HR groups in indecent hurry to vilify Lanka - Ambassador
Aryasinha
It would appear that Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and
the International Crisis Group who sponsored the screening of the film
‘Sri Lanka’s Killing fields’, are intent on pre-judging and discrediting
the LLRC report even before it is released, said Sri Lanka’s ambassador
to Belgium, Luxembourg and the EU Ravinatha Aryasinha.
Ambassador
Ravinatha Aryasinha |
“This indecent hurry to host such events and to call for
international inquiries, is probably due to their fear that once the
LLRC report comes out, they will be short of one further excuse, with
which to continue their obsessive attack on the government of Sri
Lanka,” he said.
Ambassador Aryasinha made these observations when he intervened
during a panel discussion that followed the screening of the film ‘Sri
Lanka’s Killing Fields’ held at the premises of the European Parliament
on Wednesday (12 October 2011).
The screening was jointly organized by the three human rights
organizations, and was also addressed by the Director/Producer of the
film and several Members of the European Parliament.
The Ambassador said the timing of the screening of the film ‘Sri
Lanka’s Killing Fields’ at the European Parliament on October 12 was
particularly sinister, coming on the eve of the presentation of the LLRC
Report due next month, the ambassador said.
The Ambassador who strongly protested the use of the Parliamentary
premises for the screening of this film through a private member’s
initiative, highlighted that on his bringing this insidious agenda to
the attention of the President of the European Parliament, Dr. Jerzy
Buzek, the President’s office had assured him that “similar to many
other events organised on the Parliament’s premises, this film screening
is not organised by an official political organ of the European
Parliament, therefore it does not represent or reflect an official
position of the institution or any of its bodies”.
The ambassador said, “those responsible for facilitating this private
event, and in allowing the European Parliament to be used as a platform
by LTTE apologists only serve to strengthen the rump elements of the
LTTE seeking refuge in the West, who use the propaganda value derived
from the screening of this film, as a tool to intensify its fundraising
and recruitment activities, thereby undermining the process of
reconciliation in Sri Lanka”.
In his critique of the film, the ambassador said first, the film’s
authenticity is in question, as it includes footage of dubious origin,
content that is distorted, without proper sourcing and makes
unsubstantiated allegations against the Government of Sri Lanka.
Having detailed these aspects, he noted that it had the potential to
incite hatred amongst different communities in Sri Lanka, including
future generations, and adversely affects the ongoing reconciliation
process.
Second, the film seeks to downplay the immense suffering caused for
nearly 30 years to the people of Sri Lanka, predominantly the Tamil
community, by the LTTE, an entity proscribed as a terrorist organization
by the EU.
Third, the clear motive of the producers and promoters of this film
was to discredit and vilify Sri Lanka and to detract attention from the
considerable positive developments that have taken place on the ground
since the ending of terrorism a little over 2 years ago.
The Ambassador who enumerated these developments, said these have
been acknowledged by numerous visiting foreign delegations to the
country, including the South Asia Delegation, the formal body of the
European Parliament which follows developments in Sri Lanka, and whose
members visited Sri Lanka earlier this year and submitted their report
in June 2011.
Fourth, the timing of this event was particularly sinister, coming on
the eve of the presentation of the LLRC Report due mid-November. Fifth,
the event was also a reminder that the sponsors were driven by the
compulsions of certain interested elements of the Sri Lankan Tamil
expatriates who have become vote banks and pressure groups in several
Western countries.
Copies of ‘Lies Agreed Upon’ - the video documentary and report
titled ‘Humanitarian Operation: Factual Analysis’, produced by the
Government of Sri Lanka, was distributed among the participants at the
meeting.
The first provides a point by point response to the allegations made
in the film ‘Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields’, while the latter details the
various stages of the humanitarian operation.
The ambassador expressed the hope that after perusing this material,
members of the audience will be better informed about the facts in this
case, which would help them in separating the truth, from the
propaganda.
Ambassador Aryasinha also emphasized, “it is important that European
States and institutions that stand for the ideals of freedom and
democracy, should not be fooled by the false pretences of those elements
behind such exercises”, and urged that they “do not provide any
political or symbolic support to the subterranean agenda of LTTE
apologists”.
He said, “we must seriously ponder the question, as to who speaks for
the Sri Lankan Tamil community? Whether it is the self-seeking
vociferous minority living in greener pastures overseas who continue to
advocate mono-ethnic separatism in Sri Lanka, while espousing the
ideology of the LTTE, using its resources and being manipulated by its
surviving military leaders.
Or, whether it is the Tamil community living in the North and the
East and other parts of Sri Lanka, who together with the enlightened
sections of the Sri Lankan Tamil expatriates, are keen to re-build their
own future and that of their children in a new and peaceful Sri Lanka,
in a spirit of reconciliation”.
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