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===Continued operations of LTTE===
===Continued operations of LTTE===
The documentary "Lies Agreed Upon" concluded with a brief description of the continued operations and the present administrative structure of the LTTE. A former cardre of the LTTE international wing revealed that, Veerakathy Manivannam ''alias'' Castro, the head of the LTTE international wing, was the one who formed Tamil Youth Organizations (TYOs) in the Western countries with a huge [[Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora]]. This was done in-order to reach the international community without much problem, as most of the TYO members were born and bred there. People who worked earlier in those countries were not effective because they weren't familiar with their system. According to the documentary, [[Priest|Father]] [[S. J. Emmanuel]], President of the [[Global Tamil Forum]] made 2 or 3 visits to Sri Lanka to meet with Castro and once he conducted classes at the Nathan base on how to deal with the diaspora from Vanni. The cardre also claimed that TNA parliamentarian [[M. K. Eelaventhan]] lialised for the Father Emmanuel's visits. The documentary claimed the details of the persons who run the global network of the defeated LTTE outfit; [[Perinpanayagam Sivaparan]] ''alias'' Nediyavan of the Tamil Eelam People's Alliance (TEPA) in [[Norway]], Suren Surendiran of [[British Tamils Forum]] (BTF), Father S. J. Emmanuel of Global Tamil Forum (GTF), [[Visvanathan Rudrakumaran]] of [[Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam]] (TGTE) and Sekarapillai Vinayagamoorthy ''alias'' Kathirgamathamby Arivazhagan ''alias'' Vinayagam, a former senior LTTE intelligence leader.
The documentary "Lies Agreed Upon" concluded with a brief description of the continued operations and the present administrative structure of the LTTE. A former cardre of the LTTE international wing revealed that, Veerakathy Manivannam ''alias'' Castro, the head of the LTTE international wing, was the one who formed Tamil Youth Organizations (TYOs) in the Western countries with a huge [[Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora]]. This was done in-order to reach the international community without much problem, as most of the TYO members were born and bred there. People who worked earlier in those countries were not effective because they weren't familiar with their system. According to the documentary, [[Priest|Father]] [[S. J. Emmanuel]], President of the [[Global Tamil Forum]] made 2 or 3 visits to Sri Lanka to meet with Castro and once he conducted classes at the Nathan base on how to deal with the diaspora from Vanni. The cardre also claimed that TNA parliamentarian [[M. K. Eelaventhan]] lialised for the Father Emmanuel's visits. The documentary revealed detailes of the persons who run the global network of the defeated LTTE outfit; [[Perinpanayagam Sivaparan]] ''alias'' Nediyavan of the Tamil Eelam People's Alliance (TEPA) in [[Norway]], Suren Surendiran of [[British Tamils Forum]] (BTF), Father S. J. Emmanuel of Global Tamil Forum (GTF), [[Visvanathan Rudrakumaran]] of [[Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam]] (TGTE) and Sekarapillai Vinayagamoorthy ''alias'' Kathirgamathamby Arivazhagan ''alias'' Vinayagam, a former senior LTTE intelligence leader.


==Criticism==
==Criticism==
Criticism of "Lies Agreed Upon" was particularly based on the apparent non-independent status of some of its witnesses.<ref name=tis>{{cite web|title=Lies Agreed Upon, But Whose Lies|url=http://www.thesundayleader.lk/2011/08/14/lies-agreed-upon-but-whose-lies/|publisher=[[The Sunday Leader]]|work=Tisaranee Gunasekara|date=14 August 2011|accessdate=1 February 2012}}</ref><ref name=mis/> The LTTE cardre interviewed, had trails been pending at the time of their interview.<ref name=trecur>{{cite web|title=Threats, harassments and restrictions on former detainees and their families in Vanni|url=http://transcurrents.com/news-views/archives/424|publisher=TransCurrents|date=12 May 2011|accessdate=1 February 2012}}</ref> Thus it would make them unlikely to make any statement not in favour of the Sri Lankan government.
Criticism of "Lies Agreed Upon" was particularly based on the apparent non-independent status of some of its witnesses.<ref name=tis>{{cite web|title=Lies Agreed Upon, But Whose Lies|url=http://www.thesundayleader.lk/2011/08/14/lies-agreed-upon-but-whose-lies/|publisher=[[The Sunday Leader]]|work=Tisaranee Gunasekara|date=14 August 2011|accessdate=1 February 2012}}</ref><ref name=mis/> The LTTE cardre interviewed, had trails been pending at the time of their interview.<ref name=trecur>{{cite web|title=Threats, harassments and restrictions on former detainees and their families in Vanni|url=http://transcurrents.com/news-views/archives/424|publisher=TransCurrents|date=12 May 2011|accessdate=1 February 2012}}</ref> Thus it would make them unlikely to make any statement not in favour of the Sri Lankan government. And the 4 government doctors who provided details of the conditions in the LTTE held area during the final stages of the war, had been detained by the [[Criminal Investigation Department (Sri Lanka)|Criminal Investigation Department]] (CID) of [[Sri Lanka Police Service|Sri Lanka Police]] after they escaped the clutches of LTTE.<ref name=wiki>{{cite web|title=Viewing cable 09COLOMBO830, Doctors from no-fire zone released on bail|url=http://wikileaks.org/cable/2009/08/09COLOMBO830.html#|publisher=[[WikiLeaks]]|date=24 August 2009|accessdate=1 February 2012}}</ref> Less than two months after they gave a press conference, recanting their earlier statements, the doctors were released, and reinstated in their profession.<ref name=tis/>


