This is a good report by Al Jazeera on Sri Lanka. I recommend watching the first 15 minutes at least. Well shot also. They get the usual suspects talking, but a lot of ground footage and reporting. Again, a really wide range of shots and, I think, a balanced report.
Their reporter documented successful rehabilitation of former LTTErs, and travelled to the north. There they document both rehabilitation work and controversy that much of that work is being done by the military, or non-Tamil contractors. In one of the more affecting and demanding sections, they talk to a father whose son was abducted and who has yet to hear where he is.
These are all important issues with a lot of negatives on the government side, but they draw far short of the ongoing genocide that some people still allege. I think the Jazeera covers them fairly and non-hysterically. Paikiasothy tries to speak for everyone and everything in sweeping terms, but the article counterweights his opinion with facts on the ground, most notably from a young combatant returning home, and Prashan De Visser and Sri Lanka Unites.
I think they introduce that segment well:
But there are those who believe this war of words is holding reconciliation between ethnic communities back.
“It’s not about winning an argument anymore, it’s about rebuilding a country,” [said Prashan De Visser]… “Over 50% of Sri Lankans don’t have a friend outside their ethnic community. So how can you talk about reconciliation where they don’t even have a friendship, where they don’t even have an experience to understand what reconciliation could look like. You always have to have a first step. Then there is an urge and cry to see justice for all communities.”
I appreciate the report because it’s not just agitprop for the genocide/Sri-Lanka bad camp, nor is it prop for the government. It talks to the Army, the TNA, the CPA, the Foreign Minister, but also travels with people on the ground. I also come back to the shots, because they have a real width and breadth of them, looking down on Pettah, multiple shots of the Army in Jaffna, and it shows that they really went around and saw for themselves.
This is important because it shows that media coverage is possible and because it shows what it shows. Props to Drew Ambrose, 101 East, and Al Jazeera.
hat tip Omr for the link, in the comments
Thanks, Indi. Will give it a viewing.
On a similar theme, have you seen the CODOC ‘Truth that wasn’t there’ documentary? It’s only available to purchase and so I haven’t seen it. Was wondering if it adds anything useful to the conversation.
I’ve only heard good things so far about the rehabilitation of former LTTE cadres, which is something the government should get credit for.
The case of the missing people, like the man who was taken away in front of his father, needs to be addressed, if wounds are to be healed. On the other hand the war crimes spectre is hampering the chances of being more open about what happened during the madness of the war years.
Sri Lanka Unites is a beautiful way to bring about true reconciliation, because young people have open minds and have the capability to persuade their parents in to accepting the truth. Still, it’ll take a few years, and the suffering will continue until then .
Al Jazeera’s Reconciliation 101 is A Shameless Manipulation. Yep..Ex-Tamil combatant is forced to lie to save his life and his mother’s life. I’ve seen this before, numerous time .. But I could not believe that Al Jazeera can sink so low!! A Shameless, Master Manipulatior Rajapaksa is preparing a big, fat paycheck for them already.
There is , a sick scene, where tiny tots are being used like human shields by Sri Lanka Army which made me feel sick to my stomach … Any sane observer will see that when Sri Lanka military personal was interviewed on the lawn, outside children’s home, the teachers were nervously hiding near the building (obviously forbidden by Sri Lanka Army to be near the TV cameras and to do their duty to control the children). But the children , on the other hand let loose to run freely in front of Al Jazeera’s camera.
The whole thing smelled like rotten fish and shamelessly stagemanaged by the Sri Lanka Army where the Tamil children are shamelessly used like human shields !!
Also, please note, one teacher, who was allowed to be close to the TV crews, had a well-rehearsed nodding. That teacher’s constant nodding t remains me of a drill by the Sri Lanka army recruits at military camp. The children house’s scene was rehearsed to Ad Nauseam by the Sri Lanka Army well before the TV crew arrived!! This is how the astronomical Rs 230 billion of the military budget spent !! ( Very expensive film set of the Sri Lanka Army showbiz ; ) Contrast this with the Education Ministry, a mere Rs 33 billion, and Health, Rs 77 billion. The Ministry of Reconstruction has been allocated less than a billion (Rs 481 million to be exact), less than every other Ministry, even though most Tamils in the North and East lack basic facilities.
Why Rajapaksa is always lying when the reality is totally different ?! In the North, there is a State brutality, Impunity, Violent suppression of dissent, Assault in court premises, Sexual violence, Harassment of Tamil communities,Election related violence and intimidation, Militarization, Election related violence and intimidation, Unemployment, Loss of livelihood, Severe Restrictions on Tamil fishing communities, Land grabs and forced evictions, Occupation of schools by army, No access to irrigation for Tamil farmers, Destruction of the Places of worship for Tamils and much more.. The above serious concerns were raised in dbs website by a Sri Lankan Parliamentarian who is a Sri Lanka lawyer by profession http://dbsjeyaraj.com/dbsj/archives/2759
I dont doubt that Tamils in the North are undergoing a lot of hardship. 30 yrs. of conflict will take it’s toll. The army’s involvement in civilian life is naturally unpleasant, especially if it’s happening to the extent mentioned in Sumanthiran’s report. To my mind the attitude of the TNA is also responsible for the army’s excessive vigilance, and it’s not helping the Tamil people there.
It’s not as if there has been no improvement at all. The government has undertaken infrastructure development, even though the contracts are given to those the state chooses, acting over there much as the way they’re doing in the South. The army has done a lot of work too, as they should, in assisting in clearing landmines, cleaning up debris and war ravaged buildings like schools and even kovils. The TNA never has anything good to say about these.
The TNA’s tone doesn’t endear themselves to the people of the South either. I find their sincerity about wanting to help ordinary Tamil people questionable, considering the extent to which they turned a blind eye to the LTTE’s treatment of their own people. The constant complaints about Sinhala settlements only strengthen fears that the dream of a separate state lingers.
I recently read on Transcurrents, a reproduction of an article by Namini Wijedasa, which presents the actual suffering of the people in a way that creates sensitivity; suffering from post conflict issues like trauma, injury, loss of loved ones and caregivers and poverty. The TNA or any other representative of the Tamil community would get more support from the Sinhala maority if they were truly interested in bringing some relief to this kind of suffering, instead of appearing as if they’re only looking at ways to gain political power to oppress those poor people just as their counterparts in the majority community are doing in the South. They seem more concerned about touring the world trying to garner support for their political ambitions rather than help empower the Tamil people of the North.