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Grim scenes at Sri Lankan camps - Channel 4 report from Vavuniya
Channel 4 exposes the real situation of concentration camp at Vavuniya. Sri Lanka government usually arrange guided visit to a specific detention camp. This time Channel 4 visited a different camp with hidden camera and spoke freely to few people out there. The report from the visit looks very shocking.
-> Women are separated from the family and sexually abused
-> Abduction & disappearances
-> Dead bodies lying in many places of camp for days
-> Shortage of food and water
An Aid worker:
"Personally I saw 4 dead bodies inside the camp. Three women and a man. It must have been near to 3 to 4 days. People just live with dead bodies without doing anything. Some children are close to one. They didn't know that it was dead. People don't know whom to complain to. So they just leave them. I saw mothers unable to feed their children. One asked me with tears for two spoons of milk powder to feed her kid.but I couldn't help her."
Relative of camp detainee:
"There are still children here without their parents. They are living through hardship. We don't have a life here. This is a jail. We don't know who is alive and who is dead."
Aid Worker:
"We learned of two children who died when they were caught up in a crowd that was trying to get through a food distribution truck. People were exhausted. They were only thinking about getting food nothing else. There is a lack of coordination and competency. The government's only objective is to eradicate people from the areas that tamil tiger control."
Female aid worker:
"One elderly mother was crying inside the camp. I asked why. She said they have taken her daughter away and she haven't heard her at all. There are many people taken from the camp and go missing. Women are sexually abused and no one takes any action. There is no one to complain to. Nobody does at all. They know they are being watched. They are afraid they will go missing."
"Women have to bath in the open in front of everyone in the camp. Yesterday aid workers found the body of atleast three women, dead at the bating area."
- Thanks Channel 4
Channel 4 News reports from a camp in the northern Sri Lankan city of Vavuniya, where Tamil refugees have been taken.
Shocking claims have emerged of shortages of food and water, dead bodies left where they have fallen, women separated from their families, and even sexual abuse.
This programme obtained the first independently filmed pictures from the internment camps set up by the Sri Lankan government to house Tamils who have fled the country's civil war
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Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (78)
at 18:11 on May 5th, 2009
The camps look more like concentration camps that refuges.
at 21:52 on May 5th, 2009
First they deny access to free media to the "Safe-Zone" by using the excuse "It is not safe for the journalists"
Now No free media is allowed to these camps. The reason??
The same reson why they denied then access to the warzone.
To hide their warcrimes against the Tamils!
at 09:44 on May 6th, 2009
Who said this? Tamilnet?
at 01:59 on May 14th, 2009
Lalith,
Dont you know anything other than Tamilnet?? Every comment of yours contain the word. It is very obvious that you were asked to join this website by the SLA. Propaganda War..!! Grow up kid..
at 22:31 on May 5th, 2009
The same High Commissnor telling the same lies
This is going to be the response of the government to these claims.
1. They kill many Tamils in those camps to revenge this video leak
2. They will come with the same lie “it is false propaganda made by LTTE”
3. They will arrange a new visit to another camp with all a new “set up situation” to show the world how “well” they are handling these IDP’s. They will select which IDP’s to be interviewed by foreign media.
UN, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty international, girls from Haiti and Millions of Tamils know how disciplined the Sri Lankan Army is.
Disciplined Sri Lankan Army from responsible Sri Lankan government!!!!
at 00:29 on May 6th, 2009
cry ltte cry...
so we should believe those white lies. very funny! Those so called hidden cameras show nothing but lies of some so called aid workers. Hello… we need proof – these ltte propaganda workers (media and kicked ngos like hrw) do what ever possible to save terrorists. Don’t think we should waste time with these western morons and tamil terror diaspora we have proof (nothing but few signboards ) what these aid worker had done in these areas for 4 years after entering in to the country after tsunami. They helped funded and supplied with all what was necessary for their dear terrorists but not the poor tamils. Now they shed tears. Why ? to save themselves (ngos,terrorists,diaspora,western interests,…); It’s a big business!at 00:54 on May 6th, 2009
You think this situation is funny? Of course, you or you family are not in this kind of camps. I wonder how you would feel about it if that was the situation.
"We need proof" I know what you mean by proof. No, Sri Lankan Terrorist state will never report their own crimes!
How a video showing civilian’s condition in this camp does support terrorists?