⚫
Contradicting the documentary's characterization of IDP camps, [[V. Anandasangaree]], the leader of the [[Tamil United Liberation Front]] and an outspoken critic of LTTE claimed that "the conditions were 'good' in some camps and 'horrible' in many others: "Health, water and sanitation situation is horrible. Many people have skin diseases as they don't get a chance to have a shower for days because of water shortage. Pregnant mothers and newborn babies go through a harrowing time in the camps due to scorching heat".<ref name=tis/> Former [[Chief Justice of Sri Lanka|Chief Justice]], [[Sarath N. Silva]] also pointed out the abysmal conditions in some camps.
===International Crisis Group===
International Crisis Group has come out with its detail analysis and observation on "Lies Agreed Upon" under the title '''''Ministry of Defence propaganda film "Lies Agreed Upon" misses the point'''''.

The government of Sri Lanka has responded to the British Channel 4’sinvestigative journalism on alleged war crimes in the final stages of the conflict with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) with its own televised program – "Lies Agreed Upon". Any viewers of the Sri Lankan Ministry of Defence’s slickly-produced attempt to rebut Channel 4 should consider the following:<ref name=mis/>

* There is nothing in the program that disproves, and little that even challenges directly, the many specific credible allegations – including those in the report of the UN Secretary-General’s panel of experts on accountability – that in 2009 the government shelled Tamil civilian concentrations and hospitals, executed surrendering cadres and LTTE political leaders, and failed to provide adequate humanitarian supplies to the civilian population.<ref name=mis/>

* Instead the program makes blanket claims that the LTTE was operating near civilians and hospitals, and focuses on establishing that those allegedly executed – such as the LTTE news-reader Isaipriya and LTTE military commander "Col" Ramesh – were "terrorists". Much of this is undisputed, and none of it justifies what the government is alleged to have done. War crimes remain war crimes even if both parties engage in them and even if some of the victims engaged in crimes of their own.<ref name=mis/>

* The program also distorts critical statistics even as it accuses Channel 4 of using "numbers pulled from thin air". In challenging estimates (including by the UN panel of experts) that up to 40,000 civilians were killed in the final months of the war, the government claims that the highest estimate of the total population (civilians and cadres) in the Vanni in 2009 was 305,000. It then claims that because 293,800 people were eventually registered in government camps, a toll of 40,000 deaths is impossible. But 305,000 is not the highest estimate. The UN panel report cites a civilian population figure of 330,000 remaining in the Vanni in early February 2009, by which point many civilians had already left the area and registered in the government camps. Instead of engaging this specific allegation, the government ignores it and then relies selectively on other UN statements, many taken out of context, to bolster its position. The UN is wrong not to challenge this practice, especially when the government insisted at the time of the crisis that no more than 100,000 civilians were present.<ref name=mis/>

* Most of the Tamils interviewed in the program – on whom the government rests its case against Channel 4 – were detained by the government in the aftermath of the war. Many are still in custody or under close military surveillance. The bulk of the videotaped statements by the government’s key witnesses – doctors who served in the war zone until the final days of fighting – were recorded when they were held in government detention in 2009. All former LTTE cadres, even those who have been released from the government’s "rehabilitation" centres, are at constant risk of harassment, interrogation or worse. The fact that a handful of Tamil women told government interviewers that they had not suffered sexual abuse is not a response to the many who say they have or to the disturbing images aired by Channel 4 of Sinhalese soldiers commenting on dead female bodies, many with undergarments pulled down.<ref name=mis/>

* The program is right to show how Tamils under the LTTE were forced to say things they didn’t believe and do things they didn’t want to. But the government’s film reveals in its own way that a similar reality prevails now for many Tamils living under the government’s military rule in the north and east, especially when the issue is one as sensitive as that of alleged war crimes.<ref name=mis/>

* Hence the striking ambiguity of the title: while meant to refer to Channel 4′s "lies", it’s hard not to think it also describes the apparent work of the government’s producers in getting all their Tamil interviewees to tell the story the government wanted.<ref name=mis/>

* Indeed, one of the striking things about the program are the many eery parallels between the actions of the LTTE and those of the GOSL, both during the war and afterwards.<ref name=mis/>

* The program’s claims in its opening scene that the LTTE forced people to protest the UN leaving Kilinochchi in September 2008 – this is quite possibly true and well worth pointing out, even if it is far from a central issue. Channel 4 was mistaken not to at least mention it as a possibility. But it is not so different from the long practice in Sri Lankaof the government and political parties either paying or forcing people to protest for or support them (e.g., the many credible reports of the military’s forcing Tamils in Jaffna to sign the government’s petition against the recent UN panel report). What is perhaps different is that the civilians in Kilinochchi had every reason to believe that the UN’s departure would increase the risk of death, injury and forced recruitment, since the LTTE refused to allow any of them to depart with the UN.<ref name=mis/>

