No Fire Zone: Media Coverage and Campaign Report

No Fire Zone: The Killing Fields of Sri Lanka

Media coverage and campaign report

“No Fire Zone is one of the most chilling documentaries I've watched….Many of the images are truly shocking…. This documentary raises very serious questions that the Sri Lankan government must answer about what it did to protect innocent civilians. Questions that strengthen the case for an independent investigation. Questions that need answers if Sri Lanka is to build the truly peaceful and inclusive future its people deserve.”

David Cameron, British Prime Minister Compiled by tpr media consultants, January 2014

“The Rajapaksa regime even in their wildest dreams would not have imagined that a PR debacle of this magnitude would unfold.�

Groundviews

“It is vitally important that this feature reaches the widest possible audience” Empire “Dark & disturbing…. a hair-raising documentary” The Hindustan Times “A Tour de Force by Nobel Prize nominee Macrae” Movies that Matter "I can confidently say that No Fire Zone ... is the most devastating film I have seen" Wendy Bacon, Hoopla, Australia "Haunting, disturbing…unforgettable… not since John Pilger’s 1979 Year Zero has there been a documentary as important" Right Now, Australia “An utterly convincing documentary” Globe and Mail, Toronto “Will break your heart… incredibly graphic and very hard to watch, but that’s the best way to get people to act” Toronto Film Scene “Devastating… shocking” The Deccan Herald “Images sufficiently graphic to give you nightmares – but sometimes it takes a nightmare to wake us up” Now Magazine, Canada

Contents PHASE ONE: February 2013 – March 2013 The Indian Launch – the release of the new Balachandran images and the UN Human Rights Council Preview screening in Geneva PHASE TWO: March 2013 – October 2013 The build up to CHOGM, World screenings, The Australia/New Zealand/Malaysia tour, the Malaysian raid and arrests PHASE THREE: October 2013 – December 2013 The London Premiere, Isaipriya revelations, the Indian visa controversy and CHOGM

Campaign Overview This campaign has had an extraordinary impact and reach. The first three stages of this campaign – between February and the end of November 2013 - generated literally hundreds of articles, features and reports in newspapers, magazines and websites in every continent of the world. This report contains reproductions or links to just a selection of them.

The campaign also generated scores of television reports - again this document contains links to a selection. The director, Callum Macrae, participated in around 50 television interviews alone in the 10-month period covered by this campaign.

The coverage has ranged from brief news reports to high-profile, high-impact articles including major multi-page features, such as Callum’s feature in the Guardian on the 3 September and his opinion piece which led the Times of India OpEd pages on the 6 November.

This appeared shortly before the Prime Minister of India Dr Manmohan Singh, bowed to the pressure caused by the film and the enormous media controversy surrounding it and announced he would be boycotting the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).

The campaign reached its international climax with the events at the CHOGM in October. The government of Sri Lanka had intended that CHOGM would symbolise the return of Sri Lanka to international fold and an end to international calls for justice. Instead, the question of the war crimes and the human rights abuses dominated the agenda and the coverage. No Fire Zone, Channel 4 and Callum himself were front page news throughout the event – and led the TV news coverage most days. Indeed, as Groundviews, the respected independent website which comments on Sri Lankan affairs pointed out: “...the Rajapaksa regime even in their wildest dreams would not have imagined that a PR debacle of this magnitude would unfold”.

In addition to No Fire Zone's political impact, the film was screened at a number of international film festivals, for example Sheffield Doc/ Fest and HotDocs, where it was critically acclaimed.

Social Media No Fire Zone's social media campaign was hugely visible. The feature-length documentary was widely tweeted about, trending both in the United Kingdom and India. Prior to the CHOGM it was tweeted about by UK Prime Minister, David Cameron and actor campaigner, Hugh Grant.

A prominent Sri Lankan diplomat, Bandula Jayasekara - who was once the chief media advisor to Sri Lankan President, Mahinda Rajapaksa - launched an astonishing twitter attack director, Callum Macrae. Calling him an ‘LTTE (Tamil Tiger) Terrorist from London’ only focused on profiting from ‘blood money,’ Jayasekara threatened to bar Macrae from entering the country: ‘I will make sure you don't get a visa to come to Sri Lanka.’

Further tweeting that he had contacted freelance PR agent Ranjit Perera and asked him to ‘track that LTTE tiger terrorist propagandist Callum Macrae and find how much $$$$ he earned so far.’

Phase one India and Geneva preview screenings

Shocking footage of 12-year-old son of Tamil Tiger Leader Phase one of the campaign was aimed at key politicians and opinion formers in India as well as at the UNHRC meeting in Geneva itself. tpr's media focus was to support and reinforce meetings in India with key politicians and opinion formers, who were shown edited highlights of the film (on the19/20 February). As well as politicians, representative from the arts attended, including Indian author and political activist, Arundhati Roy. This culminated in a special screening hosted by Amnesty India on 22 February to an audience of parliamentarians and members of civic society. The timing coincided with David Cameron and William Hague’s visit to India.

The challenge was to position this feature-length documentary as a stand-alone culmination of three years journalistic investigation - which had begun with Channel 4 - and to decide on a media strategy which would have maximum impact during a particularly busy period in the Indian political calendar. In conjunction with the team, we decided to focus the Indian campaign on new images obtained of 12-yearold Balachandran Prabhakaran. These chilling pictures of the son of the Tamil Tiger leader eating snacks only hours before being executed ruled out the possibility of him being killed in crossfire and demonstrated the ruthlessness of the Sri Lankan regime. These images caused shock and controversy in the Indian media and political world.

With only a seven day turnaround, and drawing on the advice of Indian consultant Satya Sivaraman, tpr decided to start by targeting only the most influential outlets across different media - Times of India (print), The Hindu (print), NDTV (TV), and Outlook magazine first. This paid off and between 19 and 22 February, there were several dozen pieces across all South Asian media which stimulated debate.

Dozens of stories ran across the world from La Republica to Miami Herald, The Australian to The Jakarta Post.

The second part of the brief also included targeting major international and UK media including the New York Times, Guardian and Independent leading up to the UN screening in Geneva at the UNHCR on 1 March and the Geneva Human Rights Festival on 3 March. On one occassion an authored piece by director Callum Macrae was on the front page of a prolific Indian daily - The Hindu - where David Cameron was relegated to the inner pages of the paper. Highlights of the UK press included an authored piece by David Miliband in the Guardian addressing the human rights accusation, as well as a Guardian Leader Page piece focusing on the impact of the documentary screening in Geneva.

By CallumMacrae Monday 18 February 2013

This is proof, beyond reasonable doubt, of the execution of a child – not a battlefield death Compared to most of the terrible images which have emerged from the final weeks of Sri Lanka’s civil war, it seems innocuous. A young boy sits, like a child lost in a supermarket. He has been given some kind of snack. He is looking up, as though hoping to see someone he recognises.

The boy is BalachandranPrabhakaran, the 12-year-old son of Tamil Tiger leader VillupillaiPrabhakaran, and the new photographs tell a chilling story. This child has not been lost of course: he has been captured and is held in a bunker, apparently guarded by a Sri Lankan Army soldier. In less than two hours he will be executed in cold blood – and then photographed again.

Last year in this paper I wrote about the video footage we had obtained of the aftermath of Balachandran’s execution, which had apparently been shot as a war trophy by Sri Lankan soldiers. These new photographs are important evidentially, because they prove that Balachandran was not killed in crossfire or in a battle – or even that he was executed by some maverick band of paramilitaries. His death was deliberate and calculated. The pictures fill in chilling details on the circumstances of his murder – and leave the Sri Lankan government with yet more questions to answer.

There are four new photographs in all – which digital image analysis indicates were taken with the same camera. Two show him alive – and two dead. The embedded information in the pictures places them less than two hours apart. The new photographs of his corpse corroborate the video footage and stills which we obtained last year and were analysed by a respected forensic pathologist, Professor Derrick Pounder. According to Prof Pounder, the speckling on his skin suggests he was shot at close range. The angle of the hole indicates that after that bullet was fired, the boy fell back and was shot four more times.

The analysis of the photographs concludes that there is “no evidence to indicate fabrication,manipulation or the use of effects to create the images” and concludes that the photographs “appear to be an accurate representation of the events depicted”.

From the separate video sequence recorded later (which has also been authenticated by both digital analysis and a forensic pathologist), it is clear there were several military personnel in the area.

The government of President MahindaRajapaksa may well continue to simply deny the evidence and cite the undoubted crimes of the Tamil Tigers. But the crimes of one

side do not justify the crimes of another. It seems to most observers that the only way ahead is for the creation of a credible independent international inquiry into these events, as called for by the UN’s Panel of Experts – to examine the crimes committed by both sides.

CallumMacrae is the director of No Fire Zone: The Killing Fields of Sri Lanka; www.nofirezone.org

The Guardian, Leader page, Friday 1 March 2013

Sri Lanka: questions from the killing fields The UN human rights council must take a long, hard look at the allegations of war crimes by the Sri Lankan state After the showing of the documentary No Fire Zone in the Palais des Nations in Geneva yesterday, the Sri Lankan ambassador denounced it and criticised the UN human rights council for permitting the event to take place in a United Nations building. His speech was received in complete silence by a gathering which included a number of diplomats who are in Geneva to take part in the current session of the council, which is due to discuss Sri Lanka's human rights record. That silence, Sri Lanka's critics would say, was an eloquent one.

It certainly confirms at the very least that Sri Lankan president MahindaRajapaksa's contention that no significant war crimes were committed by the government side toward the end of the civil war in 2009 is widely doubted. The film, the third from Channel 4 to focus on alleged atrocities and illegal killings during the final weeks of the conflict, will be shown here later this year. TV documentaries do not constitute absolute proof, but they do raise questions that need answering, as do reports by such organisations as Amnesty International and the International Crisis Group, and from within the UN system itself.

So far, the answers have been less than convincing. Thousands died in attacks which apparently failed to discriminate between combatants and civilians. Others, unless the documentary footage is dismissed as entirely fraudulent, were executed, including children. Yet the International Crisis Group charges that "no credible investigations into allegations of war crimes, disappearances or other serious human rights violations" have been conducted.

It is not only the conduct of the war that is at issue. The conduct of the peace that has followed the end of the conflict is just as problematic. Instead of devolving power, the Sri Lankan government has relentlessly centralised. It has dropped restrictions on presidentialterms and recently rid itself of a chief justice who had upheld provincial rights. Instead of demilitarising the north, the army is still dominant there. And instead of accepting criticism and dissent, it has suppressed both. The conclusion must be that it is a nonsense to hand the country starry international roles, such as the hosting of the Commonwealth heads of government meeting later this year.

A much tougher resolution on Sri Lanka should come out of the UN human rights council's session in the next few weeks, and that should be followed by a readiness among Commonwealth states to reconsider the Colombo venue. The Sri Lankan government has been masterly in defusing criticism by promising action but then failing to deliver. It should not be allowed to get away with it any longer.

By David Miliband The Guardian, Monday 11 March 2013

Britain must stand up for human rights in Sri Lanka Our government should back UN calls for justice by urging the Commonwealth to move its summit elsewhere

The Queen shakes hands with Sri Lankan president MahindaRajapaksa at the Commonwealth heads of government meeting last year. Photograph: Wpa Pool/Getty Images In early 2009, as foreign secretary, I travelled to Sri Lanka with Bernard Kouchner, the French foreign minister, so that we could see for ourselves the situation at the end of the brutal 26-year civil war. We met the president and his ministers in Colombo, and then travelled to refugee camps further north. I will never forget what I saw, and in particular the pleading of Tamil women carrying slips of paper with the names of their husbands and sons who had been taken away for "screening".

The last phase of the government offensive involved squeezing anything up to 330,000 people into the Vanni region, south of the Jaffna peninsula. A report in March 2011 by a special UN panel laid bare the scale of human suffering. Tens of thousands had been killed by government shelling, which had targeted no-fire zones, UN food distribution lines and hospitals. The report also detailed appalling behaviour by the LTTE, the "Tamil Tigers", alleging that civilians were prevented from escaping and used as hostages. The UN report found credible allegations of serious violations of

international law by the Sri Lanka government and the LTTE, including war crimes and crimes against humanity.

An internal UN review reported last November that the government obstructed the provision of aid and assistance to civilians, did not protect humanitarian workers, and was largely toblame for the shelling of heavily populated areas and the deaths of civilians. And a further report last month, by the United Nations high commissioner for human rights, criticises the progress made on accountability and reconciliation and, significantly, the commissioner, NaviPillay, reaffirmed her "long-standing call for an independent and credible international investigation" into alleged human rights violations "which could also monitor any domestic accountability process".

A film, No Fire Zone, using personal testimony from civilians caught up in the latter stages of the conflict, is putting the Sri Lankan government on the spot. And this month Sri Lanka is being called to account in the UN human rights council by the United States.

The Commonwealth heads of government meeting (Chogm) is due to take place in Sri Lanka in the autumn. Canada, which is Conservative-led, has robustly called for the meeting – which the Queen would normally open – to be moved from the country.

The Labour government took this course when we were planning for the 2011 meeting. It is time for the British government, which has trumpeted its priority of making the Commonwealth a model of good governance and democratic values, to make its voice heard.

The insistence on justice and accountability is not legalistic nitpicking. It's about the message that is sent to those who violate human rights. Just think about the insouciance of President Assad and his supporters.

Nor are concerns about the actions of the Sri Lanka government merely historic. The leading opposition candidate in the 2010 presidential election was jailed soon afterwards. The chief justice of Sri Lanka has been impeached and dismissed, neutering the independence of the judiciary. The president has reneged on his pledge to expand local autonomy – a key element in post-war reconciliation.

FarazShaukelty, a Sri Lankan/British journalist who writes for the outspoken Sunday Leader newspaper, was shot in the neck by three gunmen last month. Human Rights Watch says that several thousand people are locked up without charge, and that statesponsored abuse of Tamil activists is widespread. Other UN investigations record over 5,000 outstanding cases of enforced and involuntary disappearances; and nearly 100,000 internally displaced people remain without proper protection. This is not the path of reconciliation promised by the Government after the civil war.

In 2005 the whole of the UN endorsed the idea of a "responsibility to protect" – the notion that governments and the international system should take active measures to

protect civilian life. That doctrine is breached by authoritarian governments, but it is no excuse for the rest of us to stay silent.

This is a moment to show that calls for justice and democracy have teeth. Britain needs to back the call for Chogm to be moved. For it to go ahead in Sri Lanka would be a mockery of Commonwealth values and UN authority, and a further invitation for its government to ignore international pleas for decency and accountability. And it would be a nail in the coffin of the vision of a pluralistic Sri Lanka, respectful of the place of all its peoples.

Sri Lanka is not being victimised or picked on. UN conventions are the civilising product of the wars – and unstopped slaughters – of the 20th century. They are a universal badge of humanity. Our government should be standing up for them.

By Becky Evans Tuesday 19 February 2013

Given a snack and then taken out and shot: Horrifying last moments of helpless boy, 12, who was 'executed by Sri Lankan army because his father was a Tamil Tiger leader' • •

• •

BalachandranPrabhakaran is seen with bullet wounds to the chest He was the son of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam leader VelupillaiPrabhakaran, who was also killed at the end of the Sri Lankan civil war Disturbing images feature in new documentary on the conflict Film's director said pictures prove boy was 'executed in cold blood'

Disturbing new images have emerged of the dead body of the 12-year-old son of a Tamil leader that researchers say could prove he was executed by Sri Lankan government forces.

The photographs of BalachandranPrabhakaran, son of VelupillaiPrabhakaran, head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, were taken in May 2009 at the end of the government's conflict with the rebels.

The first pictures appear to show the child in the custody of Sri Lankan forces and he is seen sitting on a bench wrapped in a blanket and eating some food.

Compiled by tpr media consultants – April 2013 www.tpr-­‐media.com

But photographs taken hours later on the same camera show him lying on the ground, topless and his chest riddled with bullet holes.

He has five holes to his chest and experts say he was shot at close range.

The pictures, which feature in documentary No Fire Zone, show the boy was alive when he was captured and was executed later, says the film's director CallumMacrae.

He told The Independent: 'They show he was held, and even given a snack, before being taken and executed in cold blood.'

The Sri Lankan government have always claimed that Balachandran was killed in cross-fire but Mr Macrae said the photographs 'rule out' that possibility.

Mr Macrae said the fact that the boy's dead body was photographed is also alarming.

He said: 'That these events were also photographed and kept as war trophies by the perpetrators is even more disturbing.'

The body of VillupillaiPrabhakaran was showed on state television in May 2009 as Sri Lanka's government declared an end to its 26-year civil war.

There were also suggestions he had been shot at close range as part of his skull was missing.

Sri Lankan army spokesman Brigadier PR Wanigasooriya told The Independent that there had been repeated 'lies, half truths and rumours' said about the country.

Government forces were accused of human rights abuses including sexual violence, murder and abuse in the final days of the civil way.

Brigadier Wanigasooriya: 'No substantive evidence have been presented for us to launch an investigation.'

In 2011, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon published a report which revealedas many as 40,000 people were killed in the final months of the war.

The new documentary will be screened at the Geneva Human Rights Film Festival at next month's UN Human Rights Council meeting.

LETTER FROM INDIA

Revisiting the Horror in Sri Lanka

By MANU JOSEPH Published: February 27, 2013 NEW DELHI — In the series of photographs shot in 2009, the bare-chested boy is first shown seated on a bench watching something outside the frame. Then he is seen having a snack. In the third image he is lying on the ground with bullet holes in his chest. The photographs, which were released last week by the British broadcaster Channel 4, appear to document the final moments in the life of 12-year-old BalachandranPrabhakaran, the youngest son of the slain founder of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, VelupillaiPrabhakaran.

The images are from the documentary film “No Fire Zone,” which tells the story of Sri Lanka’s violent suppression of Mr.Prabhakaran’s equally violent revolution, which had come very close to securing a separate state for the Tamil minority of Sri Lanka.

After 26 years of civil war between the Tamils, who are chiefly Hindus, and the Sinhalese majority, who are chiefly Buddhists, the Sri Lankan state won decisively in 2009. Human rights activists say that hundreds of Tamil fighters, political leaders and their families, including Mr.Prabhakaran and his family, did not die in action but were executed. They estimate that more than 40,000 Tamil civilians died in the final months of the war.

Within its borders, the Sri Lankan government appears to wink at its Sinhalese population to accept their congratulations for ending the war,but it maintains a righteous indignation when the world accuses its army of planned genocide.

“No Fire Zone” includes video footage and photographs shot on mobile phones by Tamil survivors and Sinhalese soldiers that were somehow leaked. The film’s director, CallumMacrae, told me that it will be screened at the 22nd session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, now under way in Geneva, where the United States plans to introduce a resolution asking Sri Lanka to investigate the allegations of war crimes by its army.

It is not clear what such a resolution will achieve because Sri Lanka’s powerful president, MahindaRajapaksa, who has a rustic swagger about him and a manly black mustache, is the triumphant face of Sri Lanka’s victory in the war. The Sri Lankan Army is unambiguouslyunder his control. Whatever the worth of the resolution, India is expected to support it more enthusiastically than it did a similar resolution last March.

Over the years, the shape and location of Sri Lanka have inspired several Indian cartoonists to portray the island nation as a tear drop beneath India’s peninsular chin.

This is an illogical depiction of Sri Lanka’s trauma because a tear drop is not sorrowful; it is a consequence of someone’s sorrow. Some caricatures that appeared in the late 1980s and early 1990s, however, showed the Indian peninsula weeping and Sri Lanka as the consequent tear drop. This imagery had a stronger logic. India’s history with Sri Lanka is, in a way, about a bumbling giant being hurt by a cunning dwarf.

Under Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, the type of strategists who imagine that they are great Machiavellian characters, and love to add the prefix “geo” to “politics” to feel good about their advisory jobs, ensured that India armed and financed the Tamil rebels. In 1984, when she was assassinated and her son Rajiv Gandhi took over as prime minister, Sri Lanka was engaged in a full-fledged civil war. Now, India wanted to play gracious giant in the region and bring peace to Sri Lanka. In 1987, it sent troops to achieve that end. It was a disastrous move, and resulted in the deaths of nearly 1,200 Indian soldiers and thousands of Tamil fighters. In an act of vengeance, Mr.Prabhakaran made his greatest strategic blunder: ordering the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi.

On the early morning of May 22, 1991, as the news spread through Madras (now Chennai) by phone and radio, I saw people run out of their homes in some kind of delirium to pick up the newspapers from their porches. The city had just woken up to the improbable fact that a suicide bomber had killed Mr. Gandhi the previous night in a small town not far from Chennai. Until then, the southern state of Tamil Nadu, whose capital is Chennai, was a haven for the Tamil Tigers. Bound by a common language, the masses of Tamil Nadu felt a deep compassion for the struggle of Sri Lankan Tamils. But Mr. Gandhi’s assassination was seen by them as an act of war against India. The chief minister of Tamil Nadu at the time, MuthuvelKarunanidhi, who was accused of being a friend of the Tigers, went around Chennai in an open-roof van, standing with his palms joined in apology. That was not good enough. In the 1991 Tamil Nadu assembly elections, his party won only two seats.

But now, the plight of the Sri Lankan Tamils has returned as a passionate political issue in Tamil Nadu. Mr.Karunanidhi is too old to stand anymore but even as a patriarch who uses a wheelchair, he is a useful ally of the Indian National Congress Party, which heads the national government. He has often demanded that the accomplices of Mr. Gandhi’s assassin now on death row in India be pardoned, and that President Rajapaksa be tried on war crimes charges. Last year, when the United States introduced a resolution against Sri Lanka, India was reluctant to back it for strategic reasons, including that it has commercial interests in Sri Lanka, which China is fast grabbing. But Mr.Karunanidhi and public sentiment in Tamil Nadu finally persuaded the Indian government to support it.

In a few days, when the United States introduces its new resolution against Sri Lanka, the brute forces of politics and practicality will ensure that the Indian government led by the Congress Party, whose leader is Sonia Gandhi, will join other nations in asking Sri Lanka to explain how exactly it eliminated the organization that made her a widow.

Manu Joseph is editor of the Indian newsweekly Open and author of the novel “The Illicit Happiness of Other People.�

NEW DELHI, February 23, 2013

When the no fire zone became a killing field Preview of film on Sri Lankan civil war contains disturbing testimony A week before its official launch in the Geneva Human Rights Film Festival, the capital on Friday caught a 20-minute preview of the film ‘No Fire Zone: The Killing Fields of Sri Lanka,’ which included footage of the alleged cold-blooded killing of LTTE chief V. Prabakaran’s minor son.

“It was a culmination of three years of journalistic investigation on war crimes and crimes against humanity,” said director CallumMacrae in a recorded message from London, adding that he hoped the film would lead to informed debate about the issue in the United Nations.

“Sri Lanka has demonstrated that it is unwilling and incapable of conducting an investigation.

If the world betrays the Tamils again, they will take justice into their own hands.”

The film, which contains deeply disturbing evidence, powerful eyewitness testimony and personal stories of survival in a war zone, also has a former U.N. staffer, Peter Mckay, publicly speaking about his experience of being trapped in a war zone for two weeks and witnessing first-hand the shelling of the no fire zone. “There’s a crucial point to be made on why the Sri Lankan government declared the no fire zone… There is only one intent and that is because you don’t really care you are going to kill the people that are located in that safer zone or more importantly you are actively targeting them,” Mr.Mckay says in the film.

In a panel discussion that followed the screening, G. Ananthapadmanabhan of Amnesty International India said it was appropriate for India to take a stance on the issue, not only over Sri Lanka’s “historical accountability” but also to “improve the current situation.”

However, IANS Executive Editor M.R. Naryanaswamy drew on his vast journalistic experience from reporting in Sri Lanka and said the footage “does not surprise me.”

With the film including substantial footage that was shot as part of “war trophy and passed around,” he said: “As more footage comes out and the evidence mounts up, Sri Lanka will find it very difficult to not take a stand.”

Communist Party of India leader D. Raja, who was present at the screening, said notices had been given out in Parliament to conduct a meaningful debate on the issue. “With the screening of the film in Delhi there is enough evidence to show how war crimes and human rights violations have taken place in Sri Lanka. The Indian government should push for an international investigation on the matter.”

COLLATERAL DAMAGE

The pictures do not lie Manoj Ramachandran | February 23, 2013 The photos and videos from the Lankan army's final offensive against the LTTE have turned the spotlight back on war crimes committed by Lankan forces It was the final surge in Sri Lanka's 25year-old conflict with one of the deadliest terrorist groups in the world.

President MahindaRajapaksa had sworn, on his landslide mandate, to crush VellupalliPrabhakaran and his army of suicide warriors.

It was the standoff to a campaign he started in 2006. Boxed in, with all supply lines cut off, it was only a matter of time before the terrorist was apprehended and charged for his crimes.

Rajapaksa, having "convinced" the international community of a bloodless offensive, had his ground covered. After evacuating journalists and UN missions, the Lankan government created three no-fire zones in Jaffna, Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu. These were fortified areas where fleeing Tamils could seek cover from the final assault. It was a huge exodus - more than 60, 000 war-ravaged, unsuspecting Tamils scurried with their children and elders to what later came to be described as the "killing fields".

