By Jonathan Miller | Channel 4
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He was revived at Hillingdon Hospital and just hours later transferred to the waiting chartered aircraft to be flown back to Colombo. With just two minutes before the deadline at the Royal Courts of Justice, his lawyer obtained an injunction, preventing his removal.
He was already in his seat on the aircraft, seatbelt on. Mr Suthakaran, who is 31 years old and has a young child and a wife who is a German citizen, was removed from the plane and taken back to Harmondsworth. Tonight, Channel 4 News conducted an exclusive interview with him by telephone.
"If I had gone back," he said, "there was no guarantee for my life and I know they would torture me and kill me. I received a death threat on my phone [on Wednesday] and that is what tipped me over the edge. What was I supposed to do?
Mr Suthakaran had told me, when I interviewed him inside Harmondsworth detention centre on Tuesday, told me that in March this year he had been on hunger strike for 25 days before attempting suicide in order to avoid being placed on an earlier removal flight.
He claims that when his parents died, when he was a child, he was brought up by members of the Tamil Tiger guerrilla group and that asylum application papers in which he had stated this had been passed to the Sri Lankan authorities in Britain by the UK Border Agency. The UKBA denies this.
Tonight he gave his account of what happened yesterday.
"After I attempted to commit suicide, I fainted. I was not aware of my whereabouts. I was not aware that I was put in an ambulance but at about 12 noon, I became aware that I was in hospital. I found that they were rushing to transport me back [to Harmondsworth] to ensure I was on the flight. I was taken back again in a wheel chair.
"After all of this, and my suicide attempt, I cried and I pleaded with them not to send me back. But between 10 and 13 people forcibly removed me. Everyone was wearing either reflective jackets or white uniforms. One of the people was saying to the rest of them to be careful with my neck because of my suicide attempt.
"But they were putting force on me, holding my head down. I was handcuffed and I tried to resist but there were too many of them. Both my wrists were bleeding."
"I don't feel any animosity towards anyone but I can't understand why the British authorities saved my life only to send me back to where I will be killed."
Mr Suthakaran's lawyer is applying to have his client released on bail, with his brother, who lives in the UK, providing surety.
Mr Suthakaran originally claimed asylum in January 2005 and exhausted his appeals in August 2007. He absconded and a year later was arrested and charged with fraud, for forging a work permit document while attempting to open a bank account. He was convicted and served six months in prison.
Subsequent applications for asylum, in light of his marriage to a European citizen, failed. Mr Suthakaran was married in a Hindu temple in Ealing, London, in November 2006.
© Channel 4
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Sri Lankan who attempted suicide wins reprieve
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Fears for Tamils sent back to Sri Lanka from UK
By Andrew Buncombe | The Independent
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The group of 26 people, consisting largely of ethnic Tamils, were flown to Sri Lanka and met for questioning by the authorities. A police spokesman told reporters the individuals were being questioned by officers from the criminal investigations department.
The decision to deport them took place despite a staunch campaign by human rights campaigners and opposition MPs. They pointed out that while the UK Border Agency claimed there had been an improvement in the situation in Sri Lanka since the end of a civil war two years ago, just this week the Government had expressed concerns about human rights violations.
"In the light of what we know, was it wise to send these people back?" asked Labour MP Siobhain McDonagh, who had raised the plight of the Sri Lankans in Parliament.
A number of those who were returned had told the BBC's Tamil service they were concerned for their safety. One man who was due to be returned reportedly tried to kill himself this week after receiving threats. A solicitor for the man was able to obtain an emergency injunction blocking his removal and the individual is still at a British holding centre.
Amnesty International said that although the decades-long civil war had come to an end in May 2009, when the remaining fighters of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) were crushed, failed asylum seekers still faced risks if they were returned to the country. Hundreds of thousands of Sri Lankans fled during the war.
Yolanda Foster, a researcher for Amnesty International, said immigration barristers believed that several young men who may have been associated with the LTTE were due to be deported. The UK Border Agency did not provide a list of those who were actually forcibly removed.
"It's appalling the UK would deport people who genuinely fear persecution," she said. "The Government is aware there are cases of people being tortured after being returned to Sri Lanka."
The deportation follows the broadcast this week of a documentary by Channel 4 of what it said were war crimes committed by Sri Lankan forces during the closing stages of the military operation to defeat the LTTE. Images showed bound and naked rebel fighters apparently being summarily executed.
Following the broadcast, Foreign Office minister Alistair Burt renewed Britain's demands for an independent investigation into the final stages of the war, when thousands of Tamil civilians died. A recent UN report said there were credible allegations that war crimes were committed.