* The program also has some basis to criticise Channel 4 for not saying more about a) the grave and systematic nature of Tiger crimes, both in general and especially at the end of war, and b) how the LTTE controlled much of the disapora’s political activities. Indeed, the alleged execution of Sinhalese prisoners by the LTTE in 2009, which the program highlights, should be fully examined as part of an international investigation into all credible allegations of rights violations. But it is wrong to claim that Channel 4 ignored LTTE atrocities, as is obvious to anyone who has watched the programs.<ref name=mis/>

* On the other hand, so long as the government allows former LTTE members to point the finger at their dead comrades – such as Daya Master’s claim in the program that the LTTE used to don army uniforms to shoot people – but takes no action to investigate specific incidents or prosecute those responsible for LTTE crimes (let alone government crimes), their claims to be pursuing justice and accountability will be even more lacking in credibility.<ref name=mis/>

* The government’s challenge to Channel 4′s reporting is far from the successful refutation it claims. If anything "Lies Agreed Upon" raises more questions than it answers. It only makes more urgent and clear the need for an independent and international investigation into the many credible allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by both the LTTE and government forces.<ref name=mis/>

===US Embassy in Colombo===
According to Charge D'Affaires James R. Moore of the U.S. Embassy in Colombo to Washington D.C. on a Wikileaks message stated, "Four government doctors, held by the police Criminal Investigation Division (CID) since the end of the war in May for allegedly filing false reports on civilian casualties in the No-Fire Zone during the last several months of the war, were released on bail today. The doctors had been pressured to give the press conference held in early July (reftel), where they recanted all the statements they had made from the No-Fire Zone. They said they were heavily coached for the press conference, given specific lines to say, and even practiced with several members of the local media beforehand. They said they had not lied when giving their original statements during the war. The release of the four doctors is a welcome step by the GSL, but clearly they remain under investigation by the CID and now also are potentially under threat of abduction or extrajudicial killing. Post will continue to monitor the situation very closely, but for now the doctors appear to want to maintain as low a profile as possible, without undue attention brought to them either in Sri Lanka or internationally."<ref name=wiki>{{cite web|title=Viewing cable 09COLOMBO830, Doctors from no-fire zone released on bail|url=http://wikileaks.org/cable/2009/08/09COLOMBO830.html#|publisher=[[WikiLeaks]]|date=24 August 2009|accessdate=1 February 2012}}</ref>

Less than two months after they gave a press conference, recanting their earlier statements, the doctors were released, and reinstated in their profession.<ref name=tis/>

===Tamil United Liberation Front===
⚫
Contradicting the documentary's characterization of IDP camps, [[V. Anandasangaree]], the leader of the [[Tamil United Liberation Front]] and an outspoken critic of LTTE claimed that "the conditions were 'good' in some camps and 'horrible' in many others: "Health, water and sanitation situation is horrible. Many people have skin diseases as they don't get a chance to have a shower for days because of water shortage. Pregnant mothers and newborn babies go through a harrowing time in the camps due to scorching heat".<ref name=tis/>

===Former Chief Justice of Sri Lanka===
Former [[Chief Justice of Sri Lanka|Chief Justice]], [[Sarath N. Silva]] also pointed out the abysmal conditions in some camps.{{fact|date=February 2012}}


The casualty figures also came under criticism, referring to government's claims in April 2009 that only 70,000 people were in the LTTE controlled territory. 37,000 people had fled the areas by then, leaving more than 185,000 people underestimated as when they came out of the area.<ref name=tis/>
The casualty figures also came under criticism, referring to government's claims in April 2009 that only 70,000 people were in the LTTE controlled territory. 37,000 people had fled the areas by then, leaving more than 185,000 people underestimated as when they came out of the area.<ref name=tis/>


==Reaction==
==Reaction==
[[International Crisis Group]], making a statement on the documentary, said However it also noted that "The government’s film makes clear that so long as campaigners for justice and peace in the Tamil diaspora do not clearly recognise the crimes of the LTTE and clearly repudiate their violent forms of militant struggle, and the damage it did to all communities in Sri Lanka, their efforts towards justice will remain weak".<ref name=mis>{{cite web|title=Ministry of Defence propaganda film "Lies Agreed Upon" misses the point|url=http://colombotelegraph.com/2011/09/17/ministry-of-defence-propaganda-film-%E2%80%9Clies-agreed-upon%E2%80%9D-misses-the-point/|publisher=Colombo Telegraph|work=[[International Crisis Group]]|date=17 September 2011|accessdate=1 February 2012}}</ref>
[[International Crisis Group]], making a statement on the documentary, said that "nothing in the program that disproves, and little that even challenges directly, the many specific credible allegations – including those in the [[Report of the Secretary-General's Panel of Experts on Accountability in Sri Lanka|report of the UN Secretary-General’s panel of experts on accountability]] – that in 2009 the government shelled Tamil civilian concentrations and hospitals, executed surrendering cadres and LTTE political leaders, and failed to provide adequate humanitarian supplies to the civilian population".<ref name=mis>{{cite web|title=Ministry of Defence propaganda film "Lies Agreed Upon" misses the point|url=http://colombotelegraph.com/2011/09/17/ministry-of-defence-propaganda-film-%E2%80%9Clies-agreed-upon%E2%80%9D-misses-the-point/|publisher=Colombo Telegraph|work=[[International Crisis Group]]|date=17 September 2011|accessdate=1 February 2012}}</ref> However it also noted that "The government’s film makes clear that so long as campaigners for justice and peace in the Tamil diaspora do not clearly recognise the crimes of the LTTE and clearly repudiate their violent forms of militant struggle, and the damage it did to all communities in Sri Lanka, their efforts towards justice will remain weak".<ref name=mis/>


