Saturday Dec 14, 2024
Saturday Dec 14, 2024
Thursday, 21 February 2013 00:58 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Sri Lanka yesterday flatly rejected the latest documentary by a British channel that is featuring a new set of images of LTTE Chief Velupillai Prabhakaran’s 12-year-old son in the final battle.
The military rejected Britain’s Channel 4 documentary titled ‘No War Zone – the killing fields of Sri Lanka’ to be aired in Geneva at the next session of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) scheduled to begin later this month as “concocted lies, half-truths and speculations” to embarrass the country at the summit.
Military Spokesman Brigadier Ruwan Wanigasooriya told media that this was not the first time such unsubstantiated allegations had been brought against the Sri Lankan forces. “Interestingly, these come up as we near UNHRC meeting and die down thereafter,” he said.
The latest video by Channel 4 shows an image of Prabhakaran’s son, Balachandran Prabhakaran, sitting in a bunker with the Sri Lankan troops and a later image shows the body of the boy lying on the ground with bullet wounds on his chest.
The Military Spokesman said the makers of the documentary have not presented any substantive evidence for Sri Lankan authorities to launch an investigation.
“Unfortunately, it appears that the parties who float such baseless allegations never want these to be investigated or solved. They want to keep them as mysteries in order to tarnish the country’s good image as and when it suits their agendas,” the Spokesman was quoted as saying.
The video is released by the British television station just in time as the Sri Lankan Government is preparing to defend itself against a new US-sponsored resolution at the UNHRC session.
Channel 4 has aired two other videos similarly on alleged war crimes committed by the Sri Lankan troops during the final stages of the war to coincide with the UNHRC sessions.
The second Channel 4 documentary called ‘Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields’ was broadcast in June 2011. Channel 4 in August 2009 broadcast a video footage showing some individuals in Sri Lankan military uniforms allegedly executing bound Tamil prisoners.
The Sri Lankan Government has strongly rejected both videos saying that they were fabricated and meant to incite racial hatred and derail the ongoing reconciliation process.