The Sri Lankan authorities have dismissed the findings of the UN report and suggested the footage in the Channel 4 documentary may not have been genuine.
© The Independent
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Deafening Indian silence on Sri Lankan war crimes docu
Express News Service | The New Indian Express
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From September 2008 when the last UN workers left Kilinochchi, the Channel 4 documentary pieces together a damning narrative based on videos shot on mobile phone cameras and eyewitness accounts, that shows the Lankan army systematically shelled Tamil civilians, especially medical points within the No Fire Zone (NFZ). It includes an eyewitness account of gangrape by soldiers. While pointing out LTTE atrocities, the film takes the stance that the Tigers’ acts did not justify the government’s actions.
One key eyewitness is Vany Kumar, a British Sri Lankan Tamil, who had been visiting family when fighting intensified. The biomedical technician helped doctors in the shifting temporary medical centres. She speaks of regular shelling of the makeshift medical centres beginning with an attack on January 26, 2009. At this time, there were an estimated 3-4 lakh people in the NFZ.
The documentary includes mobile camera footage of the aftermath of a shelling in the Puthukudiyiruppu hospital where at least 15 were killed. One patient says her legs were injured in the shelling. Vany says shellings were followed by army fire that mowed down anyone standing. Eyewitnesses add the army would shell a location, wait for 10 minutes for people to reach the injured, before shelling again, ensuring maximum casualties. An eyewitness says, they were forced to leave the injured till the shelling ended by which time they would have bled to death. When the NFZ moved to Mullivaikal, the International Committee of Red Cross workers visited the hospital to take GPS coordinates that could be provided to the Army to avoid shelling. But soon after, the hospital was shelled, Vany believes, deliberately. Gordon Weiss, then UN spokesperson for Sri Lanka, believes there were at least 65 targetted attacks on medical centres.
By May 2009, with about 1.3 lakh people still in the NFZ that had shrunk to 1 sq mile, the new hospital was severely short of medical equipment. Vany says a six-year-old who survived the shelling of a food queue had to have his leg and arm amuptated without anesthesia. On May 12, the doctors were forced to shut down the hospital leaving behind the wounded. Those “rescued” by the Army were not safe though. An eyewitness who escaped with her daughter, says she and her daughter were stripped and gangraped. The younger victims were taken away. “I heard screaming and then shots,” she says, “I did not see them again.”
War Trophies
The second section of the film includes videos shot by Lankan soldiers on mobile phones. These videos include the execution of a bound naked man, to the sound of giggling in the background. In another instance, they refer to trapped and bound LTTE fighters as “state property.” During the execution of three bound individuals, of which one appears to be a woman, a man says, “is there no one with the b***s to kill a terrorist?” The documentary says videos of naked female corpes indicate women, in this case, Tamil Tigers, had been sexually assaulted. Soldiers are seen posing with corpses. While dragging naked female corpses into a trailer, comments like, “This one has the best figure,” are heard.
© IBN Live
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Channel 4 Film: "Fake, made for LTTE money" says SL Defence Secretary
By Duminda Balasuriya | Daily Mirror
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“Once again some pro-LTTE elements have used the Channel 4 news agency after giving money to them (Channel 4) in order to tarnish the image of both the Sri Lankan government as well as the army,” Mr. Rajapaksa said.
He also said that during the war, the army was always committed to save the lives of innocent civilians and never harmed their lives.
According to Mr. Rajapaksa, the lives of civilians as well as the families of the LTTE leaders, such as widows of LTTE Sea Tiger Leader Soosai and the LTTE Political Chief Thamilchelvan, who were stranded, were protected by the armed forces during and after the war.
“As examples, the army is still giving protection to the families of Soosai and Thamilchelvan, who were top level LTTE leaders and also carefully protected the mother and father of slain LTTE leader Prabhakaran, until their death” Mr. Rajapaksa said.
Mr. Rajapaksa also added that the army always behaved professionally giving utmost priority to safeguard the lives of innocent civilians and the allegation against the army is clearly to tarnish the image of the army internationally.
© Daily Mirror
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Sri Lanka must not continue to ignore allegations of war crimes
by Samira Shackle | New Statesmen
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In some of the most shocking images ever shown on British television, Sri Lanka's Killing Fields showed naked and bound prisoners being shot in the head, the disposal of dead bodies of women who had been raped, and the aftermath of a hospital being shelled. The footage, much of which was filmed on mobile phones, was either shot by Tamils escaping, or by soldiers as grotesque war trophies.
