Rajapaksa Ally Calls For Independent Probe Into Latest Channel 4 Footage
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.
EPDP Leader Douglas Devananda and President Rajapaksa
Government Minister Douglas Devananda whose EPDP suffered a humiliating defeat in the Northern Provincial elections in September wrote to President Mahinda Rajapaksa calling for an inquiry into Isipriya’s death, the party said.
Devananda told the President that Tamils all over the world were in a state of shock after the latest Channel 4 Footage surfaced giving evidence that Isipriya was in security forces custody before her death.
The Minister said in his letter that he had called for an investigation into other allegations about the final phase of the war as well and was now making an appeal for the Government to independently probe the killing of Isipriya.
Meanwhile, Indian Finance Minister P. Chidambaran told the media in that country that he had seen the latest Channel 4 footage and believed it to be authentic. The Indian Minister has called on the Government to launch a probe into the allegation.
The footage shows the LTTE affiliated Journalist as being mistaken for Tiger Leader Prabhakaran’s daughter and treated with respect by Sri Lankan Army officials. However earlier footage obtained by Channel 4 in their Killing Fields Documentary had shown images of Isipriya killed and allegedly sexually assaulted. The footage is available on Callum Macrae‘s No Fire Zone documentary that also revealed evidence that Prabhakaran’s youngest son Balachandran was in army custody before his alleged execution.
By Binoy Suriyaarachchi-Sunday, 03 Nov 2013
By Binoy Suriyaarachchi-Sunday, 03 Nov 2013
The latest video documentary released by Channel4, detailing another episode of the alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka, is an attempt to destroy the good image of the country, before the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) Military Spokesperson Brigadier Ruwan Wanigasooriya, told Ceylon Today.
The video footage released on Friday (1) shows a woman identified as Isaipriya, who was an ex-LTTE cader, being rescued by the troops, while she was lying in a muddy sea water ditch. The released video later shows Isaipriya’s body lying in a ditch with injuries.
Brigadier Wanigasooriya, questioning the authenticity of the footage, said a similar video was released on an earlier occasion, targeting the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) sessions in Geneva.
He said, “This time they have come out with another fake video targeting CHOGM. We can expect another fake video in time for the UNHRC sessions in March next year too.
“The entire video is just a drama. It is a fake. In the video footage, it is shown some soldiers covering a woman with a white cloth. That cloth is pure white. That was where the person whoever directed the fake documentary made the mistake. It is ridiculous the fact that they found a pure white sheet in the middle of a battlefield.
“Previously, the full strength and money of the Tamil Diaspora was directed towards the LTTE to fight the war. And now they use it to buy television channels such as Channel4, in order to create a negative image about the country.”