==Aftermath==
==Aftermath==

Revision as of 14:25, 16 February 2012

Lies Agreed Upon
"Lies Agreed Upon" screenshot
GenreDocumentary
Presented byMinoli Ratnayake
Narrated byMinoli Ratnayake
Country of origin Sri Lanka
Original languagesEnglish, Tamil
No. of episodes2
Production
ProducerMinistry of Defence, Sri Lanka
Production locationSri Lanka
Running time56 minutes
Original release
ReleaseAugust 1, 2011 (2011-08-01)

Lies Agreed Upon was an investigatory documentary produced by Sri Lanka Ministry of Defence in response to a doucumentary aired by Channel 4, named Sri Lanka's Killing Fields, about the final weeks of the Sri Lankan Civil War.[1] The documentary points out a number of facts potentially missed, misrepresentated or concealed by the producers of the Channel 4 documentary, who presented it as "a forensic investigation into the final weeks of the quarter-century-long civil war between the government of Sri Lanka and the secessionist rebels, the Tamil Tigers." "Lies Agreed Upon" was first aired at an official function held at Hilton Hotel, Colombo on 1 August 2011, one and half months after the boradcasting of "Sri Lanka's Killing Fields". Ministry of Defence released another report named Humanitarian Operation – Factual Analysis : July 2006 – May 2009 on the same day.[2]

The documentary shows a number of interviews given by ex-LTTE cardres, ex-IDPs, residents of Vanni area, government doctors who worked inside the LTTE held territory during the period etc.[3] It also includes criticism of the eye-witnesses produced by the Channel 4 video and the alleged "trophy videos" by Sri Lankan soldiers.

Background

In June 2011, Channel 4 broadcasted the documentary named Sri Lanka's Killing Fields which made a number of allegations about the final stages of the Sri Lankan Civil War. It had a negative impact on the reputation of the Sri Lankan government and the Sri Lanka Armed Forces.[4] The documentary Channel 4 claimed that the government was responsible for targeted shelling of civilians, extrajudicial executions of prisoners and rape, sexual assault and murder of female LTTE fighters.[5] The presenter Jon Snow claimed that the government was responsible for the deaths of as many as 40,000 civilians towards the end of the war. He went so far as to claim that "[o]nce or twice in a reporting lifetime, a journalist is allowed by events to participate in a project that can affect history. The film...is a painful and complex team achievement...which...pieced together an account of what happened in the closing weeks of Sri Lanka’s civil war."[5] The resulting backlash prompted the Sri Lankan government to produce its own documentary, highlighting the alleged inaccuracies and the facts that may have been potentially missed or concealed by the producers of the Channel 4 documentary.

Special screenings

A special screening of the documentary "Lies Agreed Upon" was held at the United States Congress, at a gathering hosted by the Congressional Caucus on Sri Lanka and Sri Lankan Americans on 2 November 2011.[6][7] The screening included a panel discussion of Sri Lanka's 26-year conflict. The event was attended by a representative gathering including congressional representatives, NGOs, human rights groups, congressional staff members, professionals and members of the Sri Lankan community.[8][7]

The documentary "Lies Agreed Upon" was also screened at the Attlee Suite, Portcullis House of the British parliament on 12 October 2011.[9] The event was organized by the Sri Lanka High Commission in London. It was followed by a dialogue with Prof. Rajiva Wijesinha, and Sir Peter Heap, Chairman, Friends of Sri Lanka group in the European Parliament.[10][11] The audience consisted of British parliamentarians, representatives from academia, some media representatives including from Channel 4, and a cross-section of the Sri Lankan Diaspora.[12][13]

Another screening was held at the Dag Hammarskjold Auditorium of United Nations Headquarters, at the invitation of the president of the United Nations Correspondents Association, on 6 September 2011.[14][15]

The documentary "Lies Agreed Upon" was screened at the Parliament of New Zealand (Beehive) on 28 September 2011. The session was organized by the United Sri Lanka Association in New Zealand.[16][17]

It was also screened at a side event titled "Sri Lanka - Humanitarian Operation: A Factual Analysis", organized on the margins of the 18th session of United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva by the Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the United Nations in Geneva. The President of the Maldives Mohamed Nasheed speaking at the event urged the international community to support the reconciliation process being implemented in Sri Lanka. A cross section of member countries of the Human Rights Council, INGOs and civil society organizations participated in this event.[18][19]

Content

Rebuttal of "Sri Lanka's Killing Fields"

The documentary offered counter arguments for a number of allegations made by the Channel 4 documentary.

Introduction

The documentary "Lies Agreed Upon" claimed that the title used by Channel 4, "Killing Fields", was specifically drawn up to evoke memories of the Khmer Rouge regime, which controlled Cambodia from 1975 to 1979. In addition, Channel 4 did not claim ownership of any of the footage, facts, figures, faces or names that it broadcasted. According to the documentary "Lies Agreed Upon" the presenter of the "Sri Lanka's Killing Fields" constantly referred to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the defeated party of the Sri Lankan Civil War, as "army", whereas it did not have any legitimate authority over the territory it controlled and was proscribed as a terrorist organization by 32 countries.