Who do you call "western morons". You mean the same people the where the Sri Lankan government is begging money from?
at 01:53 on May 6th, 2009
And You beg for cease fire J))
No, we’ll finish the 30 years of misery that you and the LTTE terror brought to this country. Probably you will have to come to wanni cause your political asylem status will be void in few months – c u then; We can work together to develop wanni - wanga macha wangoat 03:01 on May 6th, 2009
"Women have to bath in the open in front of everyone in the camp. Yesterday aid workers found the body of atleast three women, dead at the bating area"
dis is very dangerous for srilankan soldiers taking care of welfare camps. all srilankan soldiers going to die seeing tamil women.they are sooooooo ugly. they have moustache and beard.black and dirty. why army giving dem water to take bath.
at 06:53 on May 6th, 2009
This aint no Ritz Carlton but thankfully better than "Slumdog Millionaire."
Save the "shadow play" towards the end for the kids or on second thoughts for the Diasporans. Kids are actually smarter.
I'm sorry but this proves what?
at 09:09 on May 6th, 2009
What a cruel mind .. comparing the sufferings of people to movie . Will you compare movies if you undergo the same torture what they are undergoing ? Will you compare movies if your people are sexually abused .. killed .. ? dont support these kind of cruel activities of your government. your government will do this to your people next.
at 21:45 on May 6th, 2009
This proves nothing of the sort you say. Some one has smuggled a cam inside and filmed. Do you think its any worse than the places where muslims who were chased from Jaffna lives? The "shadow play" to the end is to entertained the likes of you.
at 09:44 on May 6th, 2009
Western Morons are the one's who are harboring Tiger Terrorists and protecting them. If there are aqny Western Countries that have not banned the Losing Tigers of Terrorist Eelam, they are morons too.
Moving away from the subject, pardon me, Terrorist backers and boot lickers are morons too.
at 11:11 on May 6th, 2009
These western "morons" do care about the truth. I know the government is not happy with this kind of news. They thought that they had a total media blackout. But you can't hide the truth!
Government terrorists are desperately looking for lies to respond to this report!
People, depending on news that is only told by one party who is at war, and blindly believing it are ..... too!
at 10:44 on May 6th, 2009
A GOOD READ
The pathetic Channel 4 Show, a cooked up con Wednesday, May 6, 2009 .fullpost{display:inline;}
By Satchi Sithananthan in Frankfurt
(May 06, Frankfurt, Sri Lanka Guardian) Viewers on Sri Lankan affairs globally are being treated to a cooked up con show by Britain’s Channel 4, the purpose of it without doubt is to discredit the Government of Sri Lanka. If it is not for news of a sensational value, a terrible addiction in the west, then it must have been intentioned to serve the interests of terror forces.
Claiming that it managed to steal in a camera into one of the IDPs camp, something that Channel 4 should not have done and probably endangered the life of someone to undertake that task, with some clippings here and there that could be obtained easily without stealing a camera inside, it made a Himalayan claim of rape and murder of women. Of these there was no photographic evidence of any kind, just a verbal claim of a shadowy figure.
This shadowy figure could be an LTTE cadre who had stolen out of the No Fire Zone masquerading as a civilian. He may even be a plant. His story and the way he expressed it bears no trace whatsoever of having been an affected civilian. He could be living in a Tiger-funded mansion in London or an employee of Channel 4; just about every kind of role is possible. But what one can be certain of is that a pack of lies pre-canned was prepared for this cook-up."
http://www.srilankaguardian.org/2009/05/pathetic-channel-4-show-cooked-up-con.html
Now I understand what really has happened. Doctoring is the order of the day for Tamilnet and the desperate Tamil Diaspora in the UK may have fixed this.
at 11:15 on May 6th, 2009
Channel 4 do not interview people with guns behind the camera. And they don't threat people to tell lies like the Sri Lankan Terrorist State Media!
at 11:55 on May 6th, 2009
I will not be surprised if sri lanka say Channel 4 is a terrorist organization and ban it from their country !!
at 21:46 on May 6th, 2009
"Channel 4 do not interview people with guns behind the camera. And they don't threat people to tell lies like the Sri Lankan Terrorist State Media!"
I have to agree with the above. These things are called "teleplays" (I refer to the "shadow play".)
There, the actors get paid for narrating the script. No guns necessary.
at 00:58 on May 7th, 2009
"Channel 4 do not interview people with guns behind the camera."
No, Never..!
Channel 4 like media interview people only with notes hanging from the front, tied to a stick.
