{"id":28683,"date":"2014-03-10T19:12:17","date_gmt":"2014-03-10T23:12:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=28683"},"modified":"2014-03-10T23:45:23","modified_gmt":"2014-03-11T03:45:23","slug":"britains-channel-4-tv-releases-video-clip-ahead-of-un-sessions-in-geneva-about-systematic-brutalityand-sexual-violenceof-sri-lankan-armed-forces","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=28683","title":{"rendered":"British Channel 4 TV releases Video Clip ahead of UN sessions in Geneva about “Systematic Brutality” and “Sexual Violence” of Sri Lankan Armed Forces"},"content":{"rendered":"

by<\/p>\n

Meera Srinivasan<\/strong><\/p>\n

Just as countries on the U.N. Human Rights Council prepare to vote on a United States-sponsored resolution against Sri Lanka, a new video clip released by British public-service television broadcaster Channel 4 has accused the Sri Lankan armed forces of having an \u201cunderlying culture of systematic brutality and sexual violence.\u201d<\/p>\n

Channel 4 journalist Callum Macrae\u2019s report of the video \u2014 with a clip that is a little over six minutes long \u2014 was released late Sunday, a week after the United Nations Human Rights Council Session began in Geneva. On March 28, member countries will vote on the U.S.-sponsored resolution, possibly calling for an investigation \u2014 aided by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights \u2014 into alleged war crimes during the final phase of the Sri Lankan civil war.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Mr. Macrae\u2019s earlier documentaries Sri Lanka\u2019s Killing Fields and No Fire Zone: In the Killing Fields of Sri Lanka had sparked controversy around alleged war crimes and rights abuse in Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n

On the new visual that has emerged, he said, it was unclear when the video was filmed but suggests it was at some point in the last two or three years of the war, possibly by a soldier using a mobile phone. The disturbing visuals show Sinhala-speaking, uniformed men apparently celebrating over bodies that the report identifies as those of female Tiger fighters. \u201cTaken with all the other evidence which has emerged \u2014 and continues to emerge \u2014 this suggests a pattern which, in an army as disciplined and effective as the Sri Lankan one, means that command responsibility for these actions could be traced to the very top of the armed forces and government,\u201d Mr. Macrae has said in a statement.<\/p>\n

The video footage came from the British Tamil Forum \u2014 an umbrella organisation for several Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora groups based in the United Kingdom.<\/p>\n

When contacted, Army spokesperson Ruwan Wanigasooriya denied the allegations and said that the latest video was \u201conly an extension of Channel 4\u2019s already well-known campaign to discredit the Sri Lankan government and armed forces.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brigadier Wanigasooriya also said that Channel 4 was aligned with Tamil diaspora sections that are sympathetic to the rebel Tigers, and are still espousing the separatist cause. Speaking to The Hindu over telephone from London, Mr. Macrae said he had been extraordinarily careful in having the video content authenticated.<\/p>\n

Asked if the source of the content made him additionally sceptical, he said: \u201cNo matter where we get it from, we are very, very careful. I couldn\u2019t be more sceptical than I am, and we have been very careful in getting the images authenticated by independent video analysts and leading forensic pathologists.\u201d
\n
\nResponding to the Sri Lankan army\u2019s charge that Channel 4 was strategically releasing its footage to reach out to countries voting this year, Mr. Macrae said it was a \u201cgenuine, complete coincidence.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe got the footage recently and it took time for us to verify its authenticity. All the same, I am not ashamed at releasing it now, ahead of the UNHRC session. As a journalist, it is my job to put it out ahead of an important event,\u201d he said.<\/strong>
\n
\nCOURTESY:THE HINDU<\/em><\/p>\n

Tweet<\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Meera Srinivasan Just as countries on the U.N. Human Rights Council prepare to vote on a United States-sponsored resolution against Sri Lanka, a new video clip released by British public-service television broadcaster Channel 4 has accused the Sri Lankan armed forces of having an \u201cunderlying culture of systematic brutality and sexual violence.\u201d Channel 4 …<\/p>\n

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