United Nations office demonstration

At the very beginning of the Channel 4 documentary, it was shown that a footage of a protest in front of the United Nations office in Kilinochchi. The presenter claimed "News that the UN international staff leaving, spread quickly, and crowds of frightened Tamil civilians besieged the UN base..". "Lies Agreed Upon" refuted the claim providing with interviews of Tamil civilians who actually took part in the demonstration. Those civilians described that the demonstration was not at all spontaneous, but was organized by the LTTE. One person claimed that Kalaiyvan, the LTTE leader of Kilinochchi, summoned the heads of all 16 trade associations in the district and instructed them to stage the protest at the 150th milestone at Arasankatty, where the UN office was located. Another person claimed that people had no say about such matters when the area was under LTTE control. "We must do as told. If they ask, we have to open, if they ask to close we must close. If we do not obey we will have to stop doing our business..".

The government documentary also alleged that the Channel 4 documentary tried to imply, the residents of Vanni were left with no refuge by the abandoning of the UN office. Benjamin Dix, a British UN worker, quite emotionally stated that "It was their greatest hour of need. They had an army sitting on the doorstep...and we drove out. That was ...a real sense of abandonment of these people". But according to the government version of the sequence of events, UN staff of about 200 and their families continued to serve in the area until the end. "Sri Lanka's Killing Fields" also failed to mention that the Tamil UN staffers and their families had been held hostage by the LTTE. As the battle came closer to the end, 9 UN staffers were forcibly recruited by the LTTE for their auxiliary forces, the government documenatry added.

Casualty figures

According to the Channel 4 documentary, "..the deaths of as many as 40,000 people..possibly far more.." could have occured by the end of the war. Refuting this claim, "Lies Agreed Upon" stated that Gordon Weiss, the former UN spokesman based on Colombo, who commented on high casualty rates, was asked to leave by the Government of Sri Lanka on 12 May 2009.[20] By this time, the UN had an official estimate of about 7,000 casualties during the final 4 months of war. One year after his resignation, Weiss came up with a figure of 10,000 to 40,000 casualties, at a time when he was involved in promoting his upcoming book, The Cage. But the UN, which treated Weiss as a junior official,[21] specifically disassociated itself from the comment.[22]

Documentary "Lies Agreed Upon" also claimed that all the reports of deaths during the final stages of the war had come from either the LTTE media, or the 4 government doctors who were held hostage by the LTTE.

Credibility of Vany Kumar

"Lies Agreed Upon" also raised questions about the credibility of Vany Kumar, the central witness of the Channel 4 documentary. Jon Snow of Channel 4 introduced herself as "a young English Tamil woman, who had left London to spend 6 months with [her] relatives in Sri Lanka". She appeared on 10 separate occasions in the program, and was presented as an "independent witness" who had firsthand exprience of the final days of war. But refuting the Channel 4 claims, the government documentary asserted that she had worked as a full time and active member of an LTTE terrorist cell in London. Government investigations had revealed that Vany Kumar, who had gone by at least 4 different names including Dr. Tamilvani, Damilvany Kumar and Damilvany Gananakumar, arrived in Sri Lanka on 28 February 2008. She had worked as the woman coordinator of the UK Tamil Youth Organization (TYO), an LTTE front organization. Documentary "Lies Agreed Upon" claimed, citing one of her former colleagues, Navaratnam Prabhakaran alias Sendramalar, that after Kumar's arrival in Vanni, she underwent one month of weapons training and was enlisted under Sothiya regiment of LTTE. She had also possessed a dog tag with a cardre number issued by the Sothiya regiment, and a cyanide capsule. She had also worked for the Castro branch of the LTTE international wing. According to the government documentary, by April 2009, when the LTTE was rapidly losing ground to the Sri Lankan Army she joined the medical facility under Dr. Shanmugaraja, a government doctor worked inside LTTE held area, and served there until 15 May 2009.

Shells fallen on medical facilities

Another key interviewee of the Channel 4 documentary, Gordon Weiss, who appeared on 8 separate video clips of the program, alleged that there had been 65 instances of shelling on hospitals and makeshift medical facilities. According to the documentary "Lies Agreed Upon", refuting these claims, Dr. Shanmugaraja said that he could only remember 4 instances of shelling; 1 on Vallipuram hospital, 1 on Puthukkudiyiruppu hospital, 1 on Mullivaikkal West makeshift hospital and 1 on Mullivaikkal East makeshift hospital. The doctor strongly denied and condemned Weiss's claim that he requested the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) not to provide GPS coordinates of the medical facilities to the Sri Lankan Army. Giving an interview to the "Lies Agreed Upon", Dr. Sivapalan, medical officer of Chavakacheri and former medical officer - Vanni, claimed that LTTE had its commanding centres from within 100 metres of Puthukkudiyiruppu hospital, in which 2 artillery shells had fallen in February 2009. He also asserted that LTTE used heavy artillery as close as possible to the hospitals.