The film shows the end of the 25 year civil war with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) two years ago, when government forces pushed thousands of Tamils into an increasingly confined piece of land, which was then shelled and bombed. There is strong circumstantial evidence for a series of war crimes: the summary execution or prisoners, widespread sexual assault, and the systematic shelling of hospitals with 65 attacks.
Much of the footage is previously unseen. The fact that it exists -- when the Sri Lankan government had forced the UN to leave so that there were no international observers -- is testament to the power of the digital age.
The film does not shy away from the fact that atrocities were committed by the LTTE, too. The group pioneered the use of suicide bombing, and used civilians as human shields. But the fact remains that this was an unequal war, and atrocities by one side never give the other carte blanche.
A UN panel last month rules that there were "credible allegations" of war crimes and crimes against humanity (committed by both sides), but the Sri Lankan government rejected its findings.
The British Foreign Office Minister Alistair Burt said today that if the Sri Lankan government does not probe these claims, it could lead to international action. The signs do not look promising. Rajiva Wijesinhe, a government legislator, responded with a denial: "It is a fact that pro-LTTE groups in Britain are applying a lot of pressure on British politicians to pay attention to the Channel 4 video. I would be particularly sorry of Alistair Burt for succumbing to this."
As Steve Crawshaw, Amnesty International's advocacy director, says in the film, the world's silence on this so far is inexplicable and morally indefensible. If proved, these crimes are comparable to Srebenica, for which Ratko Mladic and Radovan Karadzic are standing trial at The Hague. Over 40,000 civilians were killed in Sri Lanka -- President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his brother, the defence secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa must face justice too.
© New Statesman
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Sri Lanka offers attack aircraft to UN
By Colum Lynch | Foreign Policy
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But the U.N. may not be able to accept them.
The Sri Lankan armed forces have come under scrutiny for allegedly committing mass atrocities during the final 2009 offensive against the country's separatists Tamil Tigers. A decision to accept the Sri Lankan offer would not only generate controversy but potentially trigger a U.S. review of Sri Lanka's human rights conduct.
Under the so-called Leahy law, written by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont)the State Department is required to vet the human rights records of foreign military contingents serving in U.N. peacekeeping missions, if there is reason to believe they may have been engaged in atrocities.
An independent panel, set up by U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki moon, concluded in April that there are "credible allegations" that Sri Lanka troops, as well as the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, committed war crimes and crimes against humanity. More than 40,000 civilians may have died in the war, most of them victims of indiscriminate government shelling, according to the U.N. panel.
The Sri Lanka pledge appears calculated to improve Sri Lanka's relationship with the United Nations at a time when it is facing mounting U.N. pressure to hold alleged war criminals within the army's ranks accountable for crimes, according to U.N. officials. It would certainly be harder, they say, to criticize Colombo if the organization was dependent on its air force for vital assets in combat.
Peacekeepers from other countries, including Rwanda, have faced scrutiny over alleged rights abuses. The Rwanda government threatened to withdraw its peacekeeping force from Darfur, Sudan, after the U.N. moved to force out a Rwandan commander, General Karake Karenzi, who was allegedly involved in rights abuses in Rwanda and eastern Congo during the mid to late 1990s. The United States backed Karenzi, despite internal U.S. government concerns about his rights record.
Sri Lanka has participated in U.N. peacekeeping operations for more than 50 years, and it currently has more than 1,200 blue helmets serving in U.N. missions. In his September 2010 address to the U.N. General Assembly, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaska, defended Sri Lanka's conduct during the war while affirming Sri Lanka's "willingness to further enhance our support to the U.N. Peacekeeping Operations."
"Our armed forces and the police are today combat tested, with a capacity to carry out their duties in the most challenging conditions."
© Foreign Policy
Thursday, June 16, 2011
"Killing Fields" video evidence 'builds case for war crimes'
Channel 4
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The film includes footage of government soldiers executing bound prisoners; the dead bodies of naked, abused women dumped in a truck; and the bombing of civilian hospitals.
The barbaric images were captured on mobile phones, many apparently by government soldiers filming grim trophy videos.
The faces of a number of the soldiers can be seen while conversations are heard as the killings are discussed.
In one video, a soldier admits he would like to mutilate the corpse of a dead naked woman "if no one was around".
Calls for investigation
While pressure builds on the international community to answer calls for an investigation, a top international lawyer has told Channel 4 News the use of new technologies has created a sea change in the reporting of serious crimes.
Mobile phone footage, pictures and testimony distributed online has seen information become instantly accessible to a global audience.
