Exiled journalists provide video-report

5 July 2011 02:27 am

A media rights group called ‘Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka (JDS)’- consisting a group of exiled journalists from Sri Lanka- has provided British Channel 4 television with the execution video with Sinhala speech which allegedly shows extra-judicial killings by Sri Lankan troops, the BBC Sinhala service reported.

The group also dismissed the ‘new executions video clip’ with Tamil speech aired in a pro government television channel as "fake" and one that emerged two years ago.

The JDS says that the "newly emerged" video was first published in a pro government website on 18 September 2009. JDS also calls upon the government to submit the clip to an international investigation for authentication.

The Sri Lankan government claims that the video contains Tamil Tigers committing a crime against Sri Lankan soldiers.

Sanath Balasuriya, a spokesman for JDS told BBC Sinhala service that the new claim invalidates the government's previous claim that such an incident never occurred.

"In a report by a so-called group of experts, the government said it was staged and not something that actually happened. If the government now says that the video shows a crime committed by the LTTE, it is an admission that such an incident did actually happen," he said.

JDS provided British Channel 4 television with a video with the same visuals and Sinhala speech which apparently shows extra-judicial killings by Sri Lankan troops.

An extended version of that video has been viewed by the UN Special Rapporteur on extra judicial, summary or arbitrary executions who concluded the incident as authentic.

JDS spokesman Balasuriya challenged the Sri Lankan government to provide the longer version with Tamil speech 'if it shows a crime committed by Tamil Tigers'.