They ran with their backs to the Indian Ocean and into heavy artillery, their dreams of peace met by one of the biggest war crimes the subcontinent has ever witnessed. But Rajapaksa's war without witnesses did have survivors and some of them emerged with proof that has left the world shocked by Lanka's brutality.

The pictures and video compiled by CallumMacrae are one such piece of evidence.

His documentary "No Fire Zone: The Killing Fields of Sri Lanka" and its sequel "Sri Lanka's Killing Fields 2 - Unpunished War Crimes" have now put the spotlight back on the war crimes committed by the Lankan forces.

A filmmaker for 20 years in the UK and around the world, Macrae has been in some of the world's worst hotspots. But what he witnessed in Lanka overwhelmed his nightmarish experiences in Cote D'Ivoire, Uganda, Mali, and Sudan. "It's important to remember that the crimes we are talking about are not just the executions of prisoners and the use of sexual violence against fighters. We are talking about the deliberate targeting of civilians in no-fire zones the government had itself created, " says the Scottish Bafta Special Achievement Award recipient.

The latest pictures released by Macrae show the LTTE chief's 12-year-old son Balachandran alive and under the supervision of Lankan troops. He is then shot from close range, before four more bullets are pumped into his body. The pictures add credence to the claims of rights violations during the final offensive. Lankan forces had earlier claimed Balachandran had been killed in crossfire between army troops and the LTTE. Professor Derrick Pounder, a forensic pathologist who analysed the pictures using metadata, has confirmed the boy was killed only two hours after the pictures of him eating biscuits were taken. "The new photographs of Balachandran alive are not just distressing and disturbing - they are enormously important evidence-wise because they appear to rule out any suggestion that he was killed in crossfire or during battle, or even that he was executed by some maverick band of paramilitaries. The boy was executed in cold blood. It is difficult to imagine the psychology of an army in which the calculated execution of a child can be allowed to happen with apparent impunity.

That these events were also photographed, videotaped and kept as war trophies by the perpetrators is even more disturbing, " saysMacrae.

Though Lankan envoy to India, Prasad Kariyawasam, was prompt in rubbishing the video as morphed, few are convinced by his argument.

Gordon Weiss, who was the UN spokesperson in Sri Lanka during the final SinhalaTamil standoff and is currently with the International Crimes Evidence Project in Sydney, backs Macrae's view. "The evidence of war crimes is overwhelming;any attempt by the Lankan government to run down evidence proves the great energy that lies behind the regime's propaganda efforts. But these efforts are futile in the face of the evidence that keeps popping up. No rational person would look at the body of evidence and not see that the evidence of each crime seems to support the evidence of collective crimes, " says Weiss.

The UN Secretary Panel of Experts Report and the UN's own internal inquiry, the socalled Petrie Report, had found evidence of war crimes overwhelmingly persuasive.

"Only a credible internationallyconstituted judicial inquiry will settle the issue once and for all. It will also be the first step on the road to a meaningful reconciliation between the island's majority and its minorities, " adds Weiss.

Peter Mckay, a UNOPS staffer who was trapped in the no-fire zone, says, "There's a crucial point to be made about why the Sri Lankan government declared the no-fire zone within the effective range of all the weaponry being used by the military. " With the US declaring that it will table another resolution on human rights violations in Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) session in early March, Colombo is now looking to Beijing for support. With India's stand on Lankan affairs still ambivalent, New Delhi's move is likely to be decided by what transpires between the Centre and Dravidian politicians.

"The Lankan government is exhausting the socalled China card, having completely misunderstood the reputational cost of supporting Colombo, which forms part of China's calculations, " says Weiss.

LTTE Chief's minor son killed in cold blood?

20 Feb 2013, 0903 hrs IST, TIMES NOW These images released by a top British media house have sent shockwaves across the subcontinent. Son of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Chief Prabhakaran seen here lying on the ground with five bullet marks on his chest. Just take a firm look at this picture, the 12 year old child is sitting in a sandbag bunker apparently guarded by a Sri Lankan Army soldier looking absolutely lost and scared.

And then this image of BalachandranPrabhakaran where he is dead. This 12 year old was allegedly shot in cold blood by the Sri Lankan soldiers. The release of these disturbing images causing a massive furore and the chorus for an international probe is growing only louder. The Indian Government, however, remaining non committal even though they voted against Sri Lanka during last year’s United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) resolution.

But the under fire Sri Lankan Government refuting all charges levelled against them.

A little defenceless boy riddled with bullets, though the Indian Government has not taken a firm stand on the issue so far with the UN Refugee Agency meet in Geneva less than a month away. Is not India’s prerogative to demand an apology from Sri Lanka? Can we allow the perpetrators of such brutal war crimes get away?

CallumMacrae: Without truth, there can be no justice or peace Manoj RamachandranFeb 22, 2013, 12.00AM IST CallumMacrae's documentary No Fire Zone: Sri Lanka's Killing Fields is making waves, showing war crimes during the LTTE-government conflict. Speaking with Manoj Ramachandran ,Macrae discussed his views on the Sri Lankan government, why accountability is crucial — and how India can help: Why is your film significant?

What's significant is the shocking scale of war crimes committed by a government which claims democratic legitimacy and adherence to international humanitarian law.

The crimes we're talking about aren't executions of prisoners and sexual violence against fighters — we're talking about the deliberate targeting of civilians in the No Fire Zone, which the government itself encouraged them to gather in.

A UN panel concluded that most who died did so as a result of government shelling — we're talking about tens of thousands dead.

Have there been serious attempts to get victims justice?

The people who stand accused are at the highest levels of the Sri Lankan government.

They're unlikely to investigate themselves — and if they do, i fear they will simply find themselves innocent.

At the end of the war, many hoped the government would hold out a hand of friendship and reconciliation to Tamil citizens. They did the opposite. Their behaviour seems to suggest they regard all Tamils in the north as indistinguishable from the Tigers, that they're in effect an enemy within which must be thoroughly repressed — that`s a recipe for more conflict and tragic bloodshed.

You claim to have footage of LTTE supremo Prabhakaran's son, Balachandran, alive in a bunker, apparently held by Lankan troops, later showing the 12-yearold shot two or three feet from his chest. Would you tell us more?

The new photographs of Balachandran alive are not just distressing and disturbing — they are also enormously important evidentially because they appear to rule out any suggestion that he was killed in cross-fire or during battle or that he was executed by some maverick band of paramilitaries.

They show he was held — even given a snack — before being taken and executed in cold blood. There was time to take photographs. It is difficult to imagine the psychology of an army in which the calculated execution of a child can be allowed with apparent impunity.

Against this backdrop, can a film make a difference?

Without justice, there can be no peace — and without truth, there can be no justice.

We hope we can be an important part of that truth-telling. Our job is to present the evidence to the world. I think there are enough people who care about the rule of law, human rights and the need for reconciliation to take up the campaign for justice.

Forthcoming events, starting with the UN Human Rights Council meeting in March, going on to the Commonwealth heads of government meeting (CHOGM) in Sri Lanka in November, will focus attention on this.

Many people are already asking whether their governments should be attending that CHOGM meeting unless the government shows significant progress on accountability. Also, human rights defenders argue for a credible independent international inquiry. If India was to declare its support, it could mark the start of the movement towards peace and justice in Sri Lanka. India has a huge responsibility in the forthcoming UN meeting.

Finally, is your film absolving the LTTE? The LTTE were a brutal army, guilty of appalling crimes. There should be no doubt about that — we make that point very clearly in our film. But the Sri Lankan government needs to understand that the crimes of one side do not justify the crimes of another.

Sri Lanka: Photos renew accusations that 12-year-old was executed

By Emily Alpert February 20, 2013, 1:15 p.m.

Facing continued pressure over alleged wartime abuses, Sri Lankan officials rejected renewed accusations that a 12-year-old boy was executed in the final throes of its bloody civil war.

Questions surrounding the death of BalachandranPrabhakaran, the young son of the leader of the Tamil Tiger rebels, were stirred up again by photographs from an upcoming film, "No Fire Zone: The Killing Fields of Sri Lanka." The documentary, slated to screen next month at a Geneva human rights film festival, includes photos purporting to show the boy being held by the military shortly before his death.

More photos show the boy lying dead on the ground, bullet wounds to his chest. U.K. filmmaker CallumMacrae said digital analysis showed the images of the boy before and after

his death were taken within two hours using the same camera, evidence that goes further than the footage of the slain boy released last year.

The new images “prove that Balachandran was not killed in crossfire or in a battle — or even that he was executed by some maverick band of paramilitaries,” Macrae wrote in the Independent newspaper. “His death was deliberate and calculated.”

Politicians in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu were outraged by the new photos. Members of the DravidaMunnetraKazhagam party had been moved to tears, the group said Wednesday.

“There is no record of such a brutal murder in any country,” the party said in its statement, calling Sri Lankan President MahindaRajapaksa “a war criminal.”

Sri Lankan government and military officials objected to the filmmakers’ claims, telling reporters they were being aired to tarnish Sri Lanka before an upcoming United Nations Human Rights Council meeting. The Sri Lankan envoy to India claimed the photos were “morphed.”

“This poor child may have died as a result of crossfire when his father kept fighting,” Sri Lankan High Commissioner to India Prasad Kariyawasam was quoted as saying in Indianmedia.

Balachandran was the son of VelupillaiPrabhakaran, the reclusive chief of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. The Tamil Tiger rebels battled the state for more than a quarter of a century, using suicide bombings, assassinations and other ruthless tactics in their campaign for a Tamil state. His death was announced by government forces on May 18, 2009, bringing an end to decades of war.

The furor over the new photos is the latest dispute to rock Sri Lanka in the aftermath of its lengthy war. Both rebels and government forces have been accused of wartime abuses: Nearly two years ago, a U.N. panel found the Sri Lankan military intentionally shelled hospitals and aid agencies while rebels held hundreds of thousands pf people hostage as human shields.

Human rights groups say Sri Lanka has failed to ensure justice for victims of such atrocities and branded activists who press for investigations as traitors. No one has been arrested for the slayings of aid workers and students, despite “strong evidence” that state forces were involved, according to Human Rights Watch. Last week, a military court exonerated the army in the killing of civilians.

“Sri Lanka has spent the last year deflecting international criticism and lashing out at its Sri Lankan critics instead of addressing past human rights violations or preventing new ones,” Amnesty International said in a statement last week, urging an independent investigation into wartime crimes.

The U.S. is “deeply concerned” and plans to introduce a resolution at the Human Rights Council pressing Sri Lanka to address allegations of wartime abuses, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Tuesday. A resolution last year urging an investigation infuriated Sri Lankan officials, who said it trampled on their sovereignty.

Broadcast Was LTTE chief’s son killed in cold blood?

Flagship show, India Decides, with BarkaDutt, NDTV – Feb 19, 2013 Video

New evidence of war crimes stumps Sri Lanka Headlines Today – Feb 22, 2013 – CallumMacrae among those interviewed in 30-minute debate

LTTE chief’s minor son killed in cold blood?

Times Now – Feb 20, 2013 Video

PuthiyaThalaimurai TV

Sri Lanka: Photos renew accusations that 12-year-old was executed

http://articles.latimes.com/2013/feb/20/world/la-fg-wn-sri-lanka-photos-20130220

LA Times - Feb 20, 2013

Los Angeles, Feb 20 - Facing continued pressure over alleged wartime abuses, Sri Lankan officials rejected renewed accusations that a 12-year-old boy was executed in the final throes of its bloody civil war. Questions surrounding the death of Balachandran Prabhakaran, the young son of the leader of the Tamil Tiger rebels, were stirred up again by photographs from an upcoming film

Photos of Balachandran Prabhakaran, son of Tamil Tiger leader, suggest he was murdered in Sri Lanka http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/19/photos-show-sri-lankan-fo_n_2718271.html

Huffington Post – Feb 19, 2013

COLOMBO, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Photographs of the son of the leader of the Tamil Tiger rebels suggest he was murdered, and not killed in the cross fire during the chaotic end of Sri Lanka's three decade war, a British-based documentary maker said.

4 years after end of civil war, pressure grows on Sri Lanka government to probe ... http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/02/24/4-years-after-end-civil-war-pressure-grows-on-sri-lankagovernment-to-probe-war/

Fox News - Feb 23, 2013 NEW DELHI – The photo shows a boy sitting by a row of sandbags as he glumly eats a snack. The next photo shows him with a series of bullet holes in his chest. The makers of a documentary on Sri Lanka say the boy was the 12-year-old son of Sri Lankan ...

Photo of dead boy ups pressure on Sri Lanka The Miami Herald – Feb 24, 2013 Miami, Feb 24 - The photo shows a boy sitting shirtless by a row of sandbags as he glumly eats a snack. The next photo shows him lying face up in the dirt, a series of bullet holes in his chest.The makers of a documentary on Sri Lanka say the boy was the 12-year-old son of Sri Lankan insurgent leader Velupillai Prabhakaran, and that the photos prove he was captured and then executed by the Sri Lankan military. Sri Lanka denies the charge.

Karunanidhi finds fault with Pranab's speech over Lanka reference http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-02-24/india/37269883_1_dmk-chief-mkarunanidhi-tamil-areas-lankan-tamils

Times of India - Feb 23, 2013 CHENNAI: Three days after a scathing attack against the UPA government for its silence on alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka, DMK chief M Karunanidhi launched another tirade against the Centre on Saturday, this time over President Pranab Mukherjee's ...

Photographs suggest Tamil leader’s son, Balachandran Prabhakaran, was executed http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/photographs-appear-to-show-execution-of-tamil-boybalachandran-prabhakaran/story-e6frg6so-1226582202591#mm-premium

The Australian – Feb 21, 2013

A NEW photograph showing the 12-year-old son of a Tamil Tiger commander apparently in the custody of the Sri Lankan army just hours before his death in May 2009 has raised fresh questions over whether the boy was executed in the last moments of the civil war.

Balachandran Prabhakaran photos raise questions in Sri Lanka http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/asia-pacific/130219/photos-balachandranprabhakaran-right-his-death-raise-ques#1

Global Post – Feb 19, 2013

Boston, Feb 19 - The group Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka (JDS) says it has photos showing Balachandran Prabhakaran, the rebel Tamil Tiger chief's 12-year-old son captured by the Sri Lankan army, safe and well just a few hours before his death. Sri Lankan authorities say the boy died in crossfire, while human rights organizations like JDS say he was executed, according to BBC News.

Sri Lanka protests screening of controversial documentary at UNHRC http://www.nzweek.com/world/sri-lanka-protests-screening-of-controversial-documentary-at-unhrc51311/

NZWeek – Feb 26, 2013

Colombo, Feb 26 - Sri Lanka on Tuesday raised strong objections to moves by some human rights groups to screen a controversial documentary at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva on the final stages of the war between the military and Tamil Tiger rebels in the country.

Film accuses Sri Lanka of war crimes

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/03/04/asia-pacific/film-accuses-sri-lanka-of-war-crimes/

Japan Times – March 04, 2013

GENEVA/NEW DELHI – The Sri Lankan military committed numerous war crimes during the final months of the country’s 26-year-long civil war, according to a documentary aired for the first time Friday, amid vigorous protests from Colombo.

Chilling documentary accuses Sri Lanka

http://www.thestar.com.my/News/World/2013/03/02/Chilling-documentary-accuses-Sri-Lanka-of-warcrimes.aspx

The Star Online – March 2, 2013

GENEVA: The Sri Lankan military committed numerous war crimes during the final months of the country's 26-year civil war, according to a documentary aired for the first time Friday, amid vigorous protests from Colombo.

Documentary maker claims photos offer fresh evidence of Sri Lankan atrocity

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-02-21/documentary-maker-claims-photos-offer-fresh/4532440

ABC News – Feb 21, 2013

Balachandran Prabhakaran was 12 when he died around the end of the civl war in Sri Lanka. He was the son of the founder of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam Velupillai Prabhakaran. Sri Lankan authorities have claimed he died after being caught in cross-fire but a British documentary-maker has released pictures he says show he was executed in a calculated way.

The pictures do not lie http://www.timescrest.com/world/the-pictures-do-not-lie-9829

Times of India The Crest Edition – Feb 23, 2013

New Delhi, Feb 23 - The photos and videos from the Lankan army's final offensive against the LTTE have turned the spotlight back on war crimes committed by Lankan forces. It was the final surge in Sri Lanka's 25-year-old conflict with one of the deadliest terrorist groups in the world.

When the no fire zone became a killing field

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/when-the-no-fire-zone-became-a-killingfield/article4443806.ece

The Hindu – Feb 23, 2013

Delhi, Feb 23 - A week before its official launch in the Geneva Human Rights Film Festival, the capital on Friday caught a 20-minute preview of the film ‘No Fire Zone: The Killing Fields of Sri Lanka,’ which included footage of the alleged cold-blooded killing of LTTE chief V. Prabakaran’s minor son.

The killing of a young boy

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/the-killing-of-a-young-boy/article4428792.ece

The Hindu – Feb 19, 2013

Delhi, Feb 19 - It is a war that has produced some truly terrible images, but this one is particularly disturbing. A young boy sits looking distressed, like a child who has been lost in a supermarket. He has been given a biscuit or some kind of snack. In the second photograph, he is looking anxiously up, as though hoping to see someone he recognises.

Callum Macrae: Without truth, there can be no justice or peace http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-02-22/interviews/37222458_1_callum-macrae-lankantroops-sri-lankan-government

Times of India – Feb 22, 2013

Delhi, Feb 22 - Callum Macrae’s documentary No Fire Zone: Sri Lanka's Killing Fields is making waves, showing war crimes during the LTTE-government conflict. Speaking with Manoj Ramachandran, Macrae discussed his views on the Sri Lankan government, why accountability is crucial and how India can help.

British documentary alleges Prabhakaran’s 12-year-old son killed, Sri Lanka dismisses charge http://www.indianexpress.com/news/british-documentary-alleges-prabhakarans-12yrold-son-killed-srilanka-dismisses-charge/1076467/

Indian Express – Feb 19, 2013

Colombo, Feb 19 - A British channel has come out with a documentary featuring the pictures of the alleged cold-blooded killing of LTTE chief Velupillai Prabhakaran's 12-year-old son, which was today

dismissed by Sri Lanka as lies, half truths and numerous forms of speculation". The Channel 4 documentary titled 'No War Zone the killing fields of Sri Lanka' is to be aired in Geneva at the next session of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in March.

Sri Lanka rejects film on alleged war crimes shown at United Nations as ‘orchestrated campaign’ http://www.ndtv.com/article/world/sri-lanka-rejects-film-on-alleged-war-crimes-shown-at-unitednations-as-orchestrated-campaign-337368

NDTV – March 2, 2013

Was Prabhakaran’s son shot dead by Sri Lankan forces? Activists say yes, Govt says no http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/was-ltte-chief-prabhakarans-12-year-old-son-executed-by-sri-lankanarmy-evidence-says-so/1/250818.html

India Today – Feb 19, 2013

New Delhi, Feb 19 - Even as Sri Lanka has time and again denied the allegations of human rights violations by its forces during the final stages of the operation against Tamil rebels, some shocking pictures have emerged which contradict Colombo's stand on the controversial issue.

Jaya seeks economic embargo against Sri Lanka over ‘war crime’ http://www.firstpost.com/india/jaya-seeks-economic-embargo-against-sri-lanka-over-war-crime632456.html

First Post – Fen 20, 2013

Chennai, Feb 20 - Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa Wednesday described as “a war crime” the alleged cold-blooded killing of the son of the late Tamil Tigers’ chief Velupillai Prabhakaran. “The killing of Balachandran (Prabhakaran) is a war crime,” the chief minister told the media here, and urged India to work with the US to pass a resolution in the UN denouncing rights violations in Sri Lanka.

Balachandran Prabhakaran’s execution video rattles Colombo

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/130220/news-current-affairs/article/balachandran-prabhakaransexecution-video-rattles-colombo

Deccan Chronicle – Feb 20, 2013

Chennai, Feb 20 - The tragic pictures in the latest release of Channel-4 expose of Sri Lanka’s ‘Killing Fields’ showing LTTE chief Velupillai Prabhakaran’s son being fed with snacks and executed in a brutal manner shortly after by the Sri Lankan forces has shaken the conscience of civilised society.

This further raises the decibel levels in the demand that President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his aides be tried for war crimes.

Outrage over killing of LTTE chief Prabhakaran’s son: Sri Lanka rejects reports

http://www.mid-day.com/news/2013/feb/200213-outrage-over-killing-of-ltte-chief-prabhakarans-sonsri-lanka-rejects-report.htm

Mid-day – Feb 20, 2013

Chennai, Feb 20 - Prabhakaran's son could have been killed in crossfire while he was in a little bunker. There is no need for an international probe. The photos are morphed," Prasad Kariyawasam told CNN-IBN. A section of the media carried photographs of 12-year-old Balachandran Prabhakaran seated in a Sri Lankan army bunker just before he was killed allegedly at close range.

New photographs show LTTE leader Prabhakaran’s son before and after execution http://www.ibtimes.com/new-photographs-show-ltte-leader-prabhakarans-son-after-execution1092510

International Business Times – Feb 19, 2013

Sri Lanka strongly denied fresh allegations Tuesday that the 12-year-old son of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, or LTTE, leader Velupillai Prabhakaran was brutally killed at a close range by the Sri Lankan forces.

The last hours of the son of Prabhakaran The Colombo Telegraph – Feb 19, 2013 Colombo, Feb 19 - New photographs have emerged which raise fresh questions about the conduct of Sri Lanka’s armed forces during the final stages of the operation against Tamil rebels and have led to claims the 12-year-old son of the militants’ leader may have been summarily executed.

Witnesses support claim Lankan army executed LTTE rebels 'after they ... http://www.indianexpress.com/news/witnesses-support-claim-lankan-army-executed-ltte-rebels-afterthey-surrendered/1079314/

Indian Express – February 25, 2013 Two eyewitnesses have supported allegations that the Sri Lankan army executed two Tamil Tiger rebel leaders after they surrendered the island's civil war in 2009. Last week, photographs of the 12year-old son of the Tamil Tiger chief eating a snack after ...

Authenticity of Balachandran Prabhakaran photos to be probed: Sri Lankan ... http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-02-25/india/37288581_1_lankan-ministerkatchatheevu-international-maritime-boundary-line

Times of India – February 25, 2013 KATCHATHEEVU: Sri Lankan minister Douglas Devananda has said an inquiry would be conducted into the authenticity of the photographs of the slain LTTE chief V Prabhakaran's son Balachandran, circulated by a channel. The lankan minister for traditional ...

Missed opportunity for aspiring athletes http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-02-25/athletics/37270370_1_20th-asian-athleticschampionships-krishna-poonia-sri-lankan-tamils

Times of India - 14 hours ago The 20th Asian Athletics Championships was scheduled to be held in Chennai in July this year but Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa has pulled the plug on the event due to the war crimes against Sri Lankan Tamils. While many people in the city do protest the war ...

The other half of murder http://www.khaleejtimes.com/kt-article-display1.asp?section=editorschoice&xfile=/data/editorschoice/2013/February/editorschoice_February14.xml

Khaleej Times - 14 hours ago Could death be a half-truth? This question is obviously a killer's last hope and best alibi. There is enough truth in that great genre of mystery fiction to suggest that murder can often be an open debate. This does not help the dead, for there can be no murder ...

India vs Australia 2013: Protests against Kumar Dharmasena at Chennai http://www.cricketcountry.com/Cricket-Video-Article/India-vs-Australia-2013-Protests-against-KumarDharmasena-at-Chennai/3021

Cricket Country - 15 hours ago A video of protests against the Sri Lankan umpire Kumar Dharmasena officiating in the first Test match between India and Australia at Chennai. Dharmasena had turned down an appeal when Michael Clarke was found to be out after he nicked a delivery on to ...

Poor sport http://www.indianexpress.com/news/poor-sport/1079048/

Indian Express - 17 hours ago Days after grim photographs of slain LTTE leader V. Prabhakaran's son were released in the public domain, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa declared the state would not host the Asian Athletics Championship in July. Her evident aim — to keep Sri ...

NGOs should back off from Sri Lanka http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/ngos-should-back-off-from-sri-lanka/story-e6frg6ux1226584560852#mm-premium

The Australian - 20 hours ago THE main thrust of Gordon Weiss's attack against the Sri Lankan government (The Australian, February 22) is to dismiss the situation analysed objectively by the visit of Julie Bishop, the Liberal Party's deputy leader. Having got the inconvenient facts out of his ...

The photo shows a boy sitting shirtless by a row of sandbags as he glumly eats a ... http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2013/02/24/sri-lanka-under-pressure-probe-war-crimes.html Jakarta Post -21 hours ago The makers of a documentary on Sri Lanka say the boy was the 12-year-old son of Sri Lankan insurgent leader Velupillai Prabhakaran, and that the photos prove he was captured and then executed by the Sri Lankan military. Sri Lanka denies the charge.