Read..
http://www.nowpublic.com/culture/shekhar-kapur-and-roger-nair-condemn-brit-tabloid-slumdog
.Agent.
at 11:54 on May 6th, 2009
Oh, really? Who doctored the video? Tamilnet?
at 11:57 on May 6th, 2009
It is not. But, what can they do when the video is doctored by Tamilnet??
at 12:47 on May 6th, 2009
Why is Tamilnet comming into picture here ? It shows you can come with anything to block the truth. You cannot hide the truth all the time. One thing I am finding here.. everytime when anything is told, you guys immediately find fault with 'who is telling' instead of 'what is told'.
at 13:09 on May 6th, 2009
Source: alertnet.org
at 13:36 on May 6th, 2009
The Sinhala words, "Jaathiye Pranaamaya" means "The nation salutes you" - NOT the RACE.
Jaathiya = Nationality = Sri Lankan
What kind of a Liar is this Sonali Samarasinghe????????? I cannot believe this.
:-O
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:-O
at 13:42 on May 6th, 2009
The Sinhala word for RACE is "warige" or "warge" which was NEVER in ANY placard !
at 18:31 on May 6th, 2009
LTTE..!
.Agent.
at 13:23 on May 6th, 2009
Channel 4, after all the trouble taken to smuggle a camera, manages to speak to only two aid workers and a justifiably unhappy idp.
Why couldn't the aid worker bury the corpses in the best interest of the people in the camp? It is obvious he didn't. Or else, he would have been gloating over the fact.
How come he didn't know who to talk to or get some assistance? Surely he has a superior, who also has a superior who would know someone at some point. Further, he seems to be a healthy man and I am sure he would have known where to get a morsel or two for the desperate woman.
Why couldn't the female aid worker get that mother whose daughter was taken away, talk to Channel 4, thus validating her statement?
Are these really aid workers or plants to aid and abet?
Channel 4, please answer: "The government's only objective is to eradicate people from the areas that tamil tiger control." Eradicate? Then why are there idp camps at all?
at 14:32 on May 6th, 2009
Channel 4, after all the trouble taken to smuggle a camera, manages to speak to only two aid workers and a justifiably unhappy idp.
Because channel 4, didn't go with the permission from sri lankan terrorist government. The government will only show specific camp to media & other international visitors.
Why couldn't the aid worker bury the corpses in the best interest of the people in the camp? It is obvious he didn't. Or else, he would have been gloating over the fact
They would have anyway burried the corpses. The point he made is there killings are happening often and there is no one acting on it.
How come he didn't know who to talk to or get some assistance? Surely he has a superior, who also has a superior who would know someone at some point. Further, he seems to be a healthy man and I am sure he would have known where to get a morsel or two for the desperate woman.
What is the use of all superiors when there is shortage of food and water there.
Why couldn't the female aid worker get that mother whose daughter was taken away, talk to Channel 4, thus validating her statement? Are these really aid workers or plants to aid and abet?
Again your terrorist government didnt allow any media into this camp. Channel 4 took the risk to talk to atleast few people to know the situation there. Instead of objecting this interviews get more media in, to get further details.
Channel 4, please answer: "The government's only objective is to eradicate people from the areas that tamil tiger control." Eradicate? Then why are there idp camps at all?
That was not Channel 4's opinion. Thats what people at that area believe by the way how this terrorist government is functioning.
at 01:56 on May 14th, 2009
The IDP camps are open bcos the SL army can abduct and torture the refugees as and when they wish. Ruthless monsters. Savage beasts.
at 19:11 on May 6th, 2009
Then, I wonder why all these people are running away from the Terrorist King Prabhakaran?
With all the war you are talking about, do you think any self loving person will remain in the war zone protecting this terrorist and his goons. Wonder why hundreds and thousands of people 'escaped' from his clutches.went into Govt. controlled area?
Re: Sonali Samarasinghe. Her present name is Sonali Samarasinghe Wickramatunge. She is a journalist who was propped up by a well known Anti Government (not Terrorist) newspaper. She has an axe to grind with the Sri Lankan Government and writes with malice.
You are also right - We like to know who is telling, 'what is being told'. Because, if everyone listens to 'what is being told' especially by the Terrorist supporting diaspora and media units like Tamilnet, what do you think the foreign nations that are supporting Sri Lanka do?
These nations are helping Sri Lanka to rebuild. Increasing their aid packages. Especially because they don't believe what is being told always.