Sinhala version of documentary again spotlights killings

Close on the heels of a public outcry against the Indian government ban ning a UK documentary on Nirbhaya, Callum Macrae, another British filmmaker, has released a Sinhalese version of his controversial documentary , “No Fire Zone: In the killing fields of Sri Lanka“.
The Sinhala version comes on the eve of diplomatic initiatives by Sri Lanka -President Maithripala Sirisena's visit to UK and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's upcoming visit to the island nation.In the past, the film had provoked much debate and served to highlight the issue of alleged killings of Tamil civilians by Sri Lanka's military in 2009.
The Sinhalese version contains new footage about the death of the LTTE TV anchor Isaipriya who is shown sitting along with other captured LTTE cadres near a pond. The film then shows her bullet-ridden body ­ she was apparently executed by Sri Lankan soldiers. The version also touches upon the plight of the disappeared -film suggests many were executed by the army without investigation -besides commenting on the new regime and its constituents who may be cut from the same cloth as those in the Mahinda regime.
The version is available on the web. Callum Macrae says he encourages people to copy it, put it on DVD and link it to their own websites.
Killing Fields' case is that the Sri Lankan army deliberately got the UN out of the conflict zone in 2009 so there were no international observers and encouraged more than one lakh Tamil civilians to band together in an area that the government promised it won't bomb but proceeded to do exactly that, killing thousands ­ UN estimates at least 40,000 ­ of Tamil civilians. The No Fire Zone version released in 2013 contained the chilling images of Prabhakaran's young son Balachandran apparently in a Sri Lankan army post, having a snack, which were followed by a photograph of his bullet-ridden body . Interviews with forensic experts purport to show that the boy was shot at point blank range. That version led to much public outcry and likely forced India to reverse its past positions and vote for a resolution condemning Sri Lanka at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC).
Macrae has often timed the release of his films for impact. The documentary has been shown at the UNHRC and helped to build international public opinion calling for an inquiry into the killings and punishment to the perpetrators.
India refused a censorship certification to the film saying it will “strain friendly relations with Sri Lanka“ and denied a visa to Macrae.A Malaysian screening in July 2013 was raided ­ allegedly at the behest of Sri Lankan government representatives.
Sri Lanka has dismissed the film and the accompanying demands for an impartial, international inquiry into the civilian killings.The government sees an LTTE role behind the film and calls the footage doctored.
Sidestepping questions on the motives of his sources who gave the footage, Macrae told TOI in an email interview: “The footage showing the atrocities by Sri Lanka government forces was not shot by the LTTE. It was shot by those forces themselves. In almost all of the footage there are recognisable soldiers.In some cases we have subsequently obtained an image in which the person filming that footage can be seen at least partially . On top of that we have had all of this footage independently authenticated and assessed by video technicians and forensic pathologists who work for British courts.“
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