ABC 4 CORNERS DOCUMENTARY ON SRI LANKA AND ITS RELEVANCE AND MOTIVES

Recently there was a television programme aired on the ABC covering the end of the Sri Lankan civil war in 2009, which made very strong criticisms of alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by the government forces. The programme instigated controversy among people in Australia of Sri Lankan origin. Even Sri Lankan people who are not polarized by any political affiliation were disturbed as a result of this programme whilst the responsible broadcaster ABC seems to be not concerned about that. It seems that the ABCs said democratic and transparent media tradition refrains from being accountable towards the Sri Lankan community. The broadcaster displayed a lack of integrity by not emphasizing that their intention wasnt to create an uneasy environment for Sri Lankans amongst other communities and instigating nationalist sentiments. In a civilized society it is a sacred right of everyone to expose any atrocities, by the government or non-government forces which commit war crimes or human right violations. Such events must not be used in any circumstances for opportunist political gains as that will lead to the most sensitive fundamental problems becoming obscured and unnecessary obstacles encountered. If one shows a genuine interest in the civil war that was waged for thirty years as a direct result of the national question of Sri Lanka, they could not avoid seeing that the most affected people are forced to live in conditions of the primitive stages of human civilization. The programme has overlooked the tragedy in the war-affected areas of North and East where it conflicts with their supposed humanitarian objectives. As a responsible media organization which is funded by taxpayers money it is unacceptable to give prominence only to provocative side of events rather than help finding the root cause of the human tragedy embedded in the same issue. A civilized society must condemn war as a destructive process whether it is launched in Iraq, Afghanistan or Palestine. The total destruction war causes to human lives and property, and the resulting social and cultural devastation, will lead to society being reduced to the primitive stages of mankind. The three decades civil war in Sri Lanka was barbaric to the deepest meaning; hence the responsibility of democratic society and its institutions is to expose the barbarism of this war with the aim of encouraging people to condemn it. The main objective should be to relay a concise and complete message to the society and reveal its destruction with the aim of strengthening the society to eradicate the root causes, without using language which deepens national, ethnic and religious divisions. It is fair for democratic and intelligent people to be cautious of its motives because this programme hasnt focused on that constructive aspect and also has neglected the negative impact of instigating ethnic and religious sentiments.

Secretary, Campaign for Democracy in Sri Lanka Australia, P.O Box 2240 Fountain Gate Vic- 3805 Email: info@democracylanka.com

It was obvious that Sri Lankans experienced a war of mass destruction. But for a television audience who dont have even the slightest understanding about the war protracted for 3 decades with its complexity, the opportunity to gain a relative understanding was denied. For example, the programme unequivocally questioned the war crimes of the government forces but failed to question those of the LTTE. The atrocities released by the LTTE towards the Sri Lankan Sinhalese, Tamil and Muslim communities are a reality. Even though that government forces are always responsible over any other forces involved in the operation of conducting wars, a program that purports unbalanced conclusions by reporting only isolated parts of the story does not epitomize investigative journalism. This is not to satisfy petty communalist prejudices or to emphasize that violence should be answered by violence. Violence should be opposed and condemn with abhorrence. But, it is a need to oppose the calculated refusal to present a clear picture of the war in Sri Lanka. Questioning what transpired in the last days of war in Sri Lanka in abstraction and isolation does not present a clear picture of the war in Sri Lanka and is destructive to the national unity. This must come under the close scrutiny of those who advocate and promote democracy. Simply because the majority of the Sri Lankan armed forces consist of Sinhalese, the Sinhalese people should not have to shoulder the burden for atrocities committed by the government forces. Similarly, the Tamil people shouldnt take the responsibility or be blamed for the crimes committed by the LTTE. But, as Sri Lankans we must have the strength and courage to condemn any form of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by either side. It cannot be denied that all Sinhala, Tamil, Muslim and other communities have made their cultural contribution in the making of modern Sri Lankan society. Therefore, as a civilized society representing all these values, we should have the courage to safeguard each and every member of it from these atrocities. Without heeding national or any other differences, any challenge that come to us on humanity, justice or democracy we as civilized Sri Lankans shouldnt allow our conscience to be questioned. That would give an added advantage to national and international political adversaries. It is not merely a coincidence that an all powerful and influential media institution like the ABC overlooks the invasions, atrocities, war crimes and crimes against humanity prevailing even today in many parts of the globe. It could not be merely a coincidence to overlook these events, under the futile pretext of finding weapons of mass destruction, the death and destruction it brought to hundreds of thousands of ordinary citizens of Iraq, together with Australian armed forces for more than a decade, the devastative impact of continuing war on ordinary civilians in Afghanistan, the crimes against humanity committed by the Israel armed forces against ordinary Palestinian people during the last decades with the total blessing and approval of the United States of America. If one assumes that the programmes intention is to give prominence to the incidents of ordinary Sri Lankan people, how on the earth the ABC happened to overlook the massive human tragedy that occurred during 1988 1989 when President Ranasinghe Premadasa government suppress the uprising in Sri Lanka deploying equally barbaric measure?
2