Corpse of Isaipriya

In one of the alleged "trophy videos" aired by Channel 4, the dead body of an LTTE female cardre named Isaipriya was shown. Narrator described her an LTTE non-combatant who sang songs glorifying suicide bombing. But refuting the Channel 4 assertion, the government documentary claimed that she was a high-profile LTTE cardre, tasked to handle the motivation of suicide Black Tigers. According to the government, disrobing dead LTTE militants was a part of the standard operating procedure adopted by Sri Lankan military, as well as many armies fighting terrorism, since it is necessary for searching hidden weapons, suicide jackets and documents. The documentary "Lies Agreed Upon" cited Death of Osama bin Laden as an instance for the use of this practice.

Corpse of Ramesh

"Sri Lanka's Killing Fields" also showed the corpse of T. Thurairajasingham alias Col. Ramesh, a senior leader of LTTE, and the overall military commander of Eastern province, suggesting that he had been killed after being captured. The documentary "Lies Agreed Upon" contained a brief description of the massacres he has given leadership to, including the Kattankudy mosque massacre, which left 147 Muslim civlians who had knelt for prayer, killed on the spot, Habarana bus massacre which left 127 passengers dead, and Aranthalawa Massacre which left 35 Buddhist monks dead. The government documentary criticized the "Sri Lanka's Killing Fields" for failing to mention those atrocties which had been carried out under the supervision of Col. Ramesh.

State of IDP camps

Jon Snow's description of the Sri Lankan IDP camps was that "[they] were brutal places, where stories of rape, violence and disappearances were rife". Contradicting the Channel 4 claims, "Lies Agreed Upon" featured a number of interviews with present and past female IDPs who said that they were treated well by the Army. They did not agree with the claims that rape, violence and disappearance were rife inside those camps.

Execution videos

Commenting on the alleged "trophy videos" featuring blindfilded LTTE cardres killed by men in miliray uniforms, the presenter said that "who killed whom, this much is known, over 11,000 LTTE cardre and their families surrendered to the Army. None of them were harmed..." The government documentary vehemently rejected the authenticity of these videos, alleging that those were stage-managed.

Facts and figures

Casualty figures

The documentary "Lies Agreed Upon" estimated the number of total casualties in the Vanni area during the final stages of the war, using approximate number of persons lived in 2008 and the number of people came out of the region after the Sri Lankan armed forces took control of it in May 2009. It quoted several sources for the number of people lived in the region by late 2008.

  • United Nations residential coordinator - 180,000
  • Centre for Humanitarian Agencies (UNOCHA) - 150,000
  • United Nations-Under Secretary at United Nations Security Council - 190,000
  • World Food Programme - 230,000
  • INGO and UN agencies in January - 250,000
  • Government Agent in Vanni - 305,000

It claimed that even the figure of around 300,000 people, which was generally accepted by the end of the war, too was inflated by the LTTE to secure greater volumes of food and medical supplies from the government. The total number of registered persons in the IDP cams was 293,800. Going with the 300,000 figure and taking into account the 4,600 LTTE cardre killed in combat, the total number of persons accounted for, was 99.46%. Rest of the casualties also includes the civilians died in crossfire, those who were shot dead by the LTTE as they tried to flee, and those who fled the country at the end of the war using sea routes. Therefore the documentary concluded that the civilian casualty figure of 40,000 was not only improbable, but also impossible.

Special footage

The documentary "Lies Agreed Upon" produced several video clips that had allegedly been found in possession of a dead LTTE cardre, showing LTTE persons firing pedal guns in civilian clothes.

It also included another footage showing LTTE suicide bomber Sujatha Vagawanam detonating herself in an attempt to kill Sri Lankan minister Douglas Devananda.

It also showed aerial footage taken by Sri Lanka Air Force unmanned aerial vehicles on 21 April 2009, depicting LTTE cardres shooting at Tamil civilians trying to escape from the Tiger held area.

An LTTE suicide attack on a civilian receiving centre on 9 February 2009 which left 17 people dead was also featured in the documentary.

Interviews

Government doctors

The 4 government doctors who worked at the LTTE controlled territory during the final days of the war, giving interviews to the documentary "Lies Agreed Upon", recanted their earlier statements on the number of deaths. Dr, Sathiyamoorthy, medical superintend of the Vavuniya General hospital, and former RDHS of Kilinochchi stated "Sometimes they [LTTE] are coming with a list of casualty numbers and dead numbers and they ask [us] to give [the] details..". Dr. Shanmugaraja, the medical officer (anesthesia) of Teaching Hospital, Jaffna and former RDHS of Mullaitivu said that "When LTTE asked me to put the figure as 1,000, I said that it is totally unacceptable and that I have not gone and seen such numbers". Documentary "Lies Agreed Upon" claimed, he also refuted the claims of Channel 4 witness Vany Kumar, who alleged that he cut off the leg of a 6 year old boy without giving local anesthetic, (laughingly) saying "We did not conduct any sort of surgery without giving anesthesia. That would've killed the boy".

According to the documentary "Lies Agreed Upon", Dr. Sivapalan said that LTTE controlled Tamil Eelam Administrative Service took over a major portion of food and medical items that had been sent by the government for the use of civilians in the area. He went into elaborate that he once appealed to the LTTE leader Pulidevan to release to innocent Tamil civilians who had been forcibly held by the LTTE. They did not heed his calls. "They said they are the protectors of Tamils, but at last they had started to fire at people, and they killed a lot of civilians. I saw that...", the doctor added.