Karunanidhi slams Pranab's remarks on Sri Lanka http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/karunanidhi-slams-pranabs-remarks-on-srilanka/article4446988.ece

The Hindu - Feb 23, 2013 DMK president M. Karunanidhi, an ally of the Congress-led UPA at the Centre, on Saturday criticised the reference made by the President in his address to Parliament on improving ties with Sri Lanka. “When the entire world has taken note of Sri Lankan ...

`Govt unsympathetic to Lankan Tamils` http://zeenews.india.com/news/tamil-nadu/govt-unsympathetic-to-lankan-tamils_831129.html

Zee News - Feb 23, 2013 `Govt unsympathetic to Lankan Tamils` Chennai: Launching a tirade against the UPA government over the Sri Lankan Tamils issue, key ally DMK on Saturday accused it of showing little concern towards the plight of ethnic minorities and failing to see Sri ...

'Government unsympathetic to Lankan Tamils' New York Daily News - Feb 23, 2013 Chennai, Feb 23 — DMK president M. Karunanidhi Saturday said the central government does not seem to understand the continued suffering of Sri Lankan Tamils who have lost their livelihood and their rights. Referring to President Pranab Mukherjee's ...

Opinion divided on showing door to meet http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-02-23/chennai/37256504_1_sri-lankan-asianathletics-championships-j-jayalalithaa

Times of India - Feb 22, 2013 CHENNAI: The government's decision not to host the Asian Athletics Championships in Chennai has brought into focus the state's standing as an international sporting destination. Chief minister J Jayalalithaa announced on Thursday that the city would not ...

When the no fire zone became a killing field http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/when-the-no-fire-zone-became-a-killingfield/article4443806.ece

The Hindu - Feb 22, 2013 A week before its official launch in the Geneva Human Rights Film Festival, the capital on Friday caught a 20-minute preview of the film 'No Fire Zone: The Killing Fields of Sri Lanka,' which included footage of the alleged cold-blooded killing of LTTE chief V.

No compromise on more powers for Sri Lankan Tamils, Manmohan tells MPs http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/no-compromise-on-more-powers-for-sri-lankan-tamilsmanmohan-tells-mps/article4442409.ece

The Hindu - Feb 22, 2013 Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday reportedly stressed that there would be no compromise on Colombo's promise to implement the 13th Amendment of the Sri Lankan Constitution which provides more powers to Tamil areas in Sri Lanka's Northern ...

Inhuman The Hindu - Feb 22, 2013 The three sequential pictures, of the planned murder of Balachandran Prabakaran (Feb. 19), are unerasable evidence. They show the wanton and brutal murder of a child. Sri Lanka has consciously violated the Geneva Convention on the handling of women ...

Fishermen hope for a peaceful Katchatheevu fest http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-02-23/madurai/37256711_1_katchatheevu-isletrameswaram-fishermen-imbl

Times of India - Feb 22, 2013 MADURAI: Despite mounting tension over the alleged execution of LTTE chief Prabakaran's son and the subsequent denial by Tamil Nadu government to host the Asian Athletics meet in Chennai, Rameswaram fishermen are optimistic that the annual St ...

Tamil Nadu refuses to host Sri Lanka for Asian Athletics Championships http://dawn.com/news/787919/tamil-nadu-refuses-to-host-sri-lanka-for-asian-athletics-championships

DAWN.com - Feb 22, 2013 NEW DELHI: The Asian Athletics Championships in July looks set to be moved from its original venue as the chief minister of the Indian state that was to play host has refused to organize the meet because of the participation of Sri Lankan athletes. Jayaram ...

Cong MPs from TN meet PM, want resolution against Lanka http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/politics/cong-mps-from-tn-meet-pm-want-resolutionagainst-lanka/article4443063.ece

Hindu Business Line - Feb 22, 2013 Seeking to exert pressure on the Centre, Congress MPs from Tamil Nadu today met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh demanding that India join western countries like the US in bringing a resolution against Sri Lanka at the UNHRC over the alleged human ...

Why India needs Jayalalithaa to take on Rajapaksa and SL http://www.firstpost.com/world/why-india-needs-jayalalithaa-to-take-on-rajapaksa-and-sl-635791.html

Firstpost - Feb 22, 2013 Even as India continues its refusal to take a stand against Sri Lanka for its alleged war crimes despite the recent images of Prabhakaran's young son's alleged execution, the Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa has taken the bull by its horns. Her decision ...

Jaya: Won't host athletic event if Lankans take part http://www.indianexpress.com/news/jaya-won-t-host-athletic-event-if-lankans-take-part/1077836/

Indian Express - Feb 21, 2013 The resentment in the state over the killing of the 12-year-old son of slain LTTE chief Velupillai Prabhakaran escalated on Thursday with Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa refusing to host the 20th Asian Athletic Championship over the participation of Sri Lanka.

Tamil Nadu won't host Asian track meet: Jayalalithaa http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-02-22/chennai/37241294_1_j-jayalalithaa-srilankan-government-mix-sports

Times of India - Feb 21, 2013 CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa on Thursday chose to mix sports with politics when she refused to allow the 20th Asian Athletic Championship in Chennai scheduled in July to condemn Sri Lanka's participation in the event. As protests ...

Lankan MP on pilgrimage in Tamil Nadu forced to retreat back home http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-02-22/madurai/37241028_1_sri-lankan-mp-trichynaam-tamilar-katchi

Times of India - Feb 21, 2013 TRICHY: The visit of a Sri Lankan MP and his wife to Nagapattinam was cut short following protests by political parties on Thursday morning. Police said the Sri Lankan MP Karunaratne Jayasurya and his wife Vasantha had checked into a hotel on ...

Parties stage protest against Sri Lankan MP's visit to Tamil Nadu http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/parties-stage-protest-against-sri-lankan-mps-visitto-tamil-nadu/article4439926.ece

The Hindu - Feb 21, 2013 The visit of Sri Lankan MP Karu Jayasuriya to Tamil Nadu evoked stiff opposition from members of various political parties who staged a demonstration at Thirukadaiyur in Nagapattinam district on Thursday. Mr. Jayasuriya, a former deputy leader of the United ...

Asian Athletics Championships Pakistan Daily Times - Feb 21, 2013 CHENNAI: India's southern Tamil Nadu state refused on Thursday to host the Asian Athletics Championships because of the participation of Sri Lanka, which it accuses of war crimes. Chennai, the state capital, was due to host the event in July, but Tamil Nadu ...

AFI non-committal over alternate venue http://www.dnaindia.com/sport/report-afi-non-committal-over-alternate-venue-1802835

Daily News & Analysis - Feb 21, 2013 Soon after Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalithaa called off the 20th Asian Athletics Championships on Thursday, the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) asked the Asian Athletics Association (AAA) to decide on an alternate venue. AFI president Adille ...

Ministry to help AFI find new AAC venue http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-02-22/athletics/37241239_1_afi-alternative-venuemaurice-nicholas

Times of India - Feb 21, 2013 BANGALORE: Terming Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalitha's refusal to hold the Asian Athletics Championship in Chennai in July as unfortunate the Union sports ministry said on Thursday it would try and help the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) to find an ...

We won't host Asian Athletics Championships: Jayalalithaa http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/we-wont-host-asian-athletics-championshipsjayalalithaa/article4438291.ece

The Hindu - Feb 21, 2013 Stepping up her campaign against the Sri Lankan government after the emergence of what appeared to be new evidence of war crimes, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Thursday announced that the State would not host the 20th Asian Athletics ...

TN's Lanka stand hits Asian athletics meet New York Daily News - Feb 21, 2013 New Delhi, Feb. 22 -- With the Tamil Nadu government firm on "not allowing Sri Lankan athletes" to compete in the 20th Asian Athletics Championships, to be held in Chennai in July, chances are that the continental event could be shifted to another city in the ...

Sri Lankan MP on pilgrimage faces protests; returns to Chennai http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/sri-lankan-mp-on-pilgrimage-faces-protestsreturns-to-chennai-113022100882_1.html

Business Standard - Feb 21, 2013 A Sri Lankan MP on a pilgrimage to a temple in Nagapattinam district was forced to cut short his visit and leave for Chennai after he faced protests by activists of pro-Eelam outfits and political parties. As Karunaratne Jayasurya, accompanied by his wife and ...

Indian province refuses to host Asian Athletics Championships due to Sri Lankan ...

Edmonton Journal - Feb 21, 2013 NEW DELHI - The chief minister of an Indian state scheduled to host the Asian Athletics Championships is refusing to organize the July meet because of the participation of Sri Lankan athletes. Jayaram Jayalalithaa, chief minister of Tamil Nadu, said in a ...

We will try to keep Asian Athletics C'ship in India: AFI http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-02-21/athletics/37220668_1_afi-officialcommunication-j-jayalalithaa

Times of India - Feb 21, 2013 NEW DELHI: The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) has said that it would try its best to hold the Asian Athletics Championship in another city of the country after the prestigious event, schedule to be held in Chennai, was shunned by the Tamil Nadu ...

Asian meet runs into trouble over Sri Lanka protests Eurosport.com ASIA - Feb 21, 2013 The Chennai local government is refusing to host the Asian Athletics Championships in July in protest against Sri Lanka for alleged war crimes that targeted Tamil Tiger rebels. Asian meet runs into trouble over Sri Lanka protests - Athletics Eurosport ...

SL MP on pilgrimage returns after facing protests http://zeenews.india.com/news/tamil-nadu/sl-mp-on-pilgrimage-returns-after-facingprotests_830627.html

Zee News - Feb 21, 2013 SL MP on pilgrimage returns after facing protests Nagapattinam: A Sri Lankan MP on a pilgrimage to the temple town of Thirukkadaiyur in this district had to return on Thursday after activists of various political parties, including pro-Eelam outfits, staged a ...

TN not to host Asian Athletics Championships: Jayalalithaa http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/tn-not-to-host-asian-athletics-championshipsjayalalithaa/article4438133.ece

Hindu Business Line - Feb 21, 2013 Amid protests over the alleged brutal killing of slain LTTE chief V. Prabhakaran's son, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa today called off the 20th Asian Athletics Championships scheduled to be held here in July, saying Lankan players have no place in ...

Jayalalithaa flays Colombo, axes athletics meet New York Daily News - Feb 21, 2013 Chennai, Feb 21 — Citing human rights abuses by Colombo, Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa Thursday said Tamil Nadu won't host the 20th Asian Athletics Championship in July in which Sri Lanka will take part. "The state will not conduct the championship and ...

The ghouls of South Asia http://dawn.com/news/787447/the-ghouls-of-south-asia

DAWN.com - Feb 20, 2013 WHEN South Asian leaders met at their first summit in Dhaka in 1985 there were just two democracies among the seven-member states that formed Saarc at the time — Sri Lanka and India.

The remaining five leaders comprised two military usurpers, including ...

'13th Amendment will be implemented' The New Indian Express - 1 hour ago Condemning Tamil Desiya Kootamaippu (Tamil National Alliance) for spreading false propaganda on the Sri Lankan Tamils issue, Tamil Politician and Sri Lankan Minister for Traditional Industries & Small Enterprises, Douglas Devananda, said that president ...

We are being treated as second-grade citizens, say Tamils The New Indian Express - 1 hour ago “My children love eating peanuts candies. I paid `1,000 to buy a packet,” said Xavier, a Sri Lankan Tamil from Jaffna, with a smile displaying the packet. Xavier, along with a group of Sri Lankan Tamils, visited Katchativu to participate in the annual festival of St ...

Sri Lankan military urged to withdraw from former war zones http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/radio/program/asia-pacific/sri-lankan-military-urged-towithdraw-from-former-war-zones/1092550

Radio Australia - 22 February 2013 A major humanitarian organisation in Sri Lanka says the demilitarisation of former war zones is vital for displaced civilians who return. Sri Lankan military urged to withdraw from former war zones (Credit: ABC). The Sri Lankan military has defended its ongoing ...

Karunanidhi slams Pranab on initiating rehabilitation process in Sri Lanka http://truthdive.com/2013/02/25/karunanidhi-slams-pranab-on-initiating-rehabilitation-process-in-srilanka.html

TruthDive - 25 February 2013 Chennai, Feb 25 (TruthDive): DMK chief M Karunanidhi on Saturday initiated a biting outburst against the central government for its silence on alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka. Accusing President Pranab Mukherjee for mentioning to hold a rehabilitation ...

The choices before Mahinda Rajapaksa http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.PrintContent&fa=regcon&action=Print&con tentid=20130225154467&simplelayout=1

Saudi Gazette - 25 February 2013 A 140-page report about sexual violence against Tamils by Sri Lankan security forces prepared by the Human Rights Watch (HRW), a global human rights organization, is expected to be released today.

The UN Human Rights Council is to open its 22nd ...

'12-year-old could've touched the gun that killed him' http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/article/3/20130225201302250342461401f93e59e/'12yearoldcould've-touched-the-gun-that-killed-him'.html

Ahmedabad Mirror - 25 February 2013 It'scalled a “carefully evidenced and powerfully measured” film. It's about a war which was supposed to have been fought without witnesses. But, there were witnesses - survivors, victims, militant Tigers, government soldiers… who filmed what happened ...

Some Tigers are Ligers Now Salem-News.Com - 13 hours ago Feb-24-2013 11:41 print comments. Some Tigers are Ligers Now. Rajasingham Jayadevan Special to Salem-News.com. In the climate of dead rock silence maintained by the government, it is hard to contest the claims by the civil society. Liger vs tiger, fight!

Why Lanka is losing the battle for peace?

GreaterKashmir.com - 14 hours ago Chandrika Kumaratunga, former President of Sri Lanka, may be out of power but her words still carry plenty of weight. I met her at a wedding in Delhi recently and asked her what she thought of the current situation in Sri Lanka. Her answer was succinct: “We ...

Suspect genocidaire gives US marines lessons in war http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=36074

TamilNet - 24 February 2013

Tamil activists questioned the bonafides of the U.S. Government in the US attempts to push for accountability in Sri Lanka's war, after the alleged war-criminal, Sri Lanka's United Nations Deputy Permanent Representative Shavendra Silva, was invited to ...

Tales which pictures don't tell Lankaweb - 16 hours ago

by N. Sathiya Moorthy The writer is a member of the Observer Research Foundation Courtesy: Defence.lk. As was to be expected under the circumstances, the Sri Lankan Government has promptly dismissed the published pictures of LTTE leader ...

Mudslinging campaign against Sri Lanka: Channel 4, the mouthpiece of LTTE ...

Lankaweb - 16 hours ago The London based Channel 4 TV station is the mouthpiece of the LTTE diaspora. The LTTE rump is said to fund this station heavily to carry out its mudslinging campaign against Sri Lanka. The money raised by the LTTE rump in Britain and Europe is allegedly ...

Terrorist-criminal-political nexus in Tamil Nadu growing – Prof.

Rohan Gunaratna Lankaweb - 16 hours ago International counter terrorism expert based in Singapore, Prof. Rohan Gunaratna warns that there is a well concerted campaign in Tamil Nadu, launched by the LTTE, to make Tamil people rise up against Sri Lanka and this is a development that Sri Lanka ...

Sri Lanka is unique: it vanquished terrorists militarily and it has TNA http://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2013/02/24/sri-lanka-is-unique-it-vanquished-terroristsmilitarily-and-it-has-tna/

Lankaweb - February 24th, 2013 The small island nation of Sri Lanka can point out two of its aspects that no other country can even dream of having. The large majority in the US never knew where Sri Lanka was on a world map – it was just a speck somewhere in the East, in the vast oceans, ...

The Numbers Never Lie: A Quick Look at Sri Lanka's LLRC Progress http://groundviews.org/2013/02/24/the-numbers-never-lie-a-quick-look-at-sri-lankas-llrc-progress/

Groundviews - February 24th, 2013 The administration of President Mahinda Rajapaksa won the ethnic war, but Sri Lanka's protracted conflict is more alive than ever. There is a lot of talk about how the situation in the North and East has improved, but most of these assertions are misleading.

Jaya's Lanka heat burns Congress http://newindianexpress.com/thesundaystandard/article1476404.ece

The New Indian Express - Feb 23, 2013 There has never been a lull in the constant bouncers Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa has been hurling at the Centre. Jayalalithaa has kept a steady stream of letters to the Prime Minister and the Centre. She has raised a host of issues and demanded action from the Prime Minister, and in the process has emerged as the numero uno champion of the Tamil cause.

Karunanidhi ratchets up rhetoric on Sri Lanka http://newindianexpress.com/states/tamil_nadu/article1476591.ece

The New Indian Express - Feb 23, 2013 “The Centre has not understood the unprecedented struggles of Tamils who have lost livelihood and rights,” DMK Chief M Karunanidhi lamented. In a stinging attack on the Centre, DMK Chief M Karunanidhi on Saturday accused it of showing little regard to ...

The bloodiest hand of all http://newindianexpress.com/opinion/article1476203.ece

The New Indian Express - Feb 23, 2013 The recently released pictures of the former LTTE supremo's son, Balachandran Prabhakaran, that suggest that he was cold-bloodedly shot dead at point blank range, has evoked predictably strong reactions across the political spectrum in Tamil Nadu.

Human Rights Watch 2013 Sri Lanka: Sexual Violence Lankaweb - Feb 23, 2013 The first is of a 31year old Tamil woman picked up from her Colombo home by CID officers in November 2011. HRW says that the women had been taken to the 4th floor of CID office denied food/water and the following day photographed, fingerprinted and ...

Alleged Murder of 12 Year Old Son of Tamil Tiger Leader http://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2013/02/23/alleged-murder-of-12-year-old-son-of-tamil-tigerleader/

Lankaweb - Feb 23, 2013 On Sunday, 11 March 2012, Callum Macrae wrote that new footage from the final days of the war in Sri Lanka shows that a child, Prabhakaran's son, had been summarily executed by the armed forces.

This was featured in the 2012 Channel-4 TV allegations ...

Well Said Mr Defence Secretary For Exposing The Possible Duplicity Of The http://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2013/02/23/well-said-mr-defence-secretary-for-exposingthe-possible-duplicity-of-the-channel-4-photo-which-probably-should-be-trashed-together-withother-related-items-not-just-the-latest-photo/

Lankaweb - Feb 23, 2013 It seems quite in order to request a trashing of rubbish wherever it surfaces as Sri Lanka's Defence Secretary has done relative to the latest Channel 4 portrayal. As Channel 4 continues the rubbish it regularly throws at the international community over cooked ...

Canada Overtakes GTF in Anti-Lanka Offensive http://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2013/02/23/canada-overtakes-gtf-in-anti-lanka-offensivefebruary-222013/

Lankaweb - Feb 23, 2013

Canada has overtaken other pro-LTTE groups against Sri Lanka as the current Canadian Government is being “guided/dictated to” by the LTTE front organizations in Canada on it's policy on Sri Lanka. It is now the Canadian Government that is pushing the ...

UNHRC must prove its sincerity http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2013/02/24/main_Editorial.asp

Sunday Observer - Feb 23, 2013 The LTTE rump has resorted to various tactics to mislead the international community ahead of every United Nations Human Rights Council session (UNHRC), UN General Assembly (UNGA) or any other international platform such as the Commonwealth ...

Living Under Murderers In A Savage Land?

Sunday Leader - Feb 23, 2013 Topping this week's news was the heartrending photograph of 12-year-old Balachandran, showing that he was in army custody before being murdered. The Sinhalese are rightly upset about the CJ's impeachment and the Matale massacres. Yet the absence ...

'Accountability Issues' And 'Transitional Justice' http://www.thesundayleader.lk/2013/02/24/living-under-murderers-in-a-savage-land/

Sunday Leader - Feb 23, 2013 A fortnight has passed since President Mahinda Rajapaksa's Independence Day address to the nation, described by many as denial of autonomy to the Tamil minorities. Yet, no one has asked what he has in mind instead, for an all-embracing political solution ...

Signs Are Ominous For Lanka At Geneva http://www.thesundayleader.lk/2013/02/24/signs-are-ominous-for-lanka-at-geneva/

Sunday Leader - Feb 23, 2013 BBC's Channel 4 produces annual editions of documentaries on the Sri Lankan armed forces alleged war crimes against the LTTE around February – March. The latest edition is out, timed for the UNHCR sessions to be held soon. A main objective appears to ...

Doctored films shootings and petty brawls reigned http://www.nation.lk/edition/politics/item/16102-doctored-films-shootings-and-petty-brawlsreigned.html

Nation on Sunday - Feb 23, 2013 The week began with the releasing of another set of photographs by the usual and known petitioner; Britain's Channel-4 TV against Sri Lanka, while the Presidential Secretariat and the Ministry of External Affairs were getting ready with the necessary ...

Diplomatic dickering and damnable deceit http://www.nation.lk/edition/news-features/item/16104-diplomatic-dickering-and-damnable-deceit.html

Nation on Sunday - Feb 23, 2013 The demolition of the Tamil Tiger war machine by Sri Lanka's security forces in May 2009 took the nation and the world by complete surprise. Our armed forces succeeded in what was thought an impossible mission by wiping out the world's most ruthless ...

Karuna lashes out at Centre on Lankan Tamils issue Press Trust of India - Feb 23, 2013 Chennai, Feb 23 (PTI) Attacking the UPA government over the Sri Lankan Tamils issue, key ally DMK today accused it of showing little concern towards the plight of ethnic minorities and failing to see Sri Lanka's "designs" on the matter. DMK chief M ...

Geneva vote: No final decision by India yet http://asiantribune.com/node/61740

Asian Tribune - Feb 23, 2013 The claim by Tamil Nadu Congress leaders that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has assured them that India will vote against Sri Lanka at the Geneva meeting of UN rights body in March is not being given much credence. For one, Parliament is currently in ...

Assault on Sri Lanka from Three Fronts: Tamil Diaspora - UN - the... http://www.asiantribune.com/node/61739

Asian Tribune - Feb 23, 2013 You could, of course, sit back, slack-jawed, thinking about how mindlessly repetitive Sri Lanka's foreign policy, public diplomacy and strategic communication are these days. Or you could wield all sorts of fancy analytic words to ex. plain it; using professorial ...

Without Truth, There Can Be No Justice or Peace Salem-News.Com - Feb 22, 2013 Callum Macrae insists that revealing the truth is essential to create peace and justice and that is his job. Killing Field 3. (NEW DELHI Times of India) - Macrae's documentary No Fire Zone: Sri Lanka's Killing Fields is making waves, showing war crimes during ...

Get at the truth Deccan Chronicle - Feb 22, 2013 In the wake of photographs and forensic evidence that appear to confirm a terrible war crime occurred three years ago with LTTE chief Velupillai Prabhakaran's innocent young son brutally killed, Sri Lanka has a lot to answer for. The least it can do is order an ...

TN Congress MPs meet PM on SL rights row http://newindianexpress.com/nation/article1475232.ece

The New Indian Express - Feb 22, 2013 A delegation of Congress Members of Parliament from Tamil Nadu on Friday met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and urged that the government join hands with the United States of America and other like-minded nations to pass a resolution against Sri ...

Blake, architect of Tamil tragedy, spectator to genocide http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=79&artid=36057

TamilNet - Feb 22, 2013 Blinded by the 9/11 terror and impelled by the perceived need for swift action against "terrorism," the US-led International Community, made two serious miscalculations in Sri Lanka war: By allowing unhindered space for Sri Lanka's final military thrust, they ...

Sri Lankan government's 'constitutional coup' stirs ICG censure http://www.crikey.com.au/2013/02/22/sri-lankan-governments-constitutional-coup-stirs-icgcensure/?wpmp_switcher=mobile

Crikey - Feb 22, 2013 Hot on the heels of the revelation that Sri Lankan soldiers murdered the 12-year-old son of Tamil Tiger leader Prabhakaran in cold blood and last week's shooting of a journalist in Colombo, the International Crisis Group has released a report deploring what it ...

Cruel Face of Sri Lankan Govt Exposed with the Release of Brutal Trophy ...

EIN News (press release) - Feb 22, 2013

Thousands of Tamil Children were murdered in 2009 and thousands more are today enduring servile existence under the same military that killed their relatives & friends. 3) Countries urged to invoke universal jurisdiction against Sri Lankan political ...

Balachandran on Sale? Another Market Gimmick by Channel 4 http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=Balachandran_on_Sale_20130221_09

Lankaweb - Feb 22, 2013 A death of a child, no doubt is a reason to mourn. The disturbing image of a bullet-ridden body of a boy and the pictures of him, said to have been taken a few hours before he had fallen dead; the latest pictures extracted from the controversial Channel 4 video ...

Jayalalithaa's refusal to host Sri Lankan athletes Lankaweb - Feb 22, 2013 Chief Minister Jayalalithaa had said that Tamil Nadu will not host the 20th Asian Athletics meet because the Central govt had not asked Sri Lanka to skip the event. According to her, the participation of Sri Lankan athletes will hurt peoples sentiments in Tamil ...

Reconciliation : A wonderful story http://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2013/02/22/reconciliation-a-wonderful-story/

Lankaweb - Feb 22, 2013 The breadwinner of this family was a member of the LTTE and he fought against the Sri Lanka Army in the final battle in 2009 and killed in action. In 2013 some members of the Sri Lanka Army volunteered to build a house for the former militant's remaining ...

