This is off-topic, and in no way a fun subject, so understand if no one wants to discuss. But, did anyone see the Killing Fields of Sri Lanka documentary last night? I have never seen such things on TV in my life before. Utterly unbelievable, and awful. It was on late, presumably because of its content. It was absolutely unflinching in its coverage of the war crimes. I couldn't believe it and, if anyone else saw it, I doubt it's something anyone could forget quickly.
I saw the original documentary last year and I was utterly disgusted. Some things stay in your mind for life and this is one of those. I almost didn't want to see the second one last night. Saw most of it, but didn't catch the beginning. From my memory, the first focused more on the, murder, torture, executions and rape. Footage filmed by soldiers on their mobile phones of naked men, hands bounds, shot through the head. Naked women's corpses , following their rape and murder, thrown onto trailers, like pieces of meat. All the time these soldiers seem very happy with themselves, making comments such as she has nice tits. One particular moment that sticks with me is seeing a clip of a female Tamil newsreader reporting the news just like any other newsreader in any other country. Then the film cuts to her naked corpse, following her rape and murder. The second was less graphic and focused more on the Sri Lanka governments continuing lies, denials and cover ups. Their prevention of food and medical aid reaching the innocent trapped civilians, who's numbers they blatantly lied about. Though less graphic, these lies are probably even more harrowing then what I saw in the first documentary. The crimes committed by the Sri Lankans are as terrible as anything in recent history and they're getting away with it. This can't be allowed to happen.
I've never seen anything like it. A lot of this program was to highlight their many war crimes. The main one being the setting up of no fire zones for displaced civilians to get temporary housing, medical care & food from charities - only to shell them continuously. Additionally, deliberately ignoring requests for medicines, blood etc and deliberately sending far less food than could feed the amount of people there. I have honestly never known a television channel broadcast such images. Entirely justified, because the things that went on there during the war are not just illegal, but totally inhuman. There was also the continued use of rape, torture, executions and, as was analysed really rather closely, the mental torture and then murder of the Tamil Tiger's leader's 12 year old son. A lot of the footage used was that filmed by the Sri Lankan soldiers themselves, kind of trophy videos. How thick? Anyway, it means nothing because as all this happened, and the first Sri Lankan docu had already been screened, the countries leaders carried on being invited to swanky heads-of-state events where they were lavishly supping champagne and meeting our Queen. It's on 4-on demand if anyone fancies it. Well worth watching, though pulls no punches and 'graphic' doesn't cover it.
Got to wonder if the England cricket team should be touring Sri Lanka at this time. "Sri Lanka's cricket board is allegedly ridden by corruption, and the grounds England will play on are now run by a military that Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the United Nations and the US State Department say should be investigated for allegations of perhaps the most serious war crimes and crimes against humanity committed this century. With the upcoming broadcast of "Sri Lanka's Killing Fields; War Crimes Unpunished", the follow up to the award winning "Sri Lanka's Killing Fields" film made by ITN Productions for Channel 4 last year, on Wednesday, and a move by the US to push for a UN war crimes investigation, the England tour comes at a hugely controversial time." http://www.channel4.com/news/should-englands-cricket-team-tour-sri-lanka
Heartbreaking, frustrating and sadly not even unique. Fair play to George Clooney for trying to raise the profile of the plight of people in Sudan. It's sometimes easy to forget how lucky we are that through no skill of our own, we happen to be born in a safe and secure Country.