"There has never been a greater awareness of these types of crimes than right now, and it is because of the use of social media," Mark Ellis, chief executive of the International Bar Association, told Channel 4 News.
"It is much more difficult for the international community to stay silent when facing this onslaught of evidence shown by the social media process - it increases the likelihood that the international community must act."
Pakistan video emerges
In recent weeks amateur footage from Syria has captured apparent abuses by the security forces in an increasingly brutal crackdown on protesters.
It followed similar footage which emerged from Egypt, Libya and other countries in the Arab Spring.
In Pakistan, a video has reportedly been posted online showing a man in military fatigues physically assaulting four blindfolded men.
The authorities have said they are looking into the footage, which is part of a "dedicated campaign" to discredit the Pakistan security forces.
Although the video has not been independently verified, it is not the first video to have been posted online depicting allegations of abuses in Pakistan.
Echoes of Serbia
Footage of alleged crimes in Sri Lanka carries echoes of the filming in 1995 of the Srebrenica massacre, in which up to 8,000 Muslim men and boys were shot dead by a paramilitary group.
During the Bosnian war the Scorpion paramilitary group videotaped the massacre, and can be seen laughing, smoking and taunting their captives before shooting them in the back.
© Channel 4
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Ban hasn't seen "Killing Fields" film
By Matthew Russell Lee | Inner City Press
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Nesirky said that Ban “has not actually seen the documentary” but is “aware of its themes.”
Inner City Press asked what Ban has done on his commitment back in April to review the UN's own actions in Sri Lanka. The documentary shows the UN workers leaving Kilinochchi, covers the extrajudicial execution of two surrendering Tamil Tiger leaders -- assurances of whose safety were conveyed by Ban's own chief of staff Vijay Nambiar.
Even after forty days, that review has not started. When Inner City Press asked Ban about it on June 6, when he announced his bid for a second five year term as Secretary General, Ban did not answer that part of the question. On June 15, Nesirky said that the Secretariat is “working with other parts” of the UN system “on how that will actually take place.”
Ban is awaiting re-appointment in the Security Council on June 16, and in the General Assembly on June 21. Killing Fields may be screened inside the UN in New York before that process is over. Will Ban has seen it by then?
Inner City Press asked Nesirky if Ban has reconsidered his position that he cannot or will not follow the recommendation by his own Panel of Experts that he establish an independent international investigation mechanism until either Sri Lanka's Rajapaksa government agrees, or the Security Council, Human Rights Council or General Assembly orders it.
Nesirky repeated previous statements but added that for an investigation to have “administrative and judicial powers,” a vote by one of the three bodies would be required.
Inner City Press asked if that was an acknowledgment that an investigation like the Democratic Republic of the Congo Mapping Report could be initiated without waiting for a Security Council, Human Rights Council or General Assembly vote.
On this, Nesirky used a phrase that he has used before: that the Panel of Experts report “is out there.” So is the documentary The Killing Fields. But what will Ban Ki-moon do?
© Inner City Press
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Sri Lanka cannot ignore cold facts
Editorial | Gulf News
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The bloody and murderous insurgency of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam shook Sri Lanka to its core for 25 years. President Mahinda Rajapaksa was successful in organising an effective military campaign to finally end the threat of terror. But while he won the war, Rajapaksa still has to win peace in the eyes of the international community. The United Nations has consistently called for a full and impartial investigation into atrocities committed during the closing chapter of the civil war. If there were mistakes made, Rajapaksa must deal with them.
War is bloody, vicious, and stretches the very boundaries of humanity itself.
Britain has joined the chorus of calls for an investigation. Since the end of the war, Rajapaksa has resisted these calls for an investigation.
That call is now deafening. It should be heeded.
© Gulf News
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Sri Lanka: University undergrads taken to CID
Daily Mirror
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IUSF Convener Sanjeewa Bandara speaking to Daily Mirror Online a short while ago said that statements had been taken from the undergraduates forcefully and a fresh detention order had been taken for 30 days to further question them by the CID.
However, Nugegoda Division SSP Deshabandu Tennakoon while dismissing accusations of assaulting the three undergraduates under the custody of the Mirihana Police said that a fresh detention order has been taken for week to further question them on the charges.
According to the IUSF, the undergraduates were arrested by the Mirihana Police last Sunday under charges of conspiring against the government. However, the Police claim that it was the J’pura Vice Chancellor Dr. N.L.A. Karunaratne who handed them over to the Police due to some incidents related to ragging.
© Daily Mirror
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