots rather than combat.

Undoubtedly the Government will respond with the same arsenal of alleging forged videos, unnamed sources and expert dismissals to prove Sri Lanka’s innocence, but dismissing the second video will be made all the more difficult in the backdrop of the UNHRC sessions and the looming US resolution.

UNHRC delegation head Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe together with External Affairs Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris will be returning to battle in the coming days as both sides flex their muscles to gain influence. One cannot rule out the possibility that the Channel 4 video may provoke more developing nations to side with Sri Lanka.

The Government can help these efforts by being more transparent about their actions regarding the LLRC report – perhaps by providing a timeline. They can also present solutions to fighting corruption and improving democracy so that the scope of human rights is broadened. This may bolster confidence in countries that have not yet made up their minds on who to support at the resolution voting. It is now abundantly clear that the fight is on!