Sri Lankan regime stands exposed on war crimes http://archive.dailypioneer.com/?option=com_content&view=article&id=128976:sri-lankan-regimestands-exposed-on-war-crimes&catid=394:letters-to-editor&Itemid=425

Daily Pioneer - Feb 22, 2013 The camera cannot lie. The video footage released by Channel 4 shows the sequence of events leading to the cold-blooded killing of 12-year-old Balakrishnan, son of LTTE chief V Prabhakaran, and comes as further proof of war crimes in Sri Lanka.

Tamil Nadu Parties Slam 'Brutal Killing' Of Prabhakaran's Son South Asian Link - Feb 22, 2013 CHENNAI – Leaders of various political parties in Tamil Nadu strongly condemned the alleged coldblooded killing of the 12-year-old son of slain LTTE chief V Prabhakaran, purportedly featured by UKbased Channel 4, and demanded action against the Sri ...

Tamil Nadu not to host Asian Athletics Games: Jayalalithaa http://truthdive.com/2013/02/22/tamil-nadu-not-to-host-asian-athletics-games-jayalalithaa.html

TruthDive - Feb 21, 2013 Chennai, Feb 22 (TruthDive): Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa on Thursday said that her government has decided not to host the 20th Asian Athletic Championships to be held in July this year. She is likely to request the Centre to shift the event to ...

Amnesty seeks independent probe The Asian Age - Feb 22, 2013 Amnesty International on Friday demanded an independent international investigation into the alleged warcrimes committed by both the LTTE and the Sri Lankan Army in the final stages of the war that saw the Tamil tigers getting uprooted root and branch in ...

Jaya shuts door on Asian athletics meet http://www.deccanchronicle.com/130222/news-politics/article/jaya-shuts-door-asian-athletics-meet

Deccan Chronicle - Feb 21, 2013 Chennai: Chief minister J. Jayalalithaa on Thursday announced that the state will not host the Asian athletic meet in Chennai in protest against Sri Lanka's participation. She made it clear that the state would not host the mega sporting event and said the ...

Tamil Nadu CM bars sports event citing Sri Lankan participation http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=36070

TamilNet - Feb 21, 2013 Citing the participation of athletes from the genocide-accused Sri Lankan state in the 20th Asian Athletics Championship that was scheduled to be held in Tamil Nadu State, the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Ms. Jayalalithaa on Thursday announced that her ...

Asian athletic meet put off Daily Pioneer - Feb 21, 2013 Tamil Nadu will not host the Asian Athletic Championship scheduled to be held in Chennai in July 2013. This was announced by Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Thursday. She said the prestigious athletic meet is being called off because Sri Lankan athletes ...

Protests in Tamil Nadu force Sri Lanka opposition MP to cancel visit to temple ... http://www.colombopage.com/archive_13A/Feb21_1361469468CH.php

Colombo Page - Feb 21, 2013 Feb 21, Colombo: Sri Lanka's main opposition United National Party parliamentarian Karu Jayasuriya visiting a Hindu temple in Tamil Nadu was forced to cancel his visit and return to the country today, Indian media reported. Jayasuriya Wednesday night has ...

Southern Indian state cancels Asian Athletics Championships http://www.nzweek.com/sport/southern-indian-state-cancels-asian-athletics-championships-50517/

Nzweek - Feb 21, 2013 NEW DELHI, Feb. 21 — The government of the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu Thursday said that it will not host the upcoming Asian Athletics Championships as sportspersons from Sri Lanka are participating in the event to be held in this country after a ...

Jaya cancels Asian Athletics Championships indiablooms - Feb 21, 2013

Chennai, Feb 21 (IBNS): Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Thursday said the state will not host the 20th Asian Athletics Championships later this year to protest against the participation of team from Sri Lanka in the event.

Short docufilm on Lanka violence screened in Delhi

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1130223/jsp/nation/story_16596313.jsp#.Upd8h8RdV5Y

Telegraph India – Feb 23, 2013

Calcutta, Feb 23 - Balachandran Prabhakaran, 12, snacks on biscuits. Two hours later, the LTTE chief’s son is dead, shot in the chest five times at point blank range. Shoba, a young television anchor for a Tamil channel, is reading the news in a bright yellow and red sari. Minutes later she is lying dead on the ground, hacked and shot.

Tamil language coverage

Photo of dead boy ups pressure on Sri Lanka

http://asiancorrespondent.com/99115/photo-of-dead-boy-ups-pressure-on-sri-lanka/

Asian Correspondent – Feb 25, 2013

New Delhi, Feb 25 - The photo shows a boy sitting shirtless by a row of sandbags as he glumly eats a snack. The next photo shows him lying face up in the dirt, a series of bullet holes in his chest. The makers of a documentary on Sri Lanka say the boy was the 12-year-old son of Sri Lankan insurgent leader Velupillai Prabhakaran, and that the photos prove he was captured and then executed by the Sri Lankan military.

Dark and disturbing http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/SriLanka/Dark-amp-disturbing/Article1-1020265.aspx

Hindustan Times - March 2, 2013 Looking away from the camera, 12-year-old Balachandran appears grim and confused, munching a snack and staring out at what must have been a terrible scene. In another picture, he's dead, with five shots to his chest.

No person resident in Sri Lanka helped us with No Fire Zone https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/no-person-resident-in-sri-lanka-helped-us-with-no-firezone-no-one-was-paid-for-any-evidence-channel-4/

Colombo Telegraph – March 5, 20 2013 Colombo, March 5 - “No person resident anywhere in Sri Lanka helped us with this film. No-one was paid for any evidence or interviews.” says Callum Macrae, the producer of the Channel 4, ‘No Fire Zone: The Killing Fields of Sri Lanka’. Macrae issued a statement this evening responding to a report published in today Sinhala language Divaina newspaper.

No person resident in Sri Lanka helped Channel 4 Lanka Sri News – March 6, 2013 “No person resident anywhere in Sri Lanka helped us with this film. No-one was paid for any evidence or interviews.” says Callum Macrae, the producer of the Channel 4, ‘No Fire Zone: The Killing Fields of Sri Lanka‘.

No person resident in Sri Lanka helped Channel 4 Viva Lanka – March 6, 2013 “No person resident anywhere in Sri Lanka helped us with this film. No-one was paid for any evidence or interviews.” says Callum Macrae, the producer of the Channel 4, ‘No Fire Zone: The Killing Fields of Sri Lanka‘.

Sri Lanka seeks to ID sources for Channel 4 film http://www.cpj.org/2013/03/sri-lanka-seeks-to-id-sources-for-channel-4-film.php

Committee to Protect Journalists – March 5, 2013 New York, March 5 - The Sri Lankan Defense Ministry says it wants to identify sources who provided information to the UK-based broadcaster Channel 4 for a new documentary alleging that government forces committed war crimes during the country's long civil conflict, The Divaina, a Sinhala-language daily, reported today.

Channel 4 documentary full of half truths says Sri Lanka

http://www.firstpost.com/world/channel-4-documentary-full-of-half-truths-says-sri-lanka-631193.html

First Post – March 6, 2013

Colombo, March 6 - A British channel has come out with a documentary featuring the pictures of the alleged cold-blooded killing of LTTE chief Velupillai Prabhakaran’s 12-year-old son, which was today dismissed by Sri Lanka as “lies, half truths and numerous forms of speculation”.The Channel 4 documentary titled ‘No War Zone – the killing fields of Sri Lanka’ is to be aired in Geneva at the next session of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in March.

Chilling new Channel 4 images

http://www.firstpost.com/world/chilling-new-channel-4-images-will-india-act-at-least-now-631030.html

First Post – March 6, 2013

Colombo, March 6 - If the desperate cries of women and children under carpet bombing, summary executions, and the tender body of slain LTTE leader V Prabhakaran’s young son weren’t enough for India to take a stand against Sri Lanka, will it still run away from spine-chilling new evidence that stares at its face?

Mixing of politics and sports unfortunate: Sri Lanka http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/mixing-of-politics-and-sports-unfortunate-srilanka/article4551865.ece

The Hindu - March 27, 2013

“The mixing of politics and sports is very unfortunate,” Sri Lankan High Commissioner to India Prasad Kariyawasam said on Tuesday.

His statement followed Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa’s letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asking for the exclusion of Sri Lankan players from the Indian Premier League (IPL) matches to be played in Chennai.

Photo of Dead Boy Ups Pressure on Sri Lanka

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/sri-lanka-under-pressure-probe-war-crimes The Big Story – February 24, 2013 The photo shows a boy sitting shirtless by a row of sandbags as he glumly eats a snack. The next photo shows him lying face up in the dirt, a series of bullet holes in his chest.

The makers of a documentary on Sri Lanka say the boy was the 12-year-old son of Sri Lankan insurgent leader Velupillai Prabhakaran, and that the photos prove he was captured and then executed by the Sri Lankan military. Sri Lanka denies the charge.

The Execution of a 12-Year-Old Boy http://felixonline.co.uk/comment/3379/the-execution-of-a-12-year-old-boy/

Felix - February 24, 2013 It is a war that has produced some of humanity’s most shocking and depraved images. But the new photographic evidence, released by Channel 4 News last Monday, is perhaps the most disturbing yet. The first photo shows Balachandran Prabakaran, the 12-year-old son of a Tamil Tiger, being held captive by the Sri Lankan army and looking up anxiously from a fortified bunker. A second photo shows him nervously eating a snack, whilst being watched by a government soldier. Less than two hours later, he will be taken, executed at gun point – and then photographed a third time.

Callum Macrae: The distressing killing of a young boy http://gulftoday.ae/portal/03c723a4-1641-4f42-8f33-121758343150.aspx

The Gulf Today - February 20, 2013 It is a war that has produced some truly terrible images, but this one is particularly disturbing. A young boy sits looking distressed, like a child who has been lost in a supermarket. He has been given a biscuit or some kind of snack. In the second photograph, he is looking anxiously up, as though hoping to see someone he recognises.

12-year-old Son of Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tiger Chief Allegedly Murdered http://hngwiusa.wordpress.com/2013/02/20/12-year-old-son-of-sri-lankas-tamil-tiger-chief-allegedlymurdered/

Hispanic News Network USA Blog - February 20, 2013 India – On Tuesday, several photos were released by the Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka providing clear evidence that Balachandran Prabhakaran, 12, had been executed by government troops on May 19, 2009, the last day of the nearly three decade war with Tamil Tiger rebels.

Government officials had claimed in 2009 that the teen had been killed in cross fire in the battle field.

He was the son of Velupillai Prabhakaran, founder and leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam who was reportedly killed in battle on the same day.

DMK, AIADMK step up pressure on Centre over human rights violation against Tamils in Sri Lanka

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/dmk-aiadmk-step-up-pressure-on-centre-over-human-rightsviolation-against-tamils-in-sri-lanka/1/250968.html

India Today - February 20, 2013

Tamil Nadu-based political parties, including ruling AIADMK and opposition DMK, have been stepping up pressure on the UPA government to take a strong stand against Sri Lanka at the United Nations for the alleged human rights violations against the Tamils in the island nation.

LTTE chief Prabhakaran's son's killing: Tamil Nadu govt refuses to host Asian Athletics Championships http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/ltte-chief-prabhakaran-son-killing-tamil-nadu-government-asianathletics-championships-jayalalithaa/1/251118.html

India Today - February 21 2013 Amid protests over the alleged brutal killing of slain LTTE chief V Prabhakaran's son, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Thursday called off the 20th Asian Athletics Championships scheduled to be held here in July, saying Lankan players have no place in the state.

Sri Lankan 'war criminals' should be tried: Jayalalithaa http://sg.news.yahoo.com/sri-lankan-war-criminals-tried-jayalalithaa-085643403.html Yahoo - February 20, 2013 Chennai, Feb 20 (IANS) Comparing the Sri Lankan regime with Hilter's, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa Wednesday demanded that those who committed "war crimes" in the island nation be tried in an international court.

The chief minister described as "a war crime" the alleged cold-blooded killing Balachandran Prabhakaran, the 12-year-old son of the late Tamil Tigers' chief Velupillai Prabhakaran.

Killing of Prabhakaran's son casts spotlight on human rights violations in Sri Lanka http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-02-20/india/37199784_1_macrae-lankangovernment-unhcr-resolution

Times of India - February 20, 2013

NEW DELHI: Fresh photographs of a bare-chested, plump 12-year-old boy — who happens to be LTTEleader V Prabhakaran's son — apparently shot dead at close range, released by Channel 4 TV on Tuesday has stirred afresh the controversial issue of human rights violations in Sri Lanka and India's role in the matter.

Prabhakaran's son's killing 'war crime', says Jayalalithaa http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-02-20/india/37199465_1_war-crimes-j-jayalalithaaaiadmk

Times of India February 20, 2013

CHENNAI: Strongly denouncing the killing of slainLTTE chief Velupillai Prabakaran's son Balachandran as totally inhuman, Tamil Nadu chief minister and AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa on Wednesday reiterated her government's demand that the Centre, with the help of other countries, should move the United Nations to get an economic embargo imposed on Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka dismisses documentary on Prabhakaran son's death allegedly in cold blood http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-02-19/south-asia/37180400_1_unhrc-resolution-tamiltiger-brigadier-ruwan-wanigasooriya The Times of India - February 19, 2013, 03.09PM IST COLOMBO: A British channel has come out with a documentary featuring the pictures of the alleged cold-blooded killing of LTTE chief Velupillai Prabhakaran's 12-year-old son, which was on Tuesday dismissed by Sri Lanka as "lies, half truths and numerous forms of speculation".

India: Mass protest in Chennai in support of Tamil students hunger strike

http://blottr.com/breaking-news/india-mass-protest-chennai-support-tamil-students-hunger-strike

BLOTTR – March 20, 2013

A mass demonstration is taking place in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, on Wednesday in solidarity with Tamil students currently on hunger strike across the state. The demonstration is reportedly taking place at Marina Beach in Chennai, with hundreds of people gathered holding banners and placards. The peaceful protests against alleged genocide in Sri Lanka began at the Loyola College and gained momentum with more than 400 students from IIT-Madras joined in what is developing into a movement across colleges in the state.

Sri Lanka: Hunger striking Tamil students arrested in India http://blottr.com/breaking-news/sri-lanka-hunger-striking-tamil-students-arrested-india

BLOTTR – March 11, 2013

Eight students who were participating in a hunger strike in Koyambedu in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, were arrested on Monday and removed from the site of their protest.

One eye-witness and supporter of the hunger strike explained: 'There were about 120 of us at the venue, where eight Loyola College students had been fasting since last three days in support of their 9-point charter of demands that includes demand for an international inquiry into the war crimes of Sri Lanka and a UN referendum on Eelam.

US expects a full account on alleged human rights violations in Sri Lanka http://www.colombopage.com/archive_13A/Feb20_1361342181CH.php

Colombo Page - February 20, 2013

The United States Tuesday reiterated that it is deeply concerned by allegations of violations of international humanitarian law and human rights in Sri Lanka.

Responding to a query on the latest report by Britain's Channel 4 on the killing of 12-year-old son of LTTE leader by the Sri Lankan army, the U.S. Department of State Spokesperson Victoria Nuland said the U.S. expects a full account on all those responsible for human rights and humanitarian law violations in Sri Lanka.

The GTF Conference in London: Who Is Afraid Of Sinhala-Tamil Unity?

https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/the-gtf-conference-in-london-who-is-afraid-of-sinhalatamil-unity/

The Colombo Telegraph - February 24, 2013

In an amazing turn of events the LSSP has prioritised its toadying to Mahinda Rajapakse above its

relationship with the Tamil people. Let me explain. TheGlobal Tamil Forum (GTF), a diaspora organisation little known in Sri Lanka, but not connected to the LTTE-rump, and whose programme is to win the rights of the Tamil people in a democratic Lanka, is organising its annual conference at the House of Commons in London at the end of this month.

Warning – Disturbing Images: The Last Hours Of The Son Of Prabhakaran https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/warning-disturbing-images-the-last-hours-of-the-sonof-prabhakaran/

The Colombo Telegraph - February 19, 2013

New photographs have emerged which raise fresh questions about the conduct of Sri Lanka’s armed forces during the final stages of the operation against Tamil rebels and have led to claims the 12year-old son of the militants’ leader may have been summarily executed.

MR writes to the Pope http://www.dailymirror.lk/news/25933-mr-writes-to-the-pope.html

Daily Mirror - FEBRUARY 22, 2013

Recalling the encouraging words of guidance and counsel given to him, President Mahinda Rajapaksa in a letter to Pope Benedict XVI said he was ‘surprised and saddened’ to learn of the resignation.

“I will always remember with great respect the encouraging words of guidance and counsel given to me at the audiences with Your Holiness that helped me in my tasks of governance, during the most trying times in my country,” the President stated.

Chilling documentary accuses Sri Lanka of war crimes http://www.deccanherald.com/content/315980/chilling-documentary-accuses-sri-lanka.html

Deccan Herald, March 02, 2013 The Sri Lankan military committed numerous war crimes during the final months of the country's 26year civil war, according to a documentary aired for the first time, amid vigorous protests from Colombo.

Wide Spectrum of Tamil Nadu Leaders Condemn Balachandran's Murder http://www.salem-news.com/articles/february232013/tamil-nadu-balachandran.php

Salem-News.ComFeb - 23, 2013 (CHENNAI) - Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa Jayaram today blasted the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa's Government over the "inhuman act" of alleged cold-blooded killing of slain LTTE Chief Velupillai Prabhakaran's 12-year-old son ...

Phase two The Commonwealth and Nepal Tour

Screenings in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Malaysia

Phase two of the campaign comprised a city tour in a number of Commonwealth countries, which included New Zealand, Australia, Canada and Malaysia. The tour was supported by a number of human rights organisations. tpr liaised with the relevant PRs in each country, providing tailored press materials.

The Australian tour which took place in Canberra, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth, was particularly pertinent as Australia was the outgoing chair of the Commonwealth, and had a vital role to play in ensuring that the values of the Commonwealth - human rights, the rule of law, justice and accountability - prevailed in Sri Lanka. Australia had also received a record number of Sri Lankan asylum seekers, making the ongoing human rights concerns a critical matter for the Australian government. However, the former chief media advisor to Sri Lankan President, Mahinda Rajapaksa, Ambassador Bandula Jayasekara, Consul General in Sydney Australia, issued a series of abusive tweets specifically targeted at Macrae. This sparked embarrassment for both the British and Sri Lankan governments.

In Malaysia the Sri Lanka government was accused of putting pressure on the Malaysian government to stop a screening organised by the Human Rights NGO Pusat Komas in Kuala Lumpur. The screening went ahead, however, it was raided by between 30 and 40 members of the Censorship Board and the police. They did not manage to stop the screening, but they arrested the organisers and one of them – a brave young woman called Lena Hendry, is now awaiting trial and could face a maximum of 3 years in jail.

The Sri Lankans were also accused of putting pressure on the authorities in Nepal, forcing the organisers of the Film South Asia Festival to cancel a screening and move it to another venue – while in the original venue they held a debate on censorship.

Broadcast ABC Sydney Studio

Radio

ABC Sydney Studio

3CR Melbourne Studio

SBS Sydney Studio

Tweets: Sri Lanka's new battleground http://oneworld.org/2013/07/05/tweets-­‐sri-­‐lankas-­‐new-­‐battleground/ One World - 5th July 2013

A top Sri Lankan diplomat has launched an attack on the director of a controversial British film about the final days of the country's civil war.

SRI LANKAN DIPLOMAT ‘BANS’ BRITISH JOURNALIST FROM COUNTRY IN OUTBURST AHEAD OF COMMONWEALTH MEETING A prominent Sri Lankan diplomat - who was once the chief media advisor to Sri Lankan President, Mahinda Rajapaksa - has launched an astonishing attack on Nobel Prize nominated film-maker and journalist, Callum Macrae, who is touring his film No Fire Zone: The Killing Fields of Sri Lanka across Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia and Canada.

Sri Lanka's Killing Fields filmmaker threatened by diplomat http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/news/people/sri-lankas-killing-fields-filmmaker-threatenedby-diplomat/5058028.article Broadcast - 4 July, 2013

A Sri Lankan diplomat has launched an attack on Callum Macrae, the filmmaker behind Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields, threatening to bar him from entering the country.

Bandula Jayasekara has repeatedly tweeted against Macrae, branding him an “LTTE (Tamil Tiger) terrorist from London” and accusing him of making “blood money”.

No Fire Zone : An investigation and call to action for Sri Lanka's killing fields http://worldview.cba.org.uk/film/no-­‐fire-­‐zone/ World View – 27 June 2013 This explosive feature documentary exposes some of the worst war crimes of the 21st century No Fire Zone: The Killing Fields of Sri Lanka has renewed international controversy over the issue of accountability in Sri Lanka at its premiere at the UN Human Rights Council meeting on 1 March 2013.

The film is the culmination of three years of journalistic investigation and contains deeply disturbing new evidence. It is a devastating indictment of the men responsible for the crimes and an exposé of the failure of the international community to prevent this catastrophe. It also addresses the culpability of the Tamil Tigers, themselves responsible for war crimes and for preventing civilians from escaping the carnage.

Sri Lanka: Depicting things that should never have to be shown http://livewire.amnesty.org/2013/03/07/sri-­‐lanka-­‐depicting-­‐things-­‐that-­‐should-­‐never-­‐be-­‐shown/ Livewire - 7 March 2013

“No Fire Zone” is the third and final film in a series collectively known as Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields which has highlighted alleged war crimes by both sides in Sri Lanka’s armed conflict which came to its bloody end in May 2009.

The images presented in the films of apparent extrajudicial executions and other crimes under international law, and the war experiences of civilians – as well as the independent expert analysis of those images and other witness testimony – add to a growing body of evidence about what happened in the final days of this conflict.

No Fire Zone – The Killing Fields of Sri Lanka http://www.freemovement.org.uk/2013/05/13/no-­‐fire-­‐zone-­‐the-­‐killing-­‐fields-­‐of-­‐sri-­‐lanka/ Free Movement — 13 May 2013

As most of you know, Renaissance Chambers has developed expertise in conducting Tamil asylum claims. The issues involved in these cases have been previously covered on Free Movement here and these include in particular Chambers’ and the NGOs’ efforts to combat recent charter flights set by the UK Border Agency to remove en masse failed Tamil asylum seekers to Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Prince Charles here for CHOGM http://www.ceylontoday.lk/27-37727-news-detail-prince-charles-here-for-chogm.html Ceylon Today – 18 July 2013 The government yesterday confirmed that the Prince of Wales would be representing Queen Elizabeth II at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), scheduled to be held from 10 -17 November.Minister of External Affairs, Prof. G.L. Peiris, addressing the media, said none of the 53 Commonwealth nations had said 'it will not attend the CHOGM.'

Anger over ‘No Fire Zone’ raid http://colombogazette.com/2013/07/04/anger-­‐over-­‐no-­‐fire-­‐zone-­‐raid/ Colombo Gazette - July 4, 2013

Human rights activists have condemned the Malaysian Home Ministry for raiding the private screening of a documentary depicting war crimes in Sri Lanka and arresting three activists without following due process, FZ.com reported.

They say the raid was uncalled for and accuse the authorities of intimidation.

I intend to be present at CHOGM

http://www.ceylontoday.lk/59-35117-news-detail-i-intend-to-be-present-at-chogm.html Ceylon Today – 16 June 2013

Callum Macrae, Co-Founder of Outsider Television, became a household name in Sri Lanka when he produced a documentary for UK’s Channel 4, on alleged war crimes committed by Sri Lankan Security Forces during the last phases of the war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 2009. Allegations made in 'Sri Lanka's Killing Fields' and its follow-up documentary 'Sri Lanka's Killing Fields: War Crimes Unpunished,' which gave rise to much international outrage, were fiercely denied by the Sri Lankan authorities, who contested the authenticity of the footage depicted in the documentaries. Undaunted by criticism, Macrae is now ready with his third documentary – a 93minute feature called 'No Fire Zone.'

NO FIRE ZONE: CH4’s 3rd Documentary Preview Screening https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/no-fire-zone-ch4s-3rd-documentary-previewscreening/ Colombo Telegraph - May 11, 2013 The third instalment of Chanel 4’s documentary, titled NO FIRE ZONE, the killing fields of Sri Lanka is being preview screened at various locations in London. It is yet to be scheduled to be broadcast by Ch4 itself.

It was screened at the Frontline club in London a few weeks ago and on Tuesday at the LSE (London School of Economics and Political Science).

GoSL Welcomes All Journalists To Sri Lanka To Cover CHOGM 2013 https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/gosl-welcomes-all-journalists-to-sri-lanka-tocover-chogm-2013/ Colombo Telegraph - July 13, 2013 “The Government of Sri Lanka, as host of CHOGM 2013, welcomes all journalists to Sri Lanka to cover this very important summit. As a member of the Commonwealth of Nations for more than 60 years, Sri Lanka remains fully committed to Commonwealth values, including a free press”, says the Chairman of the Media/Publicity/ICT Sub-Committee and Media Ministry Secretary Charitha Herath.