Secretary, Campaign for Democracy in Sri Lanka Australia, P.O Box 2240 Fountain Gate Vic- 3805 Email: info@democracylanka.com

So we must not take this programme either as being aired out of sympathy towards Tamil people or as anti-Sinhala, but neither is it an attempt conducive to national reconciliation in Sri Lanka. Therefore the imperative responsibility of the democracy-loving Sri Lankans is not to embrace communalism or to become victims of petty nationalist sentiments instigated by these kinds of programmes. We have to be courageous to choose a sustainable path to national reconciliation. A firm and founding belief of our organisation is that the path to development of the people of Sri Lanka is national unity. Also we believe that any attempt to discuss the national question of Sri Lanka should be directed towards national harmony. Hence we believe that it is our sacred duty to expose and defeat any interference which attempts to stimulate a divisive mentality in Sri Lankan people. The democracy in Sri Lanka today is a challenge that we must struggle incessantly to achieve through national unity. By now the Mahinda Rajapaksha family-led army-police clique is paving the way to eliminate completely the fundamental values of democracy. An independent judiciary, independent elections, independent media, a non-politicised armed forces and police, nonpoliticised government service, all have become a dream under the rule of this gang. Democracy is denied not only to people in the North and East but to the entire nation while workers, students, teachers, and clergy who are fighting for their democratic rights are suppressed, including media institutions being set alight and journalists murdered or "disappeared". Mahinda Rajapaksha, who won the controversial presidential election in 2010, imprisoned his opponent Sarath Fonseka whom at the said election was able to gain a considerable number of votes even from the people of the North and the East. Rajapakse did that without any justification by using his utterly politicized judiciary and army gang. Alongside General Sarath Fonseka, a considerable number of military officers who served in the war lawfully with discipline have been imprisoned while a number of officers still in the service have been gagged. Humanity, justice and democracy-loving people in Sri Lankan society have been under enormous pressure from the three decades-long barbaric war. This protracted war was a result of a logical tragedy of the national question created and worsened by the Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim political leadership who have ruled the country up to now, representing parliament and also the divide and rule policy implemented by the British masters, and pressure from the present world and regional powers. Even today the Rajapakse rule is unable to solve the problems worsened by the national question through principles of equality and democracy. In particular a family-led army-police state in Sri Lanka has been created. Military rule in the North has been established and the communalist stick used to brainwash people of the South to reinforce Rajapakse's political power base. The family-led army-police rule does not have any scruple to keep old LTTE leaders in bed with them who were in the forefront of war crimes. The patriotic Defence Secretary Gotabhaya, one of the brothers of the Rajapaksha gang, have no scruples offering official status to the wealthy new LTTE leadership, whilst arrogantly refusing to give a register of helpless young Tamil detainees to the parliament.
3

Secretary, Campaign for Democracy in Sri Lanka Australia, P.O Box 2240 Fountain Gate Vic- 3805 Email: info@democracylanka.com

We do not need to be pushed into that communalist hell-hole again but a helping hand extended to come out of it, as we have suffered enough from communalism. Hence we are requesting the ABC organization to have the courage with political and journalist backbone not to worsen the suffering from communalism in Sri Lanka, but to deliver programmes that encourage searching for positive solutions. On one hand the US and EU is asking for accountability for human rights violations in Sri Lanka, but on the other hand through the IMF pressing Rajapakse to exclude people from the pension scheme. He is not hesitating to shoot people who are protesting to safeguard that right. The interrelationship of this will be clearly understood by the progressive intelligentsia of Sri Lanka. The program of the so-called world super powers to uphold human rights while also advocating the Sri Lankan government to dance according to their political agenda clearly shows that the talking about deaths and displacement of hundreds of thousands of people in Sri Lanka and elsewhere are being used to their own political and economic advantage under the disguise of humanitarian mask. To uphold the dignity of the Sri Lankan people on one hand and safeguard undemocratic Rajapaksha regime on the other are two different things which are contradictory. Our patriotism is tightly linked with the Sri Lankan people. There cannot be true patriotism that sits together with a ruling clan who are against the Sri Lankan people and violate their fundamental human rights. Our modern patriotism should be based on national unity and be directed against Rajapaksha family-led army-police rule, world and regional powers that are trying to attain their political agenda. We must be united as one Sri Lankan people with the vigour of modern Sri Lankan patriotism, which should spring from national reconciliation. It shouldn't be anti-Tamil, Sinhala patriotism or anti-Sinhala, Tamil patriotism, but a patriotism that is against anti-people domination. This awareness exercise is necessary since we do not believe that there is a just central world power. If there was a just centre, actions could have been taken against the world powers that are bringing destruction to millions of people. Our cry is for all democratic and progressive people who can be the only force that can overcome anti-people domination.

Secretary, Campaign for Democracy in Sri Lanka Australia, P.O Box 2240 Fountain Gate Vic- 3805 Email: info@democracylanka.com