Warning Disturbing Images: Original Photographs Of Prisoners Of War In Sri Lanka
“No War Zone: The
Killing Fields of Sri Lanka,” the culmination of three years of research by
Channel 4, which will be shown for the first time next month in Geneva, to
coincide with the U.N. Human
Rights Council meeting. We publish below the original photographs of
LTTEs Col.
Ramesh killing.
T.
Thurairajasingham, whose call sign was Romeo Sierra, and nom de
guerre was Colonel Ramesh.
“This
single murder, insignificant of itself, suggest the systematic, large-scale
killing of prisoners – civilians and fighters – by the Sri Lankan authorities.
These are the murders that the government has long denied, and which, when
asked, they say didn’t happen, or if they did were committed by the Tamil Tigers
(LTTE) themselves. When pressed, they ask for the evidence, assert that the
recorded images are fakes, or request the names of witnesses, such as several
Sinhalese troops who already have come forward to provide secret testimony of
war crimes. ” – Gordon
Weiss
“The
Col. Ramesh footage melts any heart to see a hardened Tiger cowing down before
semi-educated soldiers and addressing them as ‘Sir’ as they ask him for his
‘live place.’ The evidently visible fear and anxiety on his face measure the
terror of the army that would have been felt by less hardened Tamils in
Mullivaikal and throughout refugees camps in May 2009. The interrogators’ faces
are recognizably visible. Within the army, they would be quickly identified,
making it awkward for the government. Trophy photos being taken – the undoing of
the murderers – is also seen. For Col. Ramesh’s family the images of their
father/husband reduced to what we see would only deepen their grief.” –
Prof S.
Ratnajeevan H. Hoole
Click here for in-depth
analysis by Gordon Weiss.
The
Tamil widow of T. Thurairajasingham (Colonel
Ramesh) brought an action
against Mahinda Rajapaksa, the sitting President of Sri Lanka and the
agents under his control. She is asking for compensatory and punitive damages
for torture, inhumane treatment and war crimes inflicted by the defendant in
violation of the laws of the United States and International Law.
Colonel
Ramesh, being interrogated, and his old and new wounds being examined, on 22 May
2009 by Sri Lankan army personnel in the back of an APC (possibly an armoured
Humvee), an image that forms part of the chain of custody. Supplied
photo.
Colonel
Ramesh, changing into Sri Lankan army fatigues on 22 May 2009, watched by Sri
Lankan army personnel in the back of an APC (possibly an armoured Humvee), an
image that forms part of the chain of custody. Supplied photo.
Colonel
Ramesh, moments after being shot with a high calibre weapon on 22 May 2009 lies
on the floor of a mud wall house, an image that forms part of the chain of
custody. Supplied photo.
Colonel
Ramesh, after being shot with a high calibre weapon on 22 May 2009 lies outside
a mud wall house, viewed by a Sri Lankan army soldier, an image that forms part
of the chain of custody. Supplied photo.
Colonel
Ramesh, after being shot with a high calibre weapon on 22 May 2009, now placed
on a stack of wood for burning, an image that forms part of the chain of
custody. Supplied photo.
Colonel
Ramesh, after being shot with a high calibre weapon on 22 May 2009, is burned on
a pyre. A Sri Lankan army soldier poses for a ‘trophy’ photo, an image that
forms part of the chain of custody. Supplied photo