Sri Lankan Diplunacy: Stray Dogs, Pricks, Tigresses And CHOGM 2013 https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/sri-lankan-diplunacy-stray-dogs-prickstigresses-and-chogm-2013/ Colombo Telegraph - July 12, 2013 There is to our knowledge no governance around the use of social media by Sri Lanka’s foreign service, and Jayasekara’s Twitter account conveniently conflates personal opinion with official positions. On Thursday, 10th July alone, Jayasekara went after and included in his abominable invective journalists Callum Macrae, Frances Harrison, UK MP Alistair Burt, the Committee to Protect Journalists, the Editor of the Colombo Telegraph website and Senior TNA MP R. Sampanthan.

White Van Waiting For Callum: What Does The UK Govt. Intend To Do If I Am Refused A Visa By Sri Lankan Govt.? – Callum Macrae https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/white-van-waiting-for-callum-what-does-the-uk-govtintend-to-do-if-i-am-refused-a-visa-by-sri-lankan-govt-callum-macrae/ Colombo Telegraph - July 10, 2013 Callum Macrae the film director of No Fire Zone: Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields speaks to a senior journalist in Sri Lanka over the threats by a diplomat who says Callum should not visit Sri Lanka for CHOGM; Callum says he has all the right to be in Sri Lanka for CHOGM as he has covered CHOGM previously.

I Trust The Sri Lankan Government Will Welcome Me – Channel 4′s Callum Macrae https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/i-­‐trust-­‐the-­‐sri-­‐lankan-­‐government-­‐will-­‐welcome-­‐ me-­‐channel-­‐4s-­‐callum-­‐macrae/ Colombo Telegraph - June 20, 2013 “Certainly I intend to be present at the CHOGM as a fully accredited member of the media, as I was at the last CHOGM in Australia. I trust the Sri Lankan Government will welcome me there and will accord me and all the members of the international press free full access to all the groups and people in accordance with fundamental Commonwealth principles on human rights and free press.” says the Documentary-Maker – Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields Callum Macrae.

I Have Difficulty With The Word ‘Impartial’ Says Documentary Maker – Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/i-have-difficulty-with-the-word-impartial-saysdocumentary-maker-sri-lankas-killing-fields/ Colombo Telegraph - June 05, 2013

“If you are a journalist and you have discovered a hidden truth that you are determined to expose, then by definition you become a campaigner. I have difficulty with the word ‘impartial’. A journalist has an overwhelming duty to be accurate and fair but if you are being neutral in a society that is not equal, you are responsible for helping to maintain that status quo.” says the Documentary-Maker – Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields Callum Macrae.

OUTRAGE AGAINST MERCENARIES http://www.dailynews.lk/local/outrage-against-mercenaries#sthash.KqspASNA.dpuf Daily News - July 15, 2013 The Maha Sanga and patriotic Lankans have expressed their strong opposition to the statements attributed to Channel 4 Director Callum Macrae and TNA MP S.Sridharan who had vowed to take President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Defence and Urban Development Ministry Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa before a War Crimes Tribunal and to the conduct of MP Mangala Samaraweera, who writes letters to Commonwealth countries providing incentives for Tamil separatism

Making of Callum Macrae, via Tamil Tigers, Adel and ‘Operation Discredit Sri Lanka’ http://www.dailynews.lk/features/making-callum-macrae-tamil-tigers-adel-and-operationdiscredit-sri-lanka#sthash.pVG43JJJ.dpuf Daily News - July 25, 2013 When the terrorist group Tamil Tigers played havoc and created mayhem and bloodshed in Sri Lanka for thirty years, their members and supporters overseas hardly did any paid job in the countries they were settled in. They survived by the monies collected from innocent and unsuspecting Tamils living abroad through extortion, harassment and the promise of a separate state in Sri Lanka. If those innocent Tamils did not give money to these groups, they were threatened of bodily harm.

Malaysian No Fire Zone screening raided by police http://www.tamilguardian.com/article.asp?articleid=8219 Tamil Guardian - 03 July 2013 Human rights activists that helped set up the screening of the ‘No Fire Zone’ documentary were detained by the Home Ministry in Malaysia today.

The event was organised by the human rights group Pusat Komas, in an attempt to raise awareness about the war crimes and atrocities that happened at the end of 2009 in Sri Lanka.

The Programme co-ordinator, Lena Hendry, said that officers entered the hall just as the screening was ending, and forced attendees to produce their identity cards. Three members of the rights group Pusat Komas were taken to Dang Wangi police station and detained, whilst having their statements recorded.

Organisers detained for screxening 'No Fire Zone' http://www.jdslanka.org/index.php/2012-­‐01-­‐30-­‐09-­‐30-­‐42/politics-­‐a-­‐current-­‐affairs/339-­‐organisers-­‐ detained-­‐for-­‐screening-­‐no-­‐fire-­‐zone JDS - 04 JULY 2013 Three organisers of a controversial documentary film screening at the KL/Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall were detained by Home Ministry, Immigration and police officials here Wednesday.

The screening of the movie, No Fire Zone, which explores the oppression of Tamils in Sri Lanka, was organised by human rights group Pusat Komas. Programme coordinator Lena Hendry said the officers entered the hall after the movie had finished at around 8.30pm.

Organisers detained for screening ‘No Fire Zone’ documentary http://www.uktamilnews.com/tamil/english/news/latest-­‐updates/organisers-­‐detained-­‐for-­‐screening-­‐ no-­‐fire-­‐zone-­‐documentary.html Tamil News - July 4, 2013 Three organisers of a controversial documentary film screening at the KL/Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall were detained by Home Ministry, Immigration and police officials here Wednesday. The screening of the movie, No Fire Zone, which explores the oppression of Tamils in Sri Lanka, was organised by human rights group Pusat Komas.

Malaysia stops Channel 4 documentary screening http://www.dailymirror.lk/news/31888-­‐malaysia-­‐stops-­‐channel-­‐4-­‐documentary-­‐screening.html Daily Mirror - 04 JULY 2013 The organizers of a screening of the controversial Channel 4 documentary on the last stages of the war in Sri Lanka, were detained by the Malaysian Police today, according to the Sri Lankan Ministry of External Affairs.

Sri Lankan High Commissioner in Malaysia.I. Ansar had protested to Malaysian authorities when he received information that the film “No Fire Zone”, which portrays the actions of the government during the last stages of the Sri Lankan conflict in an unfavourable manner, was to be screened, External Affairs Ministry sources said.

No Fire Zone: The Killing Fields of Sri Lanka http://www.nowtoronto.com/movies/story.cfm?content=193301 Now – 27 June 2013 Callum Macrae’s No Fire Zone surveys the final months of Sri Lanka’s recent civil war, but not merely to bring attention to yet another little-understood and woefully neglected Third World conflict.

By making extensive use of video clips clandestinely recorded by victims and perpetrators alike, Macrae and his collaborators set out to expose an astonishing list of crimes against humanity systematically committed by Sri Lankan government forces – crimes the government continues to vehemently deny.

Review: No Fire Zone: The Killing Fields of Sri Lanka http://thetfs.ca/2013/06/28/review-­‐no-­‐fire-­‐zone-­‐the-­‐killing-­‐fields-­‐of-­‐sri-­‐ lanka/#sthash.hJAoVliW.dpuf Toronto Film Scene - June 28, 2013 No Fire Zone: The Killing Fields of Sri Lanka is a documentary focusing on the final months of the civil war in Sri Lanka. Beginning in early 2009, the Sri Lankan government pushed into Tamil lands in

northern Sri Lanka, battling the Tamil Tigers as the end of a 26 year long war was drawing to a close.

Using footage captured inside of the war zone, covering a 138 day period, viewers witness first hand the truly horrifying war crimes perpetrated by the Sri Lankan government, and the incredible amount of lies created to keep the international community from interfering with the war.

No Fire Zone: The Killing Fields of Sri Lanka http://dorkshelf.com/tag/no-fire-zone-the-killing-fields-of-sri-lanka/#sthash.LPRozuSt.dpuf Dork Shelf - June 28, 2013 No Fire Zone: The Killing Fields of Sri Lanka charts the final weeks of perhaps the most misunderstood and least mainstream covered conflicts of our time, the Sri Lankan Civil War. This war was conducted in secret with the Sri Lankan government booting the UN and foreign press reporters from the combat zone. More than 70,000 civilians lost their lives during this 26-year long war, but most of these deaths occurred during illegal government shelling that took place in its final months. Director Callum Macrae chronicles the final months of the battle with footage and interviews from both sides of the war.

'Matter for humanity that justice is done'- Interview with Callum Macrae http://www.salem-­‐news.com/articles/july172013/callum-­‐mcrae.php Salem-News.com – 17 July 2013 This is about human rights, and this is about the rule of international law. And I know that whenever I've shown this film to people who didn't know about the situation - it changes minds. Tamil Guardian's correspondent based in Toronto, Canada, caught up with the director of the documentaries 'Sri Lanka's Killing Fields' and 'No Fire Zone - the killing fields of Sri Lanka', Callum Macrae, at the sidelines of FETNA 2013, to find out how he viewed Sri Lanka's reaction to the documentaries, himself and others who are speaking out against the massacre of tens of thousands of Tamils.

Malaysian Police Raid Screening of “No Fire Zone” http://pulitzercenter.org/blog/malaysia-­‐police-­‐raid-­‐sri-­‐lanka-­‐callum-­‐macrae-­‐director-­‐no-­‐fire-­‐zone-­‐ human-­‐rights-­‐genocide-­‐tamil-­‐tigers-­‐violence-­‐commonwealth-­‐UN Pulitzer Center - July 6, 2013 The global tour of Pulitzer grantee Callum Macrae’s film on Sri Lanka continues to generate controversy, with screenings for parliamentary audiences in Australia, New Zealand and Malaysia and a public screening in Kuala Lumpur that was disrupted by a police raid and the arrest of local organizers.

“No Fire Zone” documents the final weeks of Sri Lanka’s civil war in 2009, the deaths of as many as 70,000 civilians during that period and the government’s resistance since to accusations of war crimes and demands that those responsible be held to account.

NO FIRE ZONE – MID-WEEK REVIEW http://rightnow.org.au/writing-­‐cat/review/no-­‐fire-­‐zone-­‐mid-­‐week-­‐review/ Right Now - July 17, 2013 Not since John Pilger’s 1979 Year Zero documentary on the Khmer Rouge slaughter of civilians in Cambodia has there been a documentary as important in bearing witness and raising awareness of the grave contraventions of international law and human rights as Callum Macrae’s No Fire Zone: Killing Fields of Sri Lanka.

Film shows new evidence of war crimes in Sri Lanka http://www.thewire.org.au/storyDetail.aspx?ID=10509 The Wire - 25 June 2013 A new film claims to show hard evidence of atrocities in the closing days of Sri Lanka's civil war. As Commonwealth leaders prepare to meet in the country for the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting later in the year, the film is raising questions about the behaviour of the country's military forces. Next week on the show we'll speak to Sri Lanka's High Commissioner in Australia about the film.

Malaysian screening of Sri Lanka documentary raided http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/radio/program/asia-­‐pacific/malaysian-­‐screening-­‐of-­‐ sri-­‐lanka-­‐documentary-­‐raided/1156524 Radio Australia - 5 July 2013 Malaysian authorities have raided the screening of a documentary on the last days of Sri Lanka's civil war. Malaysian screening of Sri Lanka documentary raided (Credit: ABC) The Kuala Lumpur screening of No Fire Zone was organised by human rights group Pusat Komas.

Three members of the group were taken into police custody before being released in the early hours of the morning. The film is a searing critique of Sri Lanka's treatment of Tamils as the 26 year conflict drew to a close in 2009.

Arbitrary arrest, release on bail of three Komas staff members http://aliran.com/14614.html Aliran - 16 July 2013 The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders condemns the disruption of the private screening of the documentary “No Fire Zone” by the Home Ministry and the police. The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Malaysia.

Home Ministry continues to harass NGO http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2013/07/17/home-­‐ministry-­‐continues-­‐to-­‐ harass-­‐ngo/ FMT - July 17, 2013 Despite having recorded statements for three hours on July 3, Pusat Komas director Tan Jo Haan, is told to present himself at the ministry’s office over ‘No Fire Zone’.

PETALING JAYA: Human rights NGO Pusat Komas said today the Home Ministry is still harassing it over the screening of controversial documentary ‘No Fire Zone’ on July 3.

Pusat Komas director, Tan Jo Haan, described the ministry’s request yesterday for him to present himself at the Home Ministry’s office to give a statement as “highly unnecessary”.

Censorship in the No Fire Zone http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/234854 Malaysiakini - 5 July 2013 "By investigating war crimes in Sri Lanka I am acting no differently than when I made films investigating allegations of war crimes by British and American forces in Iraq." Callum Macrea, director of ‘No Fire Zone'.

COMMENT Certain news items get lost in the shuffle. We begin to expect certain reactions from the current regime when it comes to the censorship of certain "sensitive matters". However, when the security apparatus of the state is used on the behest of others or the perception of this is created, that really sticks in my craw.

Three held for questioning following screening of 'No Fire Zone' http://english.astroawani.com/news/show/three-­‐held-­‐for-­‐questioning-­‐following-­‐screening-­‐of-­‐no-­‐ fire-­‐zone-­‐17642?cp astro Awani - July 04, 2013 KUALA LUMPUR: The police held a raid after the screening of "No Fire Zone" which took place at the KL & Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall last night.The raid took place after the screening ended at around 8:30 pm. Following the raid, 150 audience members were only asked to show their MyKad. Three individuals from Pusat Komas, a non-governmental organization believed to be the organizer of the event, were taken to the Dang Wangi Police District Headquarters. According to reports, the trio are Arul Prakkash, Lena Hendry and Anna Har.

NO FIRE ZONE: Zahid, police shut down NGOs' film screening http://malaysia-chronicle.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=124042:no-firezone-zahid-police-shut-down-film-screening#ixzz2m3Og2gAA Malaysia Chronicle - 04 July 2013 On the evening of the 3rd of July (Wednesday night) KOMAS a human rights NGO together with the KL & Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall Civil Right Committee (KLSCAH CRC) co-organized a film screening of the moving documentary film called “No Fire Zone” directed by Callum Macrae.

At about 8.30, after 30 minutes from the time the screening started, KDN officials, Immigration officials and the police were present in mass numbers in the venue of Chinese Assembly hall and requested to enter the venue to check the film.

Human rights groups condemn shutting down of film screening http://news.malaysia.msn.com/regional/human-rights-groups-condemn-shutting-down-offilm-screening MSN - 05 Jul 2013 KDN officials, Immigration officials and the police had descended on KL & Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall, where a screening on Sri Lankan civil war was playing.

Several human rights groups in Malaysia are condemning Home Ministry (KDN), Immigration officers and the police for stopping mid-way a screening of documentary film called “No Fire Zone” directed by Callum Macrae. Representatives of the KL & Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall Civil Right Committee (KLSCH CRC), Komas and Suaram held a press conference to explain the violation of rights.

NGOs condemn disruption of movie screening http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2013/07/04/ngos-­‐condemn-­‐disruption-­‐of-­‐ movie-­‐screening/ FTM - July 4, 2013 They claim violation of rights by KDN and police who tried to stop the showing of a documentary on the Sri Lanka civil war.

KUALA LUMPUR: Several human rights groups have condemned the Home Ministry (KDN) and the police for disrupting a private screening of a documentary film at the Chinese Assembly Hall last night and harassing the organisers and audience.

Organisers detained for screening controversial documentary on Tamils in Sri Lanka http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2013/07/03/No-­‐Fire-­‐Zone-­‐Tamil-­‐oppression-­‐in-­‐Sri-­‐ Lanka.aspx The Star – 04 July 2013

Three organisers of a controversial documentary film screening at the KL/Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall were detained by Home Ministry, Immigration and police officials here Wednesday.

The screening of the movie, No Fire Zone, which explores the oppression of Tamils in Sri Lanka, was organised by human rights group Pusat Komas.

Filmmaker Callum Macrae on Sri Lanka documentary ‘No Fire Zone’ http://gulfnews.com/opinions/columnists/filmmaker-­‐callum-­‐macrae-­‐on-­‐sri-­‐lanka-­‐documentary-­‐no-­‐ fire-­‐zone-­‐1.1210331 Gulf News – 18 July 2013

The Sri Lankan army thought no one was watching as it shelled unarmed civilians. Then the filmmaker sprang a rather unpleasant surprise Callum Macrae’s documentary “No Fire Zone” is not a story, rather several stories strung together, of people like you and me, of families and children like yours and mine, who were rendered homeless during a 26-year-long civilian war. And what you see on screen are real, gory, bloody scenes.

No Fire Zone: The Killing Fields of Sri Lanka http://docgeeks.com/2013/06/10/no-­‐fire-­‐zone-­‐sri-­‐lankas-­‐killing-­‐fields/ DocGeeks - June 10th, 2013 Two years ago Channel 4 aired a shocking documentary. The film, directed by Callum Macrae, was almost made entirely out of extremely distressing amateur videos depicting the gruesome horrors of the Sri Lankan civil war in 2009. Presented by Jon Snow, ‘Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields’ became known as one of the most graphic and disturbing documentaries in British television history and won the team a Nobel Peace Prize-nomination.

This is proof, beyond reasonable doubt, of the execution of a child – not a battlefield death http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/this-is-proof-beyond-reasonable-doubt-of-theexecution-of-a-child--not-a-battlefield-death-8500298.html

The Independent – Feb 18, 2013

London, Feb 18 - Compared to most of the terrible images which have emerged from the final weeks of Sri Lanka’s civil war, it seems innocuous. A young boy sits, like a child lost in a supermarket. He has been given some kind of snack.

Handed a snack, and then executed: the last hours of the 12-yearold son of a Tamil Tiger

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/handed-a-snack-and-then-executed-the-last-hours-ofthe-12yearold-son-of-a-tamil-tiger-8500295.html

The Independent – Feb 18, 2013

London, Feb 18 - New photographs have emerged which raise fresh questions about the conduct of Sri Lanka’s armed forces during the final stages of the operation against Tamil rebels and have led to claims the 12-year-old son of the militants’ leader may have been summarily executed.

Sri Lanka: Questioning the killing fields

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/mar/01/sri-lanka-un-human-rights

The Guardian – March 1, 2013

London, March 1 - After the showing of the documentary No Fire Zone in the Palais des Nations in Geneva yesterday, the Sri Lankan ambassador denounced it and criticised the UN human rights council for permitting the event to take place in a United Nations building.

Given a snack and then taken out and shot: Horrifying last moments of helpless boy, 12, who was ‘executed by Sri Lankan army because his father was a Tamil Tiger leader’ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2281246/Given-snack-taken-shot-Pictures-Tamil-Tigerleaders-son-taken-just-hours-apart-prove-executed-Sri-Lankan-government-forces.html

The Daily Mail – Feb 18, 2013

London, Feb 18 - Disturbing new images have emerged of the dead body of the 12-year-old son of a Tamil leader that researchers say could prove he was executed by Sri Lankan government forces.

The photographs of Balachandran Prabhakaran, son of Velupillai Prabhakaran, head of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, were taken in May 2009 at the end of the government's conflict with the rebels.

Balachandran Prabhakaran: Sri Lanka army accused over death http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-21509656

BBC News – Feb 19, 2013

London, Feb 19 - Photographs have emerged which are said to show the 12-year-old son of a Tamil rebel leader alive and well in custody less than two hours before he was shot dead. They show Balachandran Prabhakaran, son of rebel leader Velupillai Prabhakaran, eating chocolate on a bench.

Revisiting the horror in Sri Lanka http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/28/world/asia/28iht-letter28.html?_r=0

New York Times – Feb 27, 2013

New York, Feb 27 - In the series of photographs shot in 2009, the bare-chested boy is first shown

Phase three Macrae's denial of entry to India in lead up to CHOGM Shocking footage of Tamil icon

There were a number of elements to phase three of the campaign. On 5 September a highprofile London screening in Curzon Theatre, Soho kicked off the campaign with a major comment piece by director Callum Macrae in Guardian G2. Macrae was also interviewed

by Channel 4 News.

Channel 4 then broadcast the documentary on 3 November just ahead of two Indian Premiere screening in Delhi 7 November and Mumbai 8 November. To tie in with this, we issued a news story in the UK and then in India concerning shocking, new footage which had been included in the film. The footage concerned the arrest and subsequent death of, newsreader, actress and singer, Isaipriya, an iconic and complex figure, much loved by the Tamil community. She was also an acknowledged propagandist for the rebel Tamil Tiger forces.

The footage shows Isaipriya at the point of her capture. Half naked, she is clearly distressed and disorientated. These soldiers do not mistreat her - indeed they attempt to cover her nakedness under the sheet in which she is later found dead. This raises the question - how then was Isaipriya stripped naked, sexually assaulted and executed in the custody of Sri Lankan armed forces? The footage reinforced the shocking levels of war crime and crimes against humanity committed by the Sri Lankan government.

There was extensive take-up in the India media, across print, online and broadcast, including India Today, The Times of India, Tamil Guardian and The Hindu. There was also the predictable refutation of authenticity by Sri Lankan media. Additionally, Callum Macrae was denied a visa allowing him into India - this was covered extensively with Times of India breaking the story. This was the second time in one year Macrae had been denied a visa by the Indian authorities, the first time being in February where he had been denied access for the high-level briefings where a segment of the documentary was screened.

Ironically Macrae was granted a visa to Sri Lanka when he went as part of Channel 4 news delegation alongside Jonathan Miller and Ben de Pear. On arrival in Sri Lanka the team was met by 'spontaneous' demonstrations against them - many of whom had not seen the documentary - which were repeated at various other locations on their visit, this occurred in a country where demonstrations are banned by the government. It made in impossible for them to cover the story.

In an unexpected twist David Cameron declared he had seen No Fire Zone and was horrified at the evidence in the documentary. He vowed in print and on social media (Twitter) to take this up with president Rajapaksa's office. He also insisted on visiting the north of the country where many of the atrocities took place along with journalists as well as without interference from the Sri Lankan government.

Overwhelmingly all press coverage of CHOGM was in the context of human rights abuses - with many pieces actually citing in name or referring to No Fire Zone.

London Screening 5 September 2013 t he guardian.co m

http://www.theguardian.co m/wo rld/2013/sep/03/sri-lanka-slaughter-no -fire-zo ne

Sri Lanka: Slaughter in the no fire zone Callum Macrae

Two young girls caught up in the shelling … a still f rom No Fire Z one.

T he Guardian, Tuesday 3 September 2013 18.20 BST I have spent the best part of the last three years looking at some of the most terrible images I could have imagined. I've covered wars and seen some awf ul things, but f ew that could prepare me f or the hours of video and mobile f ootage that emerged f rom the last 138 days of Sri Lanka's bloody civil war between the government and the Tamil Tiger secessionists; a war that ended f our years ago – and whose bloody denouement is the subject of my f ilm No Fire Z one: T he Killing Fields of Sri Lanka.

T he f ilm records what happened when the government of Sri Lanka told some 400,000 civilians to gather in what they described as "no f ire zones" – and then subjected them to merciless, sustained shelling. We humans are good at reducing terrible massacres to statistics. We instinctively distance ourselves f rom the lost humanity represented by heaps of corpses or rows of dead bodies. But it is more dif f icult to avoid the anguish of those who survive.

For example, the two young girls, crying hysterically in a f ragile bunker of sandbags in the immediate af termath of a shelling. T hey want to rush f rom their shelter to help the injured, but a woman is holding them back – because one shell is almost inevitably f ollowed by another. T he girls are weeping as they look at the carnage in f ront of them. And then, in a chilling moment, one of them recognises someone, and her hysterical cries turn to anguished screams: "Mama!"

Two men – one is probably the girl's f ather – ignore the danger and stumble blindly f rom the bunker to f all beside, and hold, the horribly damaged corpses in f ront of them.

T his awf ul story is just one of tens of thousands of such incidents. T he most recent UN report suggests that as many as 70,000 civilians died in the last f ew months of the war in 2009, possibly more.

A f ew of those who died were killed by Tamil Tigers, who are accused of shooting Tamil civilians attempting to escape the no f ire zones' killing f ields. T he Tigers saw the civilians as a bargaining counter that would f orce the international community to intervene, and so would not let them leave. T hat was a crime, a betrayal of the trust of the civilians – and also a terrible miscalculation, because the international community did not intervene: it did not even impose meaningf ul diplomatic or economic sanctions against the Sri Lankan government.

T hese crimes by the Tigers – and the f ailure of the international community – must not be f orgotten. But the vast majority of the civilians were killed by government f orces. And that too, we must remember.

Another incident in the f ilm provides some relief f rom the carnage. Two young brothers are sitting in a makeshif t hospital. T heir parents are almost certainly among the nearby dead and maimed. T he person f ilming them asks: "Are you injured too?" "No," says the older brother quietly. He is 11 or 12 years old, and holding his younger brother protectively round the shoulders: "Not us." T he younger child turns to look at the carnage around them but his brother gently guides his head back towards him and away f rom the terrible sights. Humanity survives in this awf ul situation.