Residents of Vanni

A resident of Kilinochchi recalled his memories of the period, giving an interview to "Lies Agreed Upon", saying "people were desparate and were taking every effort to escape. I saw people falling dead due to the LTTE gunfire while attempting to escape. Many were fleeing during the midnight and attempting to cross the lagoon [Nandikadal Lagoon] were shot at point-blank range. I saw two bodies of youngsters shot dead and dragged near the Pillayar Kovil at Mathalan near the beach..."

Among the residents of Vanni, who were forcibly held by the LTTE, was Sathasivam Kanagaratnam, a former Tamil National Alliance Mullaitivu District MP. He described his experience with the producers of the documentary: "I witnessed the LTTE extensively engaged in the forcible recruitment of the underaged children who were given a week's arms training and pushed to the battlefront.. I saw how children were nabbed while parents were wailing.."

Ex-LTTEers and family members

Ex-LTTE members who had been preparing for their GCE Advanced Level examinations and those who were undergoing vocational training, had been featured in the documentary. Kuchadarshini Arumeinadan, an ex-LTTE combatant who surrendred to the Sri Lanka Army 58 Division, who had also been featured on a footage, speaking with the division commander Major general Shavendra Silva on the day of her surrender, described that although she had feared for her life at that day, she had not been harmed, but was treated humanely.

Sasirekha, the wife of the former leader of the LTTE political wing S. P. Thamilselvan, giving an interview to the documentary told that she had been treated well by the Army. She said she had been treated for a growing abdominal pain at the National hospital, Colombo and her children attend an international school in Colombo. She also said she has no plans to migrate to India or UK, to live the rest of her life.

Sathyadevi, the wife of the leader of the Sea Tigers, Thillaiyampalam Sivanesan alias Soosai, said that she never thought the government would treat them this well. Although she and her family were depressed initially, their fears turned out to be untrue.

Velayutham Dayanidhi alias Daya Master, the head of the media division of LTTE, giving an interview to the "Lies Agreed Upon", revealed that "Whenever a Tamil civilian or any other individual from a different Tamil fraction was caught defying LTTE rules, the LTTE used to shoot them wearing Army uniforms. And often LTTE cardres wearing uniforms similar to the military attacked both Sinhalese and Tamil villages. Tamil villages were attacked in-order to create fear psychos among the civilians towards the Army."

The ex-LTTE cardre who was in charge of the prison at Victor base in Vallimulli, was also featured revealing that 26 military prisoners (18 Army, 8 Navy) were massacred on orders of Prabhakaran on 16 January 2009.

Continued operations of LTTE

The documentary "Lies Agreed Upon" concluded with a brief description of the continued operations and the present administrative structure of the LTTE. A former cardre of the LTTE international wing revealed that, Veerakathy Manivannam alias Castro, the head of the LTTE international wing, was the one who formed Tamil Youth Organizations (TYOs) in the Western countries with a huge Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora. This was done in-order to reach the international community without much problem, as most of the TYO members were born and bred there. People who worked earlier in those countries were not effective because they weren't familiar with their system. According to the documentary, Father S. J. Emmanuel, President of the Global Tamil Forum made 2 or 3 visits to Sri Lanka to meet with Castro and once he conducted classes at the Nathan base on how to deal with the diaspora from Vanni. The cardre also claimed that TNA parliamentarian M. K. Eelaventhan lialised for the Father Emmanuel's visits. The documentary revealed detailes of the persons who run the global network of the defeated LTTE outfit; Perinpanayagam Sivaparan alias Nediyavan of the Tamil Eelam People's Alliance (TEPA) in Norway, Suren Surendiran of British Tamils Forum (BTF), Father S. J. Emmanuel of Global Tamil Forum (GTF), Visvanathan Rudrakumaran of Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE) and Sekarapillai Vinayagamoorthy alias Kathirgamathamby Arivazhagan alias Vinayagam, a former senior LTTE intelligence leader.

Criticism

Criticism of "Lies Agreed Upon" was particularly based on the apparent non-independent status of some of its witnesses.[23][24] The LTTE cardre interviewed, had trails been pending at the time of their interview.[25] Thus it would make them unlikely to make any statement not in favour of the Sri Lankan government. And the 4 government doctors who provided details of the conditions in the LTTE held area during the final stages of the war, had been detained by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of Sri Lanka Police after they escaped the clutches of LTTE.[26] Less than two months after they gave a press conference, recanting their earlier statements, the doctors were released, and reinstated in their profession.[23]

Contradicting the documentary's characterization of IDP camps, V. Anandasangaree, the leader of the Tamil United Liberation Front and an outspoken critic of LTTE claimed that "the conditions were 'good' in some camps and 'horrible' in many others: "Health, water and sanitation situation is horrible. Many people have skin diseases as they don't get a chance to have a shower for days because of water shortage. Pregnant mothers and newborn babies go through a harrowing time in the camps due to scorching heat".[23] Former Chief Justice, Sarath N. Silva also pointed out the abysmal conditions in some camps.

