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Tuesday, May 12, 2009 - 3.57 GMT |
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The great “bloodbath” lies: manipulation by
media and pro-LTTE pressure groups |
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The Government of Sri Lanka categorically
denies reports attributable to sources
aligned with or under duress from the
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) as
to supposed civilian casualties in the
no-fire zone in north-eastern Sri Lanka.
The most recent claim of 378 deaths and over
1,100 injured is founded on a single source
– a Government doctor said to be working in
the zone. The Ministry of Health has denied
the presence of such a doctor in the
location where these alleged heavy weapon
attacks by the Sri Lankan Armed Forces,
reported extensively by the western media,
are said to have taken place.
Defence sources and political analysts see a
definite manipulative act by international
channels acting in concert with pro-LTTE
pressure groups to present this false news
to the world, at a time when it would suit
the needs of the LTTE most.
The Minister of Disaster Management & Human
Rights Mahinda Samarasinghe said at a media
briefing, May 11, it would be clear to any
objective journalist and anyone who has
knowledge of the LTTE’s tactics throughout
its separatist war that any story coming out
of areas unlawfully occupied by the
terrorist group cannot some without the
express approval of the LTTE.
To add to the doubts of this news item was
the usage of video footage which had been
admittedly sent by a Tamil Pressure Group.
It is well known that Tamil pressure groups,
spread throughout the western world have
been engaged in misinformation to serve the
interests of the LTTE, and the media and
diplomats who quote or attribute their
information to these sources should pay due
attention to this reality.
A Defence Ministry observer said it was
interesting that no news organization that
reported this false report, aimed at
tarnishing the image of Sri Lanka, had noted
that the story was put out with all kits
“bloody” details, without any mention of the
fact that it was almost on the eve of the
Media Briefing at the United Nations by the
British, French and Austrian Foreign
Ministers on the Sri Lankan situation,
following a UN Security Cou8ncil meeting
that had no reference to Sri Lanka in its
agenda. It was also just two days before the
attempts by anti-Sri Lanka groups among the
western countries, to call for special
session of the UN Human Rights Council in
Geneva, on the current Sri Lankan situation.
The proposers of this move need 16 signatory
countries to have the item on the agenda of
the HRC, and those who planted this false
report were trying to influence countries to
support this move.
The Sri Lanka Mission in Geneva in a
statement on these reports states: “Giving
credence and acceptance to this LTTE-inspired
piece of “news”, would wittingly or
unwittingly aid the terrorist organization
to save itself at the hour of its impending
demise. The best guarantee of survival for
an organization that is designated a
terrorist organization by several
right-thinking governments the world over,
would be through the generation of shock and
outrage at supposed atrocities. The
Government feels it is necessary to guard
against these coordinated campaigns which
seek to vilify the security forces and
besmirch their record as they successfully
overcome terrorism. It is noted that these
exaggerated claims of Government forces
firing on civilians in no-fire zones,
dramatic casualty figures and charges of
indiscriminate attacks have been heightened
since January 2009 when the LTTE was pushed
back into a rapidly dwindling area. It is
this steady stream of LTTE-originated
disinformation that has been amplified by
its surrogates and acolytes through an
extensive worldwide propaganda network
enabling the disinformation to be widely
disseminated.
This statement adds: “The Government
designated certain areas in which civilians
were gathered, as no-fire zones with the
intention of safeguarding civilians in
keeping with its policy of zero civilian
casualties. The Government has, for several
months, stated that it is not targeting
civilians in these no-fire zones. This
position was reiterated by the Sri Lankan
Presidential Secretariat in a statement
issued on 27 April 2009. The Government went
so far as to specifically commit to not
using heavy artillery, airpower and area
weaponry which could cause civilian
casualties. This is a principled stand of a
legitimately elected, democratic government
of an independent and sovereign nation.
“The 115,000 civilians who escaped the LTTE,
bravely seeking safety while coming under
fire and suicide bomb attacks from their
former captors, have done so because they
are convinced where their safety and
security lies. These civilians, who have
come over to the Government seeking refuge
since 20 April, would have hardly done so if
they were being indiscriminately being fired
upon by the security forces. Indeed these
115,000 persons have made no mention of any
instances when they were shelled or
otherwise attacked by the security forces.
“In contrast, it is the LTTE which
consistently endangered and attacked
civilians it held hostage by locating heavy
weapons within these zones and firing at the
advancing Sri Lankan armed forces. They also
have proved that they are not averse to
firing on civilians seeking to flee to
safety. They even deployed their signature
weapon of terror – the suicide bomb - at
civilians seeking safety with Government
authorities. In contrast, the Sri Lankan
forces have exercised maximum restraint
despite suffering increased casualties due
to being restricted to the use of small arms
and light weaponry. Given the LTTE’s track
record of brutality against the very people
they profess to protect, it is not difficult
to surmise as to who is responsible for any
civilian casualties that occur in the
no-fire zone.
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