I watch these two scenes and still f ind myself crying. And that is why I am so distressed that David Cameron has agreed to go and shake the hands of the men responsible f or these crimes. T he next meeting of the Commonwealth Heads of Government (Chogm) is to be held in Sri Lanka in November – and he has said he will go. I f ind that particularly distressing because it is clear these men think the event will mark their rehabilitation in the eyes of the world – and if Cameron is not caref ul, his actions will be interpreted as lending support to that view.

A boy protects his little brother af ter the artillery f ire in a scene f rom No Fire Z one.

I know he is broadly aware of what happened in those terrible weeks in Sri Lanka. In f act, in 2011, the day af ter Channel 4 broadcast our f irst f ilm on this subject, Sri Lanka's Killing Fields, he told parliament it was "an extremely powerf ul programme" that ref erred to some "very worrying events". He did add, though, that he hadn't actually seen it himself . For his benef it – and those who remain largely unaware of these events (and this includes most people) – I will brief ly recall the f acts.

Af ter decades of violent repression of the island's Tamil minority by the Sinhala Buddhist majority, a brutal but ef f ective secessionist rebel f orce, the Tamil Tigers, or LT T E, launched a 26-year war that saw the establishment of a de facto independent state of Tamil Eelam in the north-east. T he Tigers ruled this state with an iron grip in which dissent was not tolerated – but with the undeniable consent of the majority of the Tamil population. In pursuit of this war they were prepared to use child soldiers and suicide bombers against civilian as well as military targets.

But by January 2009 the new president of Sri Lanka, Mahinda Rajapaksa, had inf licted major def eats on the Tigers. Bolstered by – and of ten appropriating – the west's rhetoric of the war on terror, he was poised to launch a f inal of f ensive, not just against the Tigers but against the Tamil people themselves.

No Fire Z one shows the relentless horror of those f inal weeks. T hese are images so shocking that they changed votes when we showed a cut of the f ilm at the UN Human Rights Council in March. In the last f ew days of the war, in May 2009, the massacre of the civilians was f ollowed by another series of war crimes.

Victorious government troops systematically executed bound, blindf olded prisoners. Women f ighters were stripped, sexually assaulted, blindf olded, and shot in the head. In one incident the 12-year-old son of the Tigers' leader is seen f irst in captivity, eating a snack. Two hours later he lies dead, having been shot, f ive times, at point-blank range. T hese events were recorded by the perpetrators on mobile phones as grotesque war trophies.

Tamil civilians seek shelter during the bombardment.

T hese things happened and they must not be ignored. Because although the war in Sri Lanka is over, the repression continues – indeed it is escalating. T he Tamils in the north are denied basic human rights; places of worship and of cultural or religious signif icance to the Tamils are being destroyed; rape is routinely used as a weapon of repression; and the ethnic makeup of the region is being re-engineered by a Sinhala plantation of f ishermen and f armers. T hroughout the country, government critics are being attacked, silenced and are disappearing. T he judiciary is under attack – the chief justice impeached and independently minded judges marginalised. Last month a demonstration by villagers protesting against a f actory polluting their water supply was violently suppressed by the army – and three were killed.

Just last week the UN Human Rights Commissioner, Navi Pillay, ended a week long f act-f inding trip to Sri Lanka by warning that "surveillance and harassment appears to be getting worse in Sri Lanka, which is a country where critical voices are quite of ten attacked or even permanently silenced."

When Cameron announced he would attend Chogm, Alistair Burt, the minister responsible f or Sri Lanka, stated that the British government expected the Sri Lankan government to "guarantee f ull and unrestricted access f or international press covering Chogm". Yet when I was in Australia recently to promote the f ilm, a senior Sri Lankan diplomat there, Bandula Jayasakara (f ormerly Rajapaksa's chief media adviser), tweeted a message to me. He said he would "make sure you don't get a visa" and accused me of being "hired by [Tiger] terrorists as a f ull time propagandist f or the bloodthirsty terror group overseas". And when I recently told a Sri Lankan newspaper that I intended to visit the country to cover Chogm I received a series of death threats, all published online. You are welcome to come to Sri Lanka, said one, "only to go back in a cof f in".

And another said: "Callum Macrae – do not come to Sri Lanka. You will be abducted in a white van, and sent to meet Lasantha Wikremasinghe [sic]." White vans are recognised as an instrument of terror in Sri Lanka, regularly used to abduct government critics. Lasantha Wickrematunge was the editor and f ounder of the Sunday Leader – a respected newspaper critical of the Rajapaksa regime. He was shot and killed by unknown assassins in January 2009, just a f ew days af ter criticising the government's conduct of the war.

No credible independent investigation … Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa . Photograph: T he Asahi Shimbun via Getty Images Two years ago the Commonwealth of Nations pledged a renewed commitment to its core principles of "democracy, the rule of law and human rights". If Sri Lanka hosts the next meeting of Chogm, normal practice decrees that its president will assume the chairmanship of the Commonwealth f or the next two years. And so a regime accused of some of the worst war crimes of this century will be in charge of the Commonwealth's drive f or human rights, democracy, and the rule of law. As Human Rights Watch has observed, this is a situation that will hold the Commonwealth up to ridicule; and it is a decision Cameron appears to have endorsed.

T he Commonwealth is not the only important international organisation involved – there is also the UN. T he UN's Responsibility to Protect – f ormally adopted in 2005 – was given its f irst real test by the last f ew months of the war in Sri Lanka; it f ailed, shamef ully and catastrophically.

T he Rajapaksa regime has had more than f our years to launch a credible independent investigation into the war crimes. It has shown itself neither willing nor capable of doing so. Such inquiries as it has made have been transparently bogus and internal repression is worsening – apparently encouraged by the f ailure of the world to seriously engage.

As a result it is increasingly likely that in March next year the UNHRC will call f or an international inquiry into the crimes. If it cannot even manage that, it will give a green light to Rajapaksa, Assad and their kind, who slaughter their own citizens in conf ident expectation of impunity. Perhaps even more seriously, it will send a message to the beleaguered Sri Lankan opponents of the Rajapaksa regime that they are on their own.

As f or the Commonwealth, if it expects to survive as a credible advocate of democracy and human rights, Cameron must raise objections to it being led by a regime accused of these crimes. • No Fire Zone, a feature documentary by Outsider Films in association with Channel 4 and ITN productions, premieres on Thursday 5 September at the Curzon, Soho. The film will then be taken on an international and UK tour and will simultaneously be made available in the UK on Video on Demand and through a free app developed by Channel 4. @Callum_Macrae @NoFireZoneMovie

I only watched ‘No Fire Zone’ by chance. But its revelations about Sri Lanka are surely unmissable independent.co.uk /voices/comment/i-only-watched-no-f ire-zone-by-chance-but-its-revelationsabout-sri-lanka-are-surely-unmissable-8921398.html Neither of us had heard the story before. By the end of the broadcast – after 50 minutes of footage showing troops deliberately shelling hospitals, executing huddled prisoners, and yanking around the corpses of raped Tamil women – neither of us could believe the concluding point. In ten days’ time David Cameron and William Hague will meet and shake hands with the orchestrators of this massacre, in which the UN estimates 70,000 civilians were killed, at the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting.

How is No Fire Zone’s message – that Sri Lanka should be a pariah state – not getting through?

This is not the first time that these war crimes have been shown on TV, nor is it the first time our Government has been informed of them. Much of the same footage was shown in the 2011 film Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields, also directed

by Callum Macrae. Cameron – who didn’t watch that show himself – nevertheless alluded to it as “extremely powerful” in parliament. But two years later here we are. The Prime Minister is about travel to Colombo, Sri Lanka to discuss matters including “international peace and security” with President Mahinda Rajapaksa, the smiling head of this ethnic cleansing operation.

It is an awkward fact that the scale of civilian deaths does not automatically determine the level of attention they will receive. Sometimes the story won’t reach the news agenda, others it can be effectively suppressed. As pointed out in yesterday’s Independent, the Sri Lankan government has hired PR firm Bell Pottinger to clean up its image. Aside from that, 22 journalists critical of President Rajapaksa have been murdered. The Lonely Planet recently felt comfortable enough to name Sri Lanka and its white beaches as the top travel destination for 2013.

Perhaps it is also harder to reach the nation through documentary reporting today. After No Fire Zone finished, my mum said it was the most distressing thing she had seen since the broadcast of the Ethiopian famine in 1984. That footage led to a tenfold increase in newspaper coverage, and a massive – if rightly criticised – aid effort.

But in those days, without cable TV, iPlayer or Sky Plus, people didn’t have as much chance to select what they viewed. I would never have chosen to watch No Fire Zone – usually I catch Homeland later on 4oD. Only a jink in routine brought home what were by some distance the worst images I have seen in my lifetime. Children wrapped in plastic. People screaming over butchered corpses. What will be more horrifying still is if David Cameron and British tourists keep behaving as if this can be washed away, like so much blood on a beach.

t he guardian.co m

http://www.theguardian.co m/co mmentisfree/2013/no v/16/channel4-televisio n

A film of alleged war crimes ‌ how I became Sri Lanka's most hated man

A f ilm shot in January 2009 allegedly shows a Sri Lankan soldier executing a Tamil Tiger prisoner.

Photograph: Journalists For Democracy/AFP/Getty Images

Callum Macrae theguardian.com, Saturday 16 November 2013 10.30 GMT T hey haunt our every move, on their motorbikes in their silver hatchback and on their tuk tuks. Sri Lanka's intelligence of f icers are a tenacious lot, but there's another group perhaps even more tenacious in their pursuit of us: "spontaneous", pro-government demonstrators.

T hey were there when the Channel 4 news team and I arrived at the airport. T hey turned up outside our hotel that night – and when we set of f by train to travel north to the f ormer war zone, there they were again. T here were a f ew hundred of them with hurriedly written posters, denouncing us as Tamil Tiger supporters. T hey blockaded our train and eventually f orced us to return to Colombo.

So here's the issue. T here are two versions of the situation in the traumatised north-east of the island, where perhaps 40,000 or even more, innocent Tamil civilians died in the horrif ic last f ew months of Sri Lanka's civil war that lasted a quarter of a century.

T he government and its supporters say the place is transf ormed: there are new roads, they say, new schools, f ormer f ighters "rehabilitated", hotels being built and elections held.

But the Tamils who live there tell another story. T hey speak of continuing misery, of military occupation, of a climate of f ear. A place where thousands remain homeless while army land-grabs continue unabated.

Where thousands are still missing – and many women who remain are subject to the systematic use of sexual violence as a weapon of repression.

Of course, the way f or journalists to get to the truth is to go there and see f or themselves. But despite assurances f rom the president himself that we would be f ree to travel, it was not to be; several hundred noisy government supporters made sure of that.

T hat's the problem f or those who would try to hide the truth. If you want to work out which side is telling lies, you just have to work out who is trying to stop you seeing things with your own eyes. Here's a clue: it wasn't the Tamils.

T his meeting of the Commonwealth heads of government is rapidly turning into a PR catastrophe f or both the government of Sri Lanka and the Commonwealth itself . T he extraordinary prospect of a Commonwealth committed to core principles of democracy, human rights and f reedom of expression being hosted by a government which routinely f louts every one of those values is bad enough. But if this same government is also made the subject of a call by the UN Human Rights Council f or an international investigation into alleged war crimes and alleged crimes against humanity (as might well happen next March), then this could be terminal f or the Commonwealth's credibility.

For Sri Lanka's president, what he hoped would be the golden chalice of the Commonwealth summit is rapidly changing into a poisoned one – and the problem is that Colombo's supporters blame that process almost entirely on Channel 4. In particular, Channel 4 News and – with extra, added venom – me.

We were gratif ied when, in something of a f irst f or international diplomacy, David Cameron tweeted last week that he'd watched my most recent f ilm, No Fire Z one, broadcast two week ago, and that as a result he had serious questions to ask President Mahinda Rajapaksa about what happened. It was a signif icant and surprisingly straightf orward pledge. T he downside is that it didn't make us any more popular.

Every night Sri Lankan television carries stories stating quite unequivocally that I am a Tiger supporter.

T hese sentiments are echoed by government spokesmen who suggest I – and Channel 4 – are f unded by the def unct Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. T he f act that we have accused the Tigers, too, of war crimes, of using suicide bombers and targeting civilians, counts f or nothing. T hese wild denunciations are pretty unpleasant – and a direct act of incitement which has inevitably translated into a number of death threats. I am probably the most hated man in Sri Lanka at the moment. I am a celebrity and they want me out of here.

But look behind these threats and hysteria – beyond the f ront page banner headlines that read "End of the road f or Callum Macrae" and you detect a dif f erent current underneath. It was Jonathan Miller of Channel 4 News who f irst noticed it. As a tuk tuk drove past, the passenger inside saw us and gave a f urtive, discreet little thumbs-up. T hen it happened again. And others, when no one is looking, came up and asked f or a photograph with us.

It is very clear there are a lot of people in Sri Lanka who are very happy to see their increasingly despotic ruling f amily coming under pressure.

Isaipriya puts Congress, UPA on sinking wicket among Tamils in India indiatoday.intoday.in /story/isaipriya-puts-congress-upa-on-sinking-wicket-among-tamils-inindia/1/321558.html The Logger New Delhi, November 4, 2013 | UPDATED 08:39 IST The Logger New Delhi, November 4, 2013 | UPDATED 08:39 IST The one thing the Congress does all the time whenever there is talk about Narendra Modi is stand akimbo and point a finger with the most accusative baritone and say, "Gujarat 2002." The Congress has now come up with data, like human development indices which say they are the lowest in Gujarat etc. Luckily for us, they are looking up the indices. Maybe they will think of doing something about them soon, in states the Congress rules or whoever rules.

But for all its grandstanding on Modi and Muslims, the UPA is going about conducting its business with the Government of Sri Lanka in a very de facto way. The Rajapaksa government is being hauled over coals by folks in and associated with UN human rights bodies for the systematic genocide of Tamils in the 2009 summer campaign that saw the extermination of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and the targeting of the massive flux of refugees who were caught between the Lankan Army and the soon- to- be- extinct Tigers. The Lankans, it was assumed, didn't want to let anything to chance, terrorists could pass off as refugees too, so they did what they thought was best and tried to kill all and whatever they could see on the other side of the pasture.

Isaipriya's body was later found in a ditch with serious injuries and eveiden of sexual assault. Video grab from the Channel 4 documentary.

Channel 4 documentaries have recorded footage of Lankan gunfire directed at medical units whose coordinates were sought by the Lankan military. It left no room to wonder: if this isn't a concerted effort to annihilate the Tamils of Eelam, what was? Among the corpses of Prabhakaran and his fighters, there died Isaipriya alias Shoba. It was thought that she was one among those many killed in the last "push" by the Lankan forces.

But new facts that have a habit of tumbling out when it's most inconvenient, have slipped out of the Lankan forces' human rights dossier. A recent Channel 4 video has accessed the mobile footage of a Lankan solider which shows Isaipriya being rescued by Lankan forces. The video shows soldiers picking her up along the coast thinking she's Prabhakaran's daughter which she denies straightaway. The Channel 4 video then cuts to a summary execution site where lies the corpse of a woman with deep cuts on her face, her modesty outraged, bits of clothing on her. The new Channel 4 video says that corpse of the sexually assaulted, murdered woman was that of Isaipriya.

Isaipriya's body was later found in a ditch with serious injuries and eveiden of sexual assault. Video grab from the Channel 4 documentary.

How important was she to trigger this bloodlust? A newsreader on Tamil Tigers TV, she was also a Lieutenant Colonel in the LTTE and had starred in propaganda videos for the Tigers which sang paeans to suicide bombers.

That's besides the question.

The new Channel 4 video is evidence that Isaipriya was caught alive and subjected to torture and rape before being put out by a bullet/bullets in the most summary of executions. Nobody deserves to die that way even suicide bombers.

Isaipriya was a soldier with the Tamil Tigers and a newsreader in the LTTE newstation Congress ministers from Tamil Nadu are getting squeamish about this video and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's trip to the Commonwealth Head of Governments Meeting on November 15 could damage more than the party's chances at the hustings.

What somersaults of realpolitik will allow the PM to visit Sri Lanka that is already tight in embrace with the Chinese who also hold Pakistan in an older, cosier hug? When will the Congress see any and all murders as the same and call them such?

Isaipriya with a Sri Lanka Army soldier. Video grabs from the Channel 4 documentary.

There is no guarantee that the Congress will get all the seats in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry by snubbing Sri Lanka.

But it will at least show signs of some spine in an ever- bending, ever- malleable party that does not figure in the TN Assembly without the help of generous Dravidian allies. Strangely, neither the DMK not the AIADMK are supping with the Congress any more. From a B- team player to a no- team player, that's some slide for a party that ruled Tamil Nadu from Independence till about the late 60s when the Anna- led DMK washed them away.

Isaipriya with a Sri Lanka Army soldier. Video grabs from the Channel 4 documentary.

What's to gain, what's to lose: the party should dial the PM and let him know. Maybe someone from the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee can do the talking.

Isaipriya with a Sri Lanka Army soldier. Video grabs from the Channel 4 documentary.

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Don’t shelve human rights articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com /2013-11-06/edit-page/43731168_1_chogm-commonwealthleaders-kamalesh-sharma

Callum Macrae, Nov 6, 2013, 12.10AM IST A few - depressingly few - Commonwealth leaders are currently agoniz ing about whether or not to attend CHOGM 2013 in Sri Lanka. The most important of those leaders is Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. But whichever way he falls on that question, an even bigger one looms - a question whose answer will be of existential significance to the Commonwealth itself.

Should Sri Lanka be allowed (as precedent would suggest) to become "chair in office" of the Commonwealth for the next two years?

The Commonwealth is a strange organiz ation. A faintly embarrassed legacy of colonialism self- consciously committed to building, encouraging and monitoring human rights, the rule of law, democratic accountability and antiracism among its members. When it acts on those principles it can justify its existence - indeed it was those principles which motivated its stance on apartheid, which remains one of its proudest achievements.

But if this CHOGM meeting passes with nothing more than a few ritual denunciations of Sri Lankan crimes, then we face the prospect of a Commonwealth being steered, under the apparently wilful tunnel vision of its secretary general Kamalesh Sharma, into a stagnant and becalmed irrelevance - with the tarnished figure of a beaming Mahinda Rajapaksa at its head.

Can the Commonwealth really allow itself to be "led" for the next two years, at least nominally, by a regime likely to be the focus of increasingly strident calls for some kind of independent international inquiry into allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity: a public process which could well start as soon as next March with a formal resolution at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

Clearly India, by virtue of its geographical location and its political and cultural history, is the most important country in this whole question, after Sri Lanka itself. In the interests of regional stability apart from anything else, India has to confront the crimes and push for truth and justice - the preconditions for peace, reconciliation and political solutions to long- standing injustices.

But there are huge questions for Britain and Australia too. There is an understandable and fairly widespread suspicion of the "ABCs" (Australia, Britain and Canada) among many of the less powerful developing nations of the Commonwealth. But it is an irony that in this case Britain and Australia are using that suspicion as a smokescreen to hide behind.

The privately claimed justification for the British and Australian position (unlike the more honourable Canadian one) is that they cannot be too forth- right about Sri Lanka's crimes, in case the less economically powerful, non- white, Commonwealth countries perceive that they are "pulling rank".

But that stance is profoundly dishonest. A more important factor is that Australia in particular - but also the UK - are extremely reluctant to seriously confront the real concerns over the ongoing repression in Sri Lanka, the brutal repression of the Tamils, the sectarian attacks on Muslims and the suppression of any dissent. They are reluctant to do that because if they admit how bad things are in Sri Lanka, they lose any excuse they have for sending Sri Lankan asylum seekers back.

If the Commonwealth is to foster and adhere to the principles of justice and human rights, then Britain and Australia should apply those principles to their treatment of asylum seekers.

Instead we see that the international conspiracy of silence behind which the Rajapaksa regime hid - while unleashing its war against its own innocent Tamil citiz ens under the cover of its war with the Tamil Tigers - still exists.

And that is the final irony in all of this. The Sri Lankan government justified its brutal final offensive - and bought the silence of the world - by using the West's rhetoric of "global war on terror". Then in the aftermath of war, in 2010, Rajapaksa made a speech to the United Nations in which he turned that on its head - effectively warning the West to back off.

"If history has taught us one thing, it is that imposed external solutions breed resentment and ultimately fail," he said.

"Ours, by contrast, is a home- grown process, which reflects the culture and traditions of our people."

It was a clever speech that still resonates with many non- aligned countries outside the ABCs. But it was a piece of rank hypocrisy. This "anti- imperialist" rallying cry was written for Rajapaksa by a western public relations company, Bell Pottinger, which is very close to the UK Conservatives. Rajapaksa had hired and installed them in his office to advise him. We even have secretly shot footage of a Bell Pottinger employee boasting about it.

So while the UK and Australia hide their reluctance to confront Sri Lanka's crimes behind a phoney commitment to the "greater good" of the Commonwealth, Rajapaksa hides his guilt behind a phoney veneer of "anti- imperialism".

The rest of the Commonwealth, led by India, needs to confront both of these false postures. Instead they must ask, without fear or favour, whether the Commonwealth can really allow a regime accused of war crimes, crimes against humanity and the continuing repression of its own people, to become chair of the Commonwealth for the next two years.

The writer, a journalist and filmmaker, directed the documentary No Fire Zone.

War crime video throws shadow over Commonwealth summit in Lanka articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com /2013-11-02/india/43610718_1_sri-lankan-tamil-commonwealthsummit-chogm TNN Nov 2, 2013, 01.31AM IST CHENNAI: A video clipping that purportedly exposes the killing of a Sri Lankan Tamil actor and television anchor by the army has queered the pitch for the Rajapaksa regime in the run- up to the Commonwealth summit, to be held later this month in Colombo.

As part of an expose on the brutal war fought between the Sri Lankan army and the LTTE, Britain's Channel 4 on Friday telecast a 48- second- long clipping showing Shoba alias Isai Priya being captured alive and whisked away by armymen, hands fastened behind her back. The footage was shot by an unknown Lankan soldier and released to the channel by the UK- based journalist- filmmaker Callum Macrae. According to the official version, her body was found during "mopping up" operations after the war ended on May 19, 2009.

Macrae, in an earlier award- winning documentary, 'Sri Lanka's Killing Fields' in June 2011, had released visuals of 27- year- old Isai Priya's mauled body, with wounds on her face. Her body was only partially clothed.

Reacting to charges that she was raped and killed by the army, the Sri Lankan government had then claimed that she was killed in a battle with the 53rd division of the Lankan army, commanded by Major General Kamal Gunaratne, on May 18, 2009, a day before LTTE chief V Prabhakaran was killed.

However, the latest visuals raise suspicion that she was captured alive and killed later.

It also gives credence to charges levelled by rights activists that Sri Lanka's "mopping up" operation was a euphemism for genocide by its army. TV channels across the globe began telecasting the visuals since morning, making out a case for prosecution of those responsible for war crimes in the Sri Lankan establishment. The build- up to the Commonwealth summit faded into the background as the focus shifted once again to the ethnic strife that had claimed thousands of lives.

The timing of the latest telecast is significant as most political parties in Tamil Nadu are mounting pressure on the Central government to boycott CHOGM (Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting), as a mark of protest against Lanka's human rights violations and reluctance to devolve powers to the elected northern provincial council.

Moreover, Macrae was in possession of the clipping from April onwards, but chose to release it now to maximise the fallout, especially in India.

Reacting to the developments, Union environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan, who was in city, said that Centre should take action against Lanka if the video footage is true. Release of similar visuals at frequent intervals, shaking the collective conscience of people across the globe, has been a dampener for Sri Lankan efforts to move forward, leaving the bitter memories of the ethnic war behind.V Suryanarayan, a retired professor and an authority on Sri Lankan affairs, said India's boycotting CHOGM would serve little purpose. He said, "India should participate in CHOGM and mobiliz e Commonwealth countries to pressurise Sri Lanka to grant devolution expeditiously and also institute a credible inquiry into the human rights violations. If we boycott the meet, Lanka will go further nearer to China and Pakistan. By boycotting the meet, we will also be weakening the northern provincial council, for which election was held only because of India's pressure. Our participation will not mean that we are condoning Lanka's acts of human rights violations".

Incidentally, contrary to Lankan claims, Priya was not known to be present on the battlefield because she had a heart problem. "She never carried a gun and her physical condition did not permit her to go to the battlefield. She always had either a camera, a pen or a notepad. She was a journalist working in the propaganda wing of the LTTE," Macrae had said in his previous documentary, quoting Kalpana, one of Priya's friends.