The casualty figures also came under criticism, referring to government's claims in April 2009 that only 70,000 people were in the LTTE controlled territory. 37,000 people had fled the areas by then, leaving more than 185,000 people underestimated as when they came out of the area.[23]

Reaction

International Crisis Group, making a statement on the documentary, said that "nothing in the program that disproves, and little that even challenges directly, the many specific credible allegations – including those in the report of the UN Secretary-General’s panel of experts on accountability – that in 2009 the government shelled Tamil civilian concentrations and hospitals, executed surrendering cadres and LTTE political leaders, and failed to provide adequate humanitarian supplies to the civilian population".[24] However it also noted that "The government’s film makes clear that so long as campaigners for justice and peace in the Tamil diaspora do not clearly recognise the crimes of the LTTE and clearly repudiate their violent forms of militant struggle, and the damage it did to all communities in Sri Lanka, their efforts towards justice will remain weak".[24]

Aftermath

Sri Lanka Ministry of Defence, in February 2012 released a follow up to the documentary, named "Ruthless". This documentary focused on two incidents during the final stages of war; the attack on St. Mary's Church at Valayanamadam in March 2009 and abduction of 600 under-aged children who were taking refuge there, and detonation of bus loads filled with injured LTTE cardres by the LTTE itself.[27]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Lies Agreed Upon". Sri Lanka Ministry of Defence. 1 August 2011. Retrieved 28 January 2012.
  2. ^ "Gotabaya releases "factual account" of war against LTTE". The Hindu. 1 August 2011. Retrieved 28 January 2012.
  3. ^ "Video: 'Lies Agreed Upon': Sri Lanka counters Channel 4". Trans Currents. 8 August 2011. Retrieved 14 February 2012.
  4. ^ "Sri Lanka: Confronting the Killing Fields". Sam Zarifi. Amnesty International. 15 June 2011. Retrieved 28 January 2012.
  5. ^ a b "Sri Lanka's Killing Fields". Channel 4. 14 June 2011. Retrieved 28 January 2012.
  6. ^ "Sri Lanka's Lies Agreed Upon screened in U.S. Congress". Sri Lanka Ministry of Defence. 4 November 2011. Retrieved 28 January 2012.
  7. ^ a b "Sri Lanka's 'Lies Agreed Upon' screened in US Congress". Financial Times. 5 November 2011. Retrieved 5 February 2012.
  8. ^ "Screening of 'Lies Agreed Upon': Positive response in Washington". The Sunday Observer. 6 November 2011. Retrieved 1 February 2012.
  9. ^ "Sri Lanka High Commission, UK screens the documentary "Lies Agreed Upon" at the British Parliament". peaceinsrilanka.org. 14 October 2011. Retrieved 1 February 2012.
  10. ^ ""Lies Agreed Upon" screened at the British Parliament". Department of Government Information, Sri Lanka. 13 October 2011. Retrieved 28 January 2012.
  11. ^ ""Lies Agreed Upon" at UK Parliament". srilankamirror.com. 13 October 2011. Retrieved 5 February 2012.
  12. ^ "Sri Lankan documentar​y "Lies Agreed Upon" aired in the British parliament". Lanka Sri News. 13 October 2011. Retrieved 28 January 2012. {{cite news}}: zero width space character in |title= at position 22 (help)
  13. ^ ""Lies Agreed Upon" at UK Parliament". The Sunday Leader. 13 October 2011. Retrieved 5 February 2012.
  14. ^ "'Lies Agreed Upon' to be screened at UN". The Sunday Observer. 4 September 2011. Retrieved 1 February 2012.
  15. ^ "At UN, Screening of Rajapaksa's Response to "Killing Fields of Sri Lanka," Itself Neven Shown in Ban Ki-moon's UN". Inner City Press. 2 September 2011. Retrieved 28 January 2012.
  16. ^ "NZ 1st With "Lies Agreed Upon"". newsnow.lk. 29 September 2011. Retrieved 1 February 2012.
  17. ^ "Debunking Channel 4's sloppy journalism". Sunday Times. 28 September 2011. Retrieved 5 February 2012.
  18. ^ "Sri Lankan delegation allays allegations against the country by vested interests". Asian Tribune. 16 September 2011. Retrieved 1 February 2012.
  19. ^ "Attempts to bring any proposal in Geneva against Sri Lanka thwarted-SL delegation to UNHRC". TransCurrents. 18 September 2011. Retrieved 5 February 2012.
  20. ^ "No fresh visa for UN spokesman". The Nation. 17 May 2009. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  21. ^ "Sri Lankan minister blasts U.N. comments". CNN. 12 May 2009. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  22. ^ "UN statement on former spokesman views". Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. 12 February 2010. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  23. ^ a b c d "Lies Agreed Upon, But Whose Lies". Tisaranee Gunasekara. The Sunday Leader. 14 August 2011. Retrieved 1 February 2012.
  24. ^ a b c "Ministry of Defence propaganda film "Lies Agreed Upon" misses the point". International Crisis Group. Colombo Telegraph. 17 September 2011. Retrieved 1 February 2012.
  25. ^ "Threats, harassments and restrictions on former detainees and their families in Vanni". TransCurrents. 12 May 2011. Retrieved 1 February 2012.
  26. ^ "Viewing cable 09COLOMBO830, Doctors from no-fire zone released on bail". WikiLeaks. 24 August 2009. Retrieved 1 February 2012.
  27. ^ "Sri Lanka releases documentary on LTTE atrocities". Colombo Page. Colombo Telegraph. 8 February 2012. Retrieved 14 February 2012.
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