Rajapaksa Promotes Instigator Of Channel 4 Protests To Cabinet Colombo Telegraph November 24, 2013

https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/rajapaksa-promotes-instigator-of-channel-4-protests-tocabinet/ Deputy Minister S.M. Chandrasena has been promoted to the rank of Cabinet Minister by President Mahinda Rajapaksa, one week after he and his brother organised massive demonstrations in Anuaradhapura against the Channel 4 crew in Sri Lanka to the cover the Commonwealth Summit.Chandrasena was sworn in as Cabinet Minister in charge of Special Projects by President Rajapaksa on Saturday (22).

Chulananda refutes CH 4 ‘intimidation’ story

http://www.nation.lk/edition/news-online/item/23073-chulananda-refutes-ch-4-%E2%80% 98intimidation%E2%80%99-story.html

The Nation - 24 November 2013

‘Informing is not threatening’ ‘We only did our job’ Controller General of the Department of Immigration and Emigration, Chulananda Perera vehemently denied accusations made by journalists from Britain’s Channel 4 network that his officials had ‘intimidated’ them into leaving the country.

Speaking to The Nation, Perera repeatedly stressed that he had sent a team from his department to the hotel the journalists were staying because he had received information that they were about to violate their visa conditions and enter Temple Trees. “I had some level of respect for them (Channel 4) up until this incident. But that is all gone now. They have distorted what happened,” he claimed.

The C4 Episode Beyond CHOGM

http://www.thesundayleader.lk/2013/11/24/the-c4-episode-beyond-chogm/ While the Commonwealth summit was taking place in Sri Lanka most of the media attention, was on the Channel 4 crew who were in the country ahead of and during British Prime Minister David Cameron’s stay in Sri Lanka.

From the time the journalists and crew of the controversial British television channel arrived in Colombo they were followed and criticized by those who questioned their ‘agenda’.

Immigration officials warned C-4 crew prior to departure

http://www.dailymirror.lk/top-story/38888-immigration-officials-warned-c-4-crew-prior-to-departure.html

Daily Mirror -18 NOVEMBER 2013

Immigration and Emigration Department Chief Chulananda Perera today admitted that he ordered six officials of the department to visit the hotel where the Channel 4 crew were staying and warn them against acting beyond the conditions laid down in their visas.

“I ordered the officials to do so because I had received information that the crew were planning to enter Temple Trees. The officials discussed this matter with the crew and reminded them that they were bound by law of the land and that should not violate the visa conditions,” he said.

The allegations made by Perera were denied by the Channel-4 journalists who confirmed that they had no intention of visiting Temple Trees.

No Fire Zone Was Chilling, Tweets British PM

https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/no-fire-zone-was-chilling-tweets-british-pm/

Colombo Telegraph - November 11, 2013

British Prime Minister David Cameron who watched the controversial documentary No Fire Zone by Callum Macrae over the weekend, tweeted that he would have “serious questions” to raise with Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa when he arrived in Colombo for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) later this week.

Winners and losers of the CHOGM fiesta

http://www.dailymirror.lk/opinion/172-opinion/38940-winners-and-losers-of-the-chogm-fiesta.html

Daily Mirror - 19 NOVEMBER 2013

The CHOGM carnival is over. It commenced with a bang but ended in a murmur. What is left is to hold the postmortem. According to the series of events that occurred all we have to say is “It’s no use crying over spilt summits.”

The number one citizen who received the maximum advantage is President Mahinda Rajapaksa. He received the Commonwealth crown for two years. Whoever is appointed ‘Chairperson-in-Office’, Queen Elizabeth II is the lifelong head of the Commonwealth. Already, government politicians from members of Pradeshiya Sabhas to the Prime Minister are engaged in putting up billboards in every nook and corner greeting the new ‘head’ of the Commonwealth.

Govt. rejects calls for international inquiry

http://www.nation.lk/edition/news-online/item/22833-govt-rejects-calls-for-international-inquiry.html

Nation - 17 November 2013

The Sri Lankan Government vehemently rejected calls for an international inquiry into alleged war crimes committed during the final stages of the country’s civil war.

Speaking at a press briefing held at the media center at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH), Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources Management Nimal Siripala De Silva said the Government would resist any calls for an international inquiry as there was no reason for one.

He said most of the allegations against Sri Lanka ‘have proven to be unfounded’ during internal inquiries and there was no need for a ‘predetermined international inquiry’.

OLD VIOLATIONS IN THE NO FIRE ZONE

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1131112/jsp/opinion/story_17553948.jsp#.UpOVtCVFDIV

The Telegraph - 12 November 2013

The CHOGM must seek a way between the world’s discomfort with Sri Lanka’s rights abuses and the need for reconciliation, writes Rudra Chaudhuri “Our guilt is killing us,” argued a middle-aged and self-described Tamil-British woman. She lost 17 members of her family to what she claimed were targeted disappearances, an all-too-familiar feature in Sri Lanka’s post-war landscape, at least according to the many Tamil, Sinhala, and Muslim journalists and activists both within and outside the Island state.

CHOGM 2013: A lie well told

http://groundviews.org/2013/11/17/chogm-2013-a-lie-well-told/

Ground Views - 17 November 2013

Photo by Lakruwan Wanniarachchi, AFP/Getty Images via FT Photo Diary I imagine that beneath the cordial smiles and exchange of pleasantries there is much weeping and gnashing of teeth taking place at Temple Trees these days. The façade that was CHOGM 2013 seems to have crumbled, at least in the eyes of the world, although certainly not in most parts of Sri Lanka’s mainstream media. Images of women and relatives of the disappeared throwing themselves on David Cameron’s convoy in Jaffna dominate world headlines, overwhelming the photographs of Commonwealth leaders at CHOGM.

A film of alleged war crimes … how I became Sri Lanka's most hated man http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/nov/16/channel4-television

The Guardian - 16 November 2013

The reaction of the people I met in Sri Lanka is at odds with the intimidation against me engineered by a despotic government A film shot in January 2009 allegedly shows a Sri Lankan soldier executing a Tamil Tiger prisoner.

Photograph: Journalists For Democracy/AFP/Getty Images They haunt our every move, on their motorbikes in their silver hatchback and on their tuk tuks. Sri Lanka's intelligence officers are a tenacious lot, but there's another group perhaps even more tenacious in their pursuit of us: "spontaneous", pro-government demonstrators. i Lanka at the moment. I am a celebrity and they want me out of here.

Situation Report: Sri Lanka’s CHOGM Repressive Tactics To Stifle Dissent

https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/situation-report-sri-lankas-chogm-repressive-tacticsto-stifle- dissent/

Colombo Telegraph - November 15, 2013

The government of Sri lanka, hosts of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting that will take place tomorrow has engaged in an extraordinary string of repressive tactics to stifle dissent and the freedom of expression since the summit events commenced on Sunday. After months of making a show of measures to address human rights issues, the events of this past week has shown the Rajapaksa government to be engaging in the worst types of repression, violence and subversion on democratic dissent and dissenters. Here are the highlights of CHOGM week for citizens of Sri Lanka attempting to express dissent at Government policies and rights abuses and journalists in town to cover the summit.

Minister-supporters-block-macrae-s-vanni-visit

http://www.srilankamirror.lk/news/11735-minister-supporters-block-macrae-s-vanni-visit

Sri Lankan Mirror -13 November 2013

Supporters of two political bigwigs and brothers in Anuradhapura have compelled Channel - 4 journalists including Callum Macrae to be sent back to Colombo. The Channel 4 team were on a Vavuniya bound train which was blocked at Anuradhapura railway station by a group of protesters.

The train had reached the station around 10.45 am and was met by nearly thousand supporters of North Central Provincial Council Chief Minister and supporters of his brother Deputy Minister S.M. Chandrasena.

Govt. caught pants down

http://www.lankatruth.com/home/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5934:videogovt-caughtpants-down-&catid=42:smartphones&Itemid=74

Lanka Truth - 13 NOVEMBER 2013

An incident is reported from Anuradhapura that indicates the President, despite giving visas to Callum Macrae and his group to enter the country and saying ‘come and see’, has instructed his followers not to allow them access for information. A group instructed by the Deputy Minister of UPFA government S.M. Chandrasena and the Chief Minister of North Central Provincial Council S.M. Ranjith engaged in an agitation at Anuradhapura Railway Station today (13th) blocking the train to Vavuniya travelled by Channel 4 journalists including Callum Macrae.

Sri Lanka Blocks Freedom Of Movement During CHOGM

https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/sri-lanka-blocks-freedom-of-movement-during-chogm/

Colombo Telegraph - November 13, 2013

Two days ahead of the Commonwealth Summit where Sri Lanka will assume the chair of an organisation that holds as its core values democracy, human rights and good governance, the military has stopped busloads of families of the disappeared from travelling to Colombo from the Northern Province. Families from Mannar, Vavuniya, Mullaitivu, Kilinochchi and Jaffna were travelling to the capital Colombo to attend the Samagi Human Rights Festival, also known as the alternate Peoples Forum to stress Commonwealth Values.

Channel 4's Callum Macrae: 'I have come here to cover the CHOGM'

http://www.srilankanewslive.com/index.php/news/security/item/6930-channel-4s-callum-macrae-ihave-come-here-to-cover-the-chogm

Sri Lanka News Live - 12 November 2013

Questions were raised at the cabinet media briefing on Monday on the arrival of Programme Producer for Britain's Channel 4 Callum Macrae.

Keheliya Rambukwella: "Thirty persons are arrivng to Sri Lanka with David Cameron and he is among these thirty persons. I think he has come in this group for protection. It was decided to issue visa at the airport. There is no point in not issuing visa to one person when 29 others are due to arrive. We ask that they come and act according to their conscience. We have given the opportunity to come here and witness what is happening so that he can transform into a decent journalist who works according to his conscience. "

British-director-criticizes-india-over-visa

http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2013/11/12/british-director-criticizes-india-over-visa/

India Real Time - November 12, 2013 The British director of a documentary chronicling the violent closing months of the Sri Lankan civil war has accused Indian authorities of siding with the island nation’s government by preventing him from entering India for the premier of his film. Callum Macrae’s “No Fire Zone: The Killing Fields of Sri Lanka,” was shown in Delhi on Nov. 7 and Mumbai on Nov. 8.

The film is a collection of footage recorded in the northeast region of the island nation by doctors, civilians, Tamil rebels and Sinhalese soldiers on cell phones and hand-held cameras as the Sri Lankan government allegedly bombarded areas filled with refugees fleeing the fighting.

No Fire Zone: The truth is out about Sri Lanka, despite official efforts to stop it http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/no-fire-zone-the-truth-is-out-about-sri-lanka- despiteofficial-efforts-to-stop-it- 8931603.html

Independent - Monday 11 November 2013

The government of Sri Lanka have gone to extraordinary lengths to attack us.

On Saturday afternoon the Prime Minister sent a tweet that read: “Been watching @NoFireZoneMovie. Chilling documentary on Sri Lanka. Serious questions to put to @PresRajapaksa next week.”

No Fire Zone is the feature documentary I directed, which contains carefully authenticated video evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the last few months of the Sri Lankan civil war. Both sides in that war committed crimes, although the most of those who died did so as a result of shelling by forces under the ultimate command of President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Channel 4 Team Arrives In SL; Greeted By Protests At BIA

https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/channel-4-team-arrives-in-sl-greeted-by-protests-at-bia/

Colombo Telegraph - November 11, 2013

Days after the Government announced again that demonstrations and protests would not be permitted during CHOGM 2013 the Channel 4 team and No Fire Zone director Callum Macrae exited the Bandaranaike International Airport to face a media mob and a demonstration against the broadcaster a short while ago.

Tailed By Intelligence In Colombo, Says Channel 4 CHOGM Team

https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/tailed-by-intelligence-in-colombo-says-channel-4chogm-team/

Colombo Telegraph - November 11, 2013

Britain’s Channel 4 team that arrived in Sri Lanka today to cover the Commonwealth summit to be greeted with “public” demonstrations at the airport and at their hotel now claim they are being followed in and out of their hotel in Colombo. The Channel 4 team includes No Fire Zone Director Callum Macrae. Channel 4 News Editor Ben De Pear tweeted a short while ago that a car with plates ending 4612 were following the media team from their airport to their hotel and now from the hotel out.

India's muddled policy

http://www.dnaindia.com/analysis/editorial-dna-edit-india-s-muddled-policy-1914387

DNA - Wednesday, Nov 6, 2013

The controversy over Callum Macrae's visa undermines New Delhi's credibility and highlights its confused approach in dealing with Colombo.

The pressure on New Delhi, both internal and external, is mounting as the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) nears. Regrettably — but unsurprisingly given the reactive, ad hoc manner in which Indian foreign policy has been conducted in various past instances — the government seems to be letting that pressure harry it into making the wrong calls.

Don’t shelve human rights

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-11-06/edit-page/43731168_1_chogmcommonwealth- leaders-kamalesh-sharma

Times of India - November 6, 2013

A few - depressingly few - Commonwealth leaders are currently agonizing about whether or not to attend CHOGM 2013 in Sri Lanka. The most important of those leaders is Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. But whichever way he falls on that question, an even bigger one looms - a question whose answer will be of existential significance to the Commonwealth itself. Should Sri Lanka be allowed (as precedent would suggest) to become "chair in office" of the Commonwealth for the next two years?

India denying visa to anti-Lanka film maker is ‘cheap’: Karunanidhi

http://www.firstpost.com/india/india-denying-visa-to-anti-lanka-film-maker-is-cheapkarunanidhi-1214661.html

First Post - Nov 6, 2013

DMK chief M Karunanidhi today described as “cheap tactics” the reported denial of a visa to a UK documentary film-maker who had released videos of alleged war-time atrocities against Tamils by the Sri Lankan Army. India had reportedly denied a visa to Callum Macrae, whose recent video claims that a woman Tamil TV presenter who had served in the LTTE was executed after being captured by Sri Lankan troops and was not killed during the final battle as claimed by the government. She was found dead, with the clothes stripped off her body.

No Indian visa for Callum Macrae

http://www.ceylontoday.lk/16-46620-news-detail-no-indian-visa-for-callum-macrae.html

Ceylon Today - 5 November 2013

India has denied a visa to Callum Macrae, the director of a documentary that exposed war crimes in Sri Lanka. Macrae, whose team was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize last year, made news again last Thursday when UK's Channel 4 telecast footage acquired from him showing LTTE TV anchor-actor Isai Priya's capture during the last phase of the Lankan war. Priya was found dead on May 18, 2009, with visible marks of torture. The video was telecast worldwide and caused an uproar that cast a shadow on the Colombo Commonwealth summit mid-November.

Controversial Channel 4 director gets on arrival visa to Sri Lanka despite being denied Indian visa http://www.colombopage.com/archive_13B/Nov06_1383680426CH.php

Colombo Page - Nov 6, 2013

Nov 05, Colombo: Sri Lanka has approved on arrival visa to Callum Macrae, the controversial Director of Channel 4 documentaries on Sri Lanka's war to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).

Minister of Mass Media Keheliya Rambukwella has confirmed to Ceylon Today that Macrae has been granted on arrival visa to enter the country to cover the mega event despite being denied a visa to enter India by Indian authorities.

Video: Government issues necessary visa to controversial Channel 4 film director

http://www.hirunews.lk/70736/no-visa-issued-for-channel-4-director

Hiru News - 05 NOVEMBER 2013

The government has issued necessary visa to controversial Channel 4 film director Callum Macrae to cover the CHOGM in Colombo. Media and Information Ministry Secretary Charitha Herath said that Macrae was given visa on the recommendation of the Media and Information Ministry of Sri Lanka.

Macrae produced 2 documentaries of alleged war crimes during the last phase of the war in the North and Channel 4 telecast them at 2 occasions. The third anti-Sri Lankan documentary was arranged to screen in New Delhi tomorrow but Indian government has not given Macrae visa to enter India.

Macrae refused Indian visa

http://colombogazette.com/2013/11/05/macrae-refused-indian-visa/

Colombo Gazette - November 5, 2013

Callum Macrae, the Nobel Prize nominated director of the film No Fire Zone: the Killing Fields of Sri Lanka has expressed concern and surprise over the fact that it appears he is being denied a visa to attend the premiere of his own film in Delhi on November the 7th.

He issued a statement expressing his “deep concern” over the delay in issuing him with a visa, adding: “I know that the war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the last few months of the civil war in Sri Lanka are a matter of considerable concern to the government in India – and I am at a loss to understand why they are giving the impression they want to prevent me coming over to talk about my film and the evidence that we have been gathering for more than three years.”

Douglas Devananda seeks probe into death of Isaipriya

http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/south-asia/douglas-devananda-seeks-probe-into-deathof- isaipriya/article5314783.ece

The Hindu - 5 November 2013

Sri Lankan Minister calls for independent inquiry into the death of Tamil propagandist Isaipriya.

Sri Lankan Minister Douglas Devananda of the Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP), which is part of the ruling United People’s Freedom Alliance here, has written to President Mahinda Rajapaksa, calling for an independent inquiry into the death of Tamil propagandist Isaipriya.

According to a statement put out by the EPDP on Sunday, the video clip with footage of Isaipriya in captivity and then, dead, has agitated the Tamil people.

Students to intensify stir over CHOGM

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/students-to-intensify-stir-on-chogm-issue/ article5314676.ece?homepage=true

The Hindu - 5 November 2013

Special Arrangement Arputhammal, mother of Perarivalan, lighting a torch in Chennai on Monday.Student organisations, which were holding protests across the State demanding that India boycott the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Sri Lanka later this month, have planned to intensify their stir. Many students who tried to take out a rally to Thanjavur, where a ‘Mullivaikal Memorial’ is to be inaugurated on November 8, were arrested in different parts of the State. Arputhammal, mother of A.G. Perarivalan, a convict on death row in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, who lighted a torch for the students, was among those taken into custody in Chennai.

No Indian visa for Sri Lanka war documentary maker

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-11-05/india/43693050_1_callum-macrae-lankan-warindian-visa Arun Ram,

Times of India - 5 Novemeber 2013

CHENNAI: India has denied a visa to Callum Macrae, the director of a documentary that exposed war crimes in Sri Lanka. Macrae, whose team was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize last year, made news again last Thursday when UK's Channel 4 telecast footage acquired from him showing LTTE TV anchor-actor Isai Priya's capture during the last phase of the Lankan war. Priya was found dead on May 18, 2009, with visible marks of torture. The video was telecast worldwide and caused an uproar that cast a shadow on the Colombo Commonwealth summit mid-November.

India shouldn't have denied visa to Callum Macrae

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-11-05/times-view/43693365_1_indian-visa-callummacrae- superpower

Times of India - Nov 5, 2013

India has done itself no favours by denying Callum Macrae a visa to visit this country. True, Colombo might have been displeased if New Delhi had issued a visa, but that is hardly a good reason for taking such a step. It only makes India look like it is willing to bend over backwards to please even a small country like Sri Lanka, hardly the kind of image a nation wanting to project itself as a "superpower" in the making would want to acquire.

http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2013/nov/04/richard-hammond-builds-a-planet-tv-review

The Guardian - November 4, 2013

I hope David Cameron, William Hague, Prince Charles and everyone else going to the Commonwealth heads of government meeting in Sri Lanka next week saw the shocking No Fire Zone (Channel 4, Sunday). And that perhaps, when they're shaking the hand of President Rajapaksa, they'll remember some of the horrific images of the thousands of Tamils lured to so- called safe havens and slaughtered by his government's forces.

I only watched ‘No Fire Zone’ by chance. But its revelations about Sri Lanka are surely unmissable http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/i-only-watched-no-fire-zone-by-chance-but-itsrevelations-about-sri-lanka-are-surely-unmissable-8921398.html

The Independent - November 4, 2013

About two minutes in to No Fire Zone and holding the remote control I asked my mum if she wanted to change the channel back to Was It Something I Said, the comedy quiz show the family sometimes takes in after Homeland on Sunday nights. The answer was no. As a result, we watched this report on how in 2009 Sri Lanka’s government ushered Tamil civilians into “safe zones” – before subjecting them to sustained fire from heavy weaponry.

Channel 4 Isaipriya video: Reactions and responses

http://www.therepublicsquare.com/world/2013/11/04/channel-4-isaipriya-video-reactions-andresponses

The Public Square - 4 NOVEMBER 2013

The UK’s Channel 4 has released video footage that allegedly shows the capture and execution of Tamil propagandist, TV presenter and soldier Isaipriya by the army. The footage, which was apparently shot by a soldier using a camera phone, shows Isaipriya’s capture, where she is mistaken for the LLTE leader Prabakaran’s daughter, before showing her dead in a ditch, with her hands tied behind her back and having been sexually assaulted.

Isaipriya puts Congress, UPA on sinking wicket among Tamils in India

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/isaipriya-puts-congress-upa-on-sinking-wicket-among-tamils-inindia/1/321558.html

India Today - NOVEMBER 4, 2013

one thing the Congress does all the time whenever there is talk about Narendra Modi is stand akimbo and point a finger with the most accusative baritone and say, "Gujarat 2002." The Congress has now come up with data, like human development indices which say they are the lowest in Gujarat etc.

Luckily for us, they are looking up the indices. Maybe they will think of doing something about them soon, in states the Congress rules or whoever rules.

Rajapaksa Ally Calls For Independent Probe Into Latest Channel 4 Footage

https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/rajapaksa-ally-calls-for-independent-probe-into-latestchannel-4- footage/

Colombo Telegraph - November 3, 2013

The Eelam Peoples’ Democratic Party (EPDP), a coalition ally of the ruling Rajapaksa Government in a surprise move has called for an independent probe into the latest Channel 4 footage of the surrender of an LTTE propagandist to the Sri Lankan forces although the Defence Ministry has claimed she died in battle in May 2009.

New Video of Sexually Assaulted and Murdered Captive Tamil Reporter is Bad News for Sri Lanka http://www.salem-news.com/articles/november032013/tamil-reporter-video-tk.php

Salem-News.com - Nov-03-2013 02:49

Isaipriya's body positions recorded in photos and video tell a chilling story of war crimes and cover up.

(Warning: disturbing images) Sometimes war crime evidence is obscure, sometimes it is undeniable. The latter is the case involving a young Tamil Tiger reporter named Shoba, more commonly known within the Tamil culture as Isaipriya, who met a terrible fate after being captured by the Sri Lankan Army (SLA) at the conclusion of the country's long running civil war.

Channel-4-video-on-isaipriya-killing-a-fake]'Channel 4 video on Isaipriya killing, a fake' http://www.srilankamirror.lk/news/11509-channel-4-video-on-isaipriya-killing-a-fake

Sri Lanka Mirror - 02 November 2013

The latest Channel 4 video over the arrest, sexual assault and killing of LTTE news broadcaster Isaipriya alias Shobha is a fake, the Sri Lankan Army says. Speaking to BBC, Military Spokesman Ruwan Wanigasuriya has said that around 12,000 persons arrested by the Army, alive, have now entered civil society after rehabilitation and that Isaipriya was not among them at any point. According to the Channel 4 video, Isaipriya is captured by soldiers and asked whether she is the LTTE leader Prabhakaran's daughter. To this, she replies in Tamil that she is not.

Channel 4 shocking expose: Isaipriya raped and killed in cold blood

by Sri Lankan Army http://truthdive.com/2013/11/02/channel-4-shocking-expose-isaipriya-raped-and-killed-in-coldblood-by-sri-lankan-army.html

TruthDive - November 2, 2013

Channel 4 on Friday telecast a shocking video clipping showing Shoba alias Isaipriya being captured alive and taken away by Sri Lankan armymen, with hands fastened behind her back.

The shocking footage of Isaipriya killed in cold blood was shot by an unidentified Sri Lankan soldier and released to the British channel. Her body was found during “clean-up” operations after the war ended in 2009, according to official reports.

Sri Lankan Tamil journalist was captured, killed’

http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/south-asia/sri-lankan-tamil-journalist-was-capturedkilled/article5306552.ece

The Hindu - November 2, 2013

A video clip from No Fire Zone, a Channel 4 documentary to be released on November 3, has put the spotlight on Sri Lanka yet again, weeks before the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.

According to a report on the website of the British television channel, the young woman shown in the footage as being captured by men in army fatigue, and later lying unconscious or dead with a gash across her face is Isaipriya, a newsreader for LTTE’s television channel who, the Sri Lankan government reportedly maintained, had died in combat.

Video shows Lanka army committed war crimes’ Attempt to discredit Colombo with fake videos: military http://www.arabtimesonline.com/NewsDetails/tabid/96/smid/414/ArticleID/201012/reftab/36/ Default.aspx

Arab Times - November 2, 2013

COLOMBO, Nov 2, (RTRS): A documentary maker said on Friday video of a Tamil Tiger television presenter suggests she was captured alive and killed, rather than dying in the chaotic end of Sri Lanka’s three decade war. The footage is in the documentary “No Fire Zone: The Killing Fields of Sri Lanka”, the fourth by British journalist and director Callum Macrae to allege the Sri Lankan army committed war crimes at the end of the separatist conflict in 2009. Military spokesman Ruwan Wanigasooriya said the army never resorted to killing those captured or who surrendered, and disputed the authenticity of the video it said was an attempt to discredit Sri Lanka before it hosts a Commonwealth summit.

Sri Lanka dismisses Channel 4 'fake' video of LTTE media woman killing http://www.colombopage.com/archive_13B/Nov02_1383410840CH.php

Colombo Page - Nov 2, 2013

Sri Lanka today summarily dismissed a video documentary released by the Britain's Channel 4 just ahead of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) that is to take place in two weeks. Sri Lanka dismissed the Channel 4 video which shows the killing of a Tamil woman who was said to be a television presenter for the Tamil Tiger Terrorist group LTTE, as "fake" and said the Channel 4 as usual is making another attempt to discredit Sri Lanka as the Commonwealth Summit approaches.

Isaipriya video cause for concern, govt yet to decide on Manmohan's Sri Lanka visit: Chidambaram http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/isaipriya-video-disturbing-manmohan-chogm-visit-still-undecidedchidambaram/1/321435.html

India Today - NOVEMBER 2, 2013

As the government maintained Saturdav it is yet to take a decision on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's participation at the upcoming Commonwealth summit in Colombo, a new and disturbing Channel 4 video on the alleged arrest, sexual assault and killing of a pro-LTTE Sri Lankan news reader is causing concern.

Sri Lanka cannot deny war crimes, says Callum Macrae

http://ibnlive.in.com/videos/431913/sri-lanka-cannot-deny-war-crimes-says-callum-macrae.html

IBN - Nov 02, 2013

Callum Macrae, the director of the film, that shows the alleged brutalisation of the LTTE television anchor said Sri Lanka cannot deny war crimes. International rights groups are also putting pressure on India to skip the Summit in Colombo - especially after the release of a video by a British channel.

Activists claimed that she was raped and murdered during the war in 2009.

#WARCRIMES: Tamil actress Isaipriya Raped and killed by Lankan Army – Channel 4 video #Vaw http://www.kractivist.org/warcrimes-tamil-actress-isaipriya-raped-and-killed-by-lankan-armychannel-4-video-vaw/

Kractivist - Nov 2nd, 2013

British documentary filmmaker Callum Macrae on Friday revealed new video of a prominent Tamil Tiger TV presenter and actress that suggests she was captured alive and killed during the chaotic final days of Sri Lanka’s ethnic conflict.The footage is in the documentary “No Fire Zone: The Killing Fields of Sri Lanka”, the fourth by Callum Macrae to allege the Sri Lankan army committed war crimes at the end of the separatist conflict in 2009.

Isaipriya video is fake, Sri Lanka hits back at Channel 4 documentary

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/isaipriya-video-is-fake-sri-lanka-government/1/321406.html

India Today - NOVEMBER 2, 2013

Sri Lanka today dismissed a latest video documentary released by Britain's Channel 4 as "fake", saying attempts are being made to discredit the army ahead of the Commonwealth conference.

In the latest video, Channel 4 shows a group of soldiers surrounding a half-naked Tamil lady. The video claim that lady, a Tamil television presenter who had served in the LTTE, was executed after being captured by the troops and not during the final battle as claimed by the government. She was found dead with her clothes stripped.

Director says video shows Sri Lanka army committed war crimes

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/11/01/uk-srilanka-film-warcrime-idUKBRE9A00ZK20131101

Reuters - Fri Nov 1, 2013

A documentary maker said on Friday video of a Tamil Tiger television presenter suggests she was captured alive and killed, rather than dying in the chaotic end of Sri Lanka's three decade war.

The footage is in the documentary "No Fire Zone: The Killing Fields of Sri Lanka", the fourth by British journalist and director Callum Macrae to allege the Sri Lankan army committed war crimes at the end of the separatist conflict in 2009.

Military spokesman Ruwan Wanigasooriya said the army never resorted to killing those captured or who surrendered, and disputed the authenticity of the video it said was an attempt to discredit Sri Lanka before it hosts a Commonwealth summit.

Channel 4 Receives CHOGM Accreditation Hours After Campaign On Twitter

https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/channel-4-receives-chogm-accreditation-hours-aftercampaign-on- twitter/

Colombo Telegraph - October 26, 2013

Britain’s Channel 4 Television, persona non grata for the Sri Lankan Government since it aired the first documentary it claimed was evidence Colombo had committed war crimes in the final phase of the war against the LTTE, complains it took nearly nine weeks to receive accreditation for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting next month.

Channel 4 Editor Ben De Pear tweeted that Channel 4 had suddenly received confirmation that its applications had been received one hour after reporters and editors at the broadcaster engaged Sri Lankan Media Ministry Secretary.

Callum Accused GoSL Of Attempting To Suppress The Truth About War Crimes

https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/callum-accused-gosl-of-attempting-to-suppress-thetruth-about-war- crimes/

Colombo Telegraph - October 4, 2013

The producers of the feature documentary No Fire Zone: The Killing Fields of Sri Lanka have condemned an unsuccessful attempt by the Sri Lankan government to prevent the screening of the film as part of the Film Southasia film festival in Nepal. The film’s director Callum Macrae accused the government of attempting to suppress the truth about their complicity in war crimes and crimes against humanity.

No Fire Zone’ Film Premiere Casts Spotlight On Sri Lanka’s Human Rights Record

https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/no-fire-zone-film-premiere-casts-spotlight-on-srilankas-human- rights-record/

Colombo Telegraph - September 7, 2013

Film premiere casts spotlight on Sri Lanka’s human rights record as island becomes Freedom from Torture’s top country of origin for referrals As Sri Lanka’s human rights record is put in the spotlight again tonight with the UK premiere of Callum Macrae’s new feature documentary No Fire Zone, Freedom from Torture can reveal the south Asian island has become the number one country of origin for referrals to us for clinical services.

Sri Lanka Becomes Freedom From Torture’s Top Country Of Origin For Referrals https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/sri-lanka-becomes-freedom-from-tortures-top-countryof-origin-for- referrals/

Colombo Telegraph - September 6, 2013

As revealed by our recently published 2012/13 Annual Review, Sri Lanka surged ahead to become the top country of origin for those referred to Freedom from Torture for clinical services in 2012. Of 1,301 people referred to us for torture rehabilitation and forensic documentation services in 2012, 228 were of Sri Lankan nationality. The vast majority of these were ethnic Tamils and most were referred to us by concerned GPs or solicitors representing them in their asylum claims.

Sri Lanka: Slaughter In The No Fire Zone

https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/sri-lanka-slaughter-in-the-no-fire-zone/

Colombo Telegraph - September 4, 2013

The Sri Lankan government still denies responsibility for the killing of up to 70,000 Tamil civilians at the end of the civil war in 2009. So why has it been chosen to host a Commonwealth summit asks Callum Macrae, director of a harrowing film about the massacre.

I have spent the best part of the last three years looking at some of the most terrible images I could have imagined. I’ve covered wars and seen some awful things, but few that could prepare me for the hours of video and mobile footage that emerged from the last 138 days of Sri Lanka’s bloody civil war between the government and the Tamil Tiger secessionists; a war that ended four years ago – and whose bloody denouement is the subject of my film No Fire Zone: The Killing Fields of Sri Lanka.

Visa refusal disappoints film maker http://www.thearunachalpioneer.in/features/2013/11/16/visa-refusal-disappoints-film-maker/ The Arunachal Pioneer - November 16, 2013 10:49 AM While CHOGM is on in Sri Lanka amidst protests, why is ‘No fire Zone’ such a problem?

The refusal of a visaby the Indian government to British documentary maker and writer Callum Macrae not only impinges on the rights of Indians to a free flow of ideas and information but, in Macrae’s opinion, is also an indication that “India is not liking what I am saying.”

India denies visa for director of No Fire Zone http://www.tamilguardian.com/article.asp?articleid=9090 Tamil Guardian - 05 November 2013 India has denied a visa to the director of No Fire Zone, Callum Macrae. Speaking to TOI, Macrae said: "I am due to fly out on November 6 for a screening of my documentary in Delhi the next day. I find it extraordinary that I still do not have my visa, despite the fact that I first applied more than eight months ago,"

Denial Of Visa To Callum Macrae A Repressive Act http://www.countercurrents.org/satya061113.htm Countercurrents.org - 06 November, 2013 The Indian government’s dithering over grant of visa to British film director Callum Macrae is a needlessly repressive measure not befitting a large and established democracy like India.

Mr Macrae was scheduled to attend the premiere of his documentary ‘No Fire Zone: The Killing Fields of Sri Lanka’ in New Delhi on 7th November and had applied for his visa almost eight months ago.

India disappoints Callum Macrae http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-india-disappoints-callum-macrae-1914917

DNA - Nov 7, 2013 Expressing his “disappointment” at Indian authorities not granting him visa to come to India for screening of his documentary based on war crimes in Sri Lanka during civil war, filmmaker Callum Macrae said the world was looking at India to lead the search for justice and not silence those who have evidence of crimes against humanity in Sri Lanka.

No Visa for ‘Sri Lanka war documentary maker’ Mr Callum Macrae http://www.uktamilnews.com/tamil/english/news/latest-­‐updates/no-­‐visa-­‐for-­‐sri-­‐lanka-­‐war-­‐ documentary-­‐maker-­‐mr-­‐callum-­‐macrae.html uktamilnews - November 5, 2013 India has denied a visa to Callum Macrae, the director of a documentary that exposed war crimes in Sri Lanka. Macrae, whose team was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize last year, made news again last Thursday when UK’s Channel 4 telecast footage acquired from him showing LTTE TV anchor-actor Isai Priya’s capture during the last phase of the Lankan war.

No Indian visa for Sri Lanka war documentary maker. http://www.salem-news.com/articles/november052013/macrae-india.php Salem News – November 05, 2013 India has denied a visa to Callum Macrae, the director of a documentary that exposed war crimes in Sri Lanka. Macrae, whose team was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize last year, made news again last Thursday when UK's Channel 4 telecast footage acquired from him showing LTTE TV anchor-actor Isai Priya's capture during the last phase of the Lankan war. Priya was found dead on May 18, 2009, with visible marks of torture.

No Indian visa for Channel 4’s Callum Macrae http://www.onlanka.com/news/no-­‐indian-­‐visa-­‐for-­‐channel-­‐4s-­‐callum-­‐macrae.html On Lanka News – November 5, 2013 India has denied a visa to Callum Macrae, the director of a documentary that exposed alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka.

Macrae, whose team was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize last year, made news again last Thursday when UK’s Channel 4 telecast footage acquired from him showing LTTE TV anchor-actor Isai Priya’s capture during the last phase of the Lankan war.

No Indian visa for Sri Lanka war documentary maker. http://www.lankanewspapers.com/news/2013/11/85383.html

Lanka Newspapers - November 5, 2013 India has denied a visa to Callum Macrae, the director of a documentary that exposed war crimes in Sri Lanka. Macrae, whose team was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize last year, made news again last Thursday when UK`s Channel 4 telecast footage acquired from him showing LTTE TV anchor-actor Isai Priya`s capture during the last phase of the Lankan war. Priya was found dead on May 18, 2009, with visible marks of torture.

Film-makers decry denial of visa to British director http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/filmmakers-decry-denial-of-visa-tobritish-director/article5335592.ece

The Hindu Business Line – November 10, 2013 A group of film-makers has flayed the Indian Government for refusing a visa to award-winning British film director Callum Macrae, whose film No Fire Zone on the plight of Sri Lankan Tamils, is to be premiered in Delhi and Mumbai.

Indian door not yet open for Macrae http://www.theindependent.lk/news2/1721-indian-door-not-yet-open-for-macrae India has denied a visa to Callum Macrae, the director of a documentary that exposed war crimes in Sri Lanka.Macrae, whose team was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize last year, made news again last Thursday when UK's Channel 4 telecast footage acquired from him showing LTTE TV anchoractor Isai Priya's capture during the last phase of the Lankan war. Priya was found dead on May 18, 2009, with visible marks of torture.

DON’T GRANT VISA TO CALLUM MACRAE AND HIS TEAM TO VISIT SRI LANKA FOR CHOGM http://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2013/09/15/dont-grant-visa-to-callum-macrae-and-his-team-tovisit-sri-lanka-for-chogm/

Lanka Web - September 15, 2013 Today’s Daily Mirror (13/9/2013)reported that Channel 4 News & Documentary maker Callum Macrae is to travel to Sri Lanka for the CHOGM. Let us be blunt. Under no circumstances that the GoSL should grant Callum Macrae and his Channel 4 team visa to visit Sri Lanka for any reasons.

Callum Macrae, Bandula Jayasekera polemics http://www.theindependent.lk/news2/427-callum-macrae-bandula-jayasekera-polemics Callum Macrae the film director of No Fire Zone: Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields speaks to a senior journalist in Sri Lanka over the threats by a diplomat who says Callum should not visit Sri Lanka for CHOGM; Callum says he has all the right to be in Sri Lanka for CHOGM as he has covered CHOGM previously.

White Van Waiting For Callum: What Does The UK Govt. Intend To Do If I Am Refused A Visa By Sri Lankan Govt.? – Callum Macrae http://www.uktamilnews.com/tamil/english/news/latest-­‐updates/white-­‐van-­‐waiting-­‐for-­‐callum-­‐ what-­‐does-­‐the-­‐uk-­‐govt-­‐intend-­‐to-­‐do-­‐if-­‐i-­‐am-­‐refused-­‐a-­‐visa-­‐by-­‐sri-­‐lankan-­‐govt-­‐callum-­‐macrae.html uktamilnews - July 10, 2013 Callum Macrae the film director of No Fire Zone: Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields speaks to a senior journalist in Sri Lanka over the threats by a diplomat who says Callum should not visit Sri Lanka for CHOGM; Callum says he has all the right to be in Sri Lanka for CHOGM as he has covered CHOGM previously.

Sri Lanka approves ‘On arrival Visa’ for Callum Macrae, but India says NO! http://www.uktamilnews.com/tamil/english/news/latest-­‐updates/sri-­‐lanka-­‐approves-­‐on-­‐arrival-­‐visa-­‐for-­‐ callum-­‐macrae-­‐but-­‐india-­‐says-­‐no.html

uktamilnews - November 6, 2013 Sri Lanka has approved on arrival visa to controversial UK Channel 4 Director, Callum Macrae, despite the fact that he has not been granted a visa to enter India to join a delegation led by UK Prime Minister, David Cameron, who will be in New Delhi on 14 November.

Relatives of terror victims protest against Callum Macrae

http://www.news.lk/features/chogm-­‐2013/7496-­‐relatives-­‐of-­‐terror-­‐victims-­‐protest-­‐against-­‐callum-­‐macrae New.lk - 12 November 2013 Channel 4 Producer Callum Macrae faced with a demonstration at the Katunayake International Airport yesterday on arrival.

The demonstration was staged by the parents and relatives who have been massacred by the tiger terrarists during the 30 years of war in Sri Lanka. They made this demonstration because Callum Macrae has produced several concocted films promoting the inhuman tiger terrorists and discrediting Sri Lanka.

Callum Macrae creeps into 'Sirikotha' http://www.globaltamilnews.net/GTMNEditorial/tabid/71/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/98914/l anguage/en-­‐US/Callum-­‐Macrae-­‐creeps-­‐into-­‐Sirikotha.aspx Global Tamil News - 13 November 2013 Controversial Channel 4 Film Director, Callum Macrae, who defamed Sri Lanka, attended a press conference organized by UNP MP Mangala Samaraweera, yesterday.

Callum Macrae arrives on British premier’s office media list http://www.lankanewsweb.com/news/5608-callum-macrae-arrives-on-british-premier-s-office-medialist

Lanka News - 07 November 2013 The Sri Lankan government has been forced to issue visa to British journalist Callum Macrae, who has made three documentaries on war crimes in Sri Lanka, only because his name is included in a list of 30 journalists submitted by the office of the British prime minister, reports say.

Callum Macrae: SL in no position to defend Commonwealth values http://www.tamilguardian.com/article.asp?articleid=7660 Tamil Guardian - 25 April 2013

Writing on the blog on the 'No Fire Zone' documentary, director Callum Macrae called on the Commonwealth to listen to growing calls worldwide and ensure that Sri Lanka not be allowed to host the next Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in November.

Macrae mobbed at media centre http://www.nation.lk/edition/breaking-news/item/22746-macrae-mobbed-at-mediacentre.html?tmpl=component

The Nation - 15 November 2013 Britain's Channel 4 journalist Callum Macrae denied he had any specific agenda against the Sri Lankan Government, but stressed there should be a credible and independent inquiry into human rights violations committed by both sides in the country's civil war. Macrae and his team were mobbed by the local media when they walked into the Media Centre established at the BMICH a short while ago for journalists covering CHOGM.

Callum Macrae Wakes Up… https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/callum-­‐macrae-­‐wakes-­‐up/ Colombo Telegraph - October 30, 2013 Meanwhile In A Parallel Universe Called Humility I am Callum Macrae. I am an award-winning film maker, writer and journalist. The ‘journalist’ part is important because it allows me to fictionalize the truth and paint fiction as fact. If you want me to explain, consider ‘Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields’. That should do.

Protestors force Callum Macrae to turn back on visit to North http://www.therepublicsquare.com/chogm/2013/11/13/protestors-­‐force-­‐callum-­‐macrae-­‐to-­‐turn-­‐ back-­‐on-­‐visit-­‐to-­‐north/ PUBLIC SQUARE - 13 NOVEMBER 2013

Protestors at Anaradhapura station have stopped a controversial documentary maker’s visit to the north today by blocking his train. Around 1,000 protestors gathered to block the Killinochchi bound train this morning, which was carrying Callum Macrae and his team on their way to Vavuniya.

Channel 4 journalists violate immigration rules http://www.srilankamirror.lk/news/11731-­‐channel-­‐4-­‐journalists-­‐violate-­‐immigration-­‐ rules?tmpl=component Sri Lankan Mirror - Wednesday, 13 November Controversial Channel 4 Film Director, Callum Macrae and 4 other journalists who arrived in Sri Lanka have violated Immigration rules by attending a press conference yesterday (12) organized by United National Party (UNP) as they have engaged in activities which does not relate to CHOGM and patriotic minded people are waiting to what action will be taken by security forces against them, reports Tiran Alles's newspaper 'Ceylon Today' today (13).

Why Commonwealth SG Sharma Must Show Leadership On Sri Lanka https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/why-commonwealth-sg-sharma-must-showleadership-on-sri-lanka/ Colombo Telegraph - April 25, 2013 This is a vital moment in the ongoing campaign for truth and justice in Sri Lanka. th Tomorrow, Friday 26 April, the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group will gather in London. There they will discuss growing calls for the next meeting of the Commonwealth Heads of Government (CHOGM) to be taken away from Sri Lanka. CHOGM is scheduled to be held in Colombo in November this year.

Sri Lanka: Making a mockery of HRs at CHOGM 2013 http://www.presstv.ir/detail/333576.html Press TV - Fri Nov 8, 2013 The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) is held every two years to enable leaders of Commonwealth countries to come together to discuss global and Commonwealth issues, and to decide on collective policies and initiatives, the CHOGM Website states.

‘No Fire Zone’ Film Premiere Casts Spotlight On Sri Lanka’s Human Rights Record https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/no-­‐fire-­‐zone-­‐film-­‐premiere-­‐casts-­‐spotlight-­‐on-­‐sri-­‐ lankas-­‐human-­‐rights-­‐record/ Colombo Telegraph - September 7, 2013 Film premiere casts spotlight on Sri Lanka’s human rights record as island becomes Freedom from Torture’s top country of origin for referrals As Sri Lanka’s human rights record is put in the spotlight again tonight with the UK premiere of Callum Macrae’s new feature documentary No Fire Zone, Freedom from Torture can reveal the south Asian island has become the number one country of origin for referrals to us for clinical services.

Taming Macrae - Editorial http://dmadmin.dailymirror.lk/opinion/172-­‐opinion/39002-­‐taming-­‐macrae-­‐editorial.html Daily Mirror - WEDNESDAY, 20 NOVEMBER 2013 Despite President Mahinda Rajapaksa being a PR maestro, a fact that was vividly displayed to the entire world when he invited a journalist of the Channel 4 of Britain for a cup of tea as the latter approached him with a provocative question during a CHOGM related event in Colombo, what seems to be lacking in his subordinates is exactly the very skill which was also exposed to the world through their handling of the journalists of the same Channel.

Facing Death Threats Ahead Of Visit To Commonwealth Meeting https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/facing-­‐death-­‐threats-­‐ahead-­‐of-­‐visit-­‐to-­‐ commonwealth-­‐meeting/ Colombo Telegraph - August 1, 2013 When you announce that you are going to apply for media accreditation for a routine international political event like the bi-annual Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) you don’t normally expect a rash of death threats – or to find a senior diplomat from the host country threatening on twitter that he will “make sure you don’t get a visa”.

UNP has insulted the country by summoning Callum Macrae – Keheliya Rambukwella http://www.itnnews.lk/?p=30408 ITN SRI LANKA - NOVEMBER 13, 2013 Minister Keheliya Rambukwella has said that the United National Party has insulted the country by bringing in Callum Macrae of Channel Four who is conspiring against Sri Lanka, to Siri Kotha. The Minister made this observation referring to the news conference held at Sirikotha under the guidance of Parliamentarian Mangala Samaraweera.

President Rajapaksa invites Macrae for a cup of tea http://lankasrinews.easyms.com/view.php?2ePTo00aETY2edGtb2bcT2G2d4Ebk2c2IJD242CeG2231 EP3

Lankasri - Tuesday, 12 November 2013 In what appeared to be a consolidation of the charm that President Mahinda Rajapaksa is renowned for, while dismissing questions posed by Channel-4 journalist when he was about to board the car after the opening of the Commonwealth Business Forum, invited them “for a cup of tea”.

Protestors block Channel 4 journalists travelling to Sri Lanka's former war zone http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2013-­‐11/13/c_132885423.htm

xinhuanet.com - 2013-11-13 19:39:21 Sri Lankan demonstrators hold placards during a protest against the arrival in the country of a crew from Britain's Channel 4 television ahead of the forthcoming Commonwealth summit in front of JAIC Hilton Residence in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Nov. 11, 2013. Pro-government activists also demonstrated outside Sri Lanka's main international airport denouncing the visit by Britain's Channel 4 which

produced an award-winning documentary on alleged war crimes during the island's ethnic war.

(Xinhua/GayanSameera)

Outcry over Sri Lanka clouds Commonwealth summit http://www.ajc.com/news/ap/kids-­‐family/outcry-­‐over-­‐sri-­‐lanka-­‐clouds-­‐commonwealth-­‐ summit/nbqtN/ ajc.com - Nov. 13, 2013 The palm-flecked island nation of Sri Lanka plays host this week to leaders from dozens of Commonwealth nations at a summit it hopes will generate enough good will and photo opportunities to eclipse three decades of grim history — massive civilian deaths, persistent media harassment and gangster-style politics.

British TV crew blocked from reaching Sri Lanka's former war zone http://in.reuters.com/article/2013/11/13/srilanka-­‐film-­‐warcrime-­‐idINDEE9AC0DX20131113 Reuters - Nov 13, 2013 Pro-government protesters blocked a train carrying a British TV crew and the Sri Lankan army stopped activists trying to attend a human rights conference on Wednesday, in an apparent clampdown on free movement ahead of a Commonwealth summit.

Channel 4 team leave Sri Lanka after facing extensive intimidation http://www.nidahasa.com/news/news.php?go=fullnews&newsid=1281

NIDAHASA News - 18 November 2013 21:33iews British Channel 4 says they decided to withdraw their team from Sri Lanka after facing extensive intimidation and surveillance by security forces.

Minister supporters block Macrae's Vanni visit http://casite-515297.cloudaccess.net/news/5670-minister-supporters-block-macrae-s-vanni-visit

Lanka News Web - 13 November 2013 Supporters of two political bigwigs and brothers in Anuradhapura have compelled Channel - 4 journalists including Callum Macrae to be sent back to Colombo.The Channel 4 team were on a Vavuniya bound train which was blocked at Anuradhapura railway station by a group of protesters.

Free-for-all opposite Sirikotha

http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2013/11/17/pol03.asp Sunday Observer - 17 November 2013 Last week’s political arena was fully concentrated on the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) 2013 in Sri Lanka. While Government politicians were busy with the activities related to CHOGM 2013, there was another free-for-all opposite the headquarters of the country’s main Opposition, the United National Party.

British TV crew behind war-crime film face Sri Lanka demo http://www.haveeru.com.mv/lanka_civil_war/52303

Haveeru Online - Nov 12, 2013

Pro-government activists demonstrated outside Sri Lanka's main international airport Monday denouncing a visit by Britain's Channel 4 which produced an award-winning documentary on alleged war crimes during the island's ethnic war.

Sri Lanka cracks down on Tamil opposition ahead of summit http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/newshome/19817785/sri-lanka-cracks-down-on-tamilopposition-ahead-of-summit/

The West Australian – November 14, 2013 Sri Lanka's military stopped scores of ethnic Tamils protesters from entering the capital Wednesday ahead of a Commonwealth summit as a British TV crew was barred from a former warzone. Sri Lanka had hoped the three-day Commonwealth summit, due to start Friday, would showcase its post-war revival after security forces crushed the decades-long Tamil separatist conflict in 2009.