FULLY BOOKED Reactive Media Talk: Sri Lanka - a hollow victory?
Date: February 24, 2009 7:00 PM
The Tamil Tigers are looking closer than ever to military defeat as government forces continue to overrun the last remaining rebel strongholds in the north of the country. With an end to the military stalemate and the 25 year civil war potentially in sight, what is the future for the LTTE and what are the consequences more generally for Sri Lanka?
Will a military defeat for the LTTE mean a return to its insurgency roots and will the Tigers continue to use their notoriously heavy-handed tactics on the Tamil people? Or can we now expect to see a new era in Sri Lankan politics with the government and the LTTE returning to dialogue and peace-building? What will happen to the thousands of displaced persons and injured civilians that have resulted from this war - a situation that the international aid agencies have declared to be a humanitarian disaster? And what is the likelihood that the end of the war will bring with it a return to press freedom and an improved human rights record?
Frances Harrison was the BBC's Colombo correspondent from 2000 to 2004 during the last peace process between the Tamil Tigers and the government. She is now a freelance journalist.
Charu Lata Hogg worked as an international journalist in India and Sri Lanka for over 12 years, writing for numerous publications. As Associate Fellow in the Asia Programme at Chatham House, she has briefed governments, NGOs, corporations and the media on a range of issues in South Asia covering political, economic and security trends. She is currently also researcher with Human Rights Watch and covers developments in India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal.
Pearl Thevanayagam is an exiled journalist from Sri Lanka from the Tamil minority. She has been a print journalist since 1990 for various newspapers in Sri Lanka including the Weekend Express (independent English weekly) where she served as a news editor until she was forced to resign under pressure from the government in 1997 and had to go into hiding until 2001. She was also Colombo Correspondent to Times Of India. Pearl is a founder member and secretary of EJN (Exiled Journalists Network) and in October 2007 was co-organiser of the Press Freedom Forum on Sri Lanka in the UK parliament to highlight the increasing threats, murders and abductions of media personnel.
Lal Wickrematunge is the managing editor of the Sunday Leader, the newspaper founded by his brother Lasantha Wickrematunge who was killed on 8 January 2009.
Raj Jayadevan is the leader of the Tamil Democratic Congress and the General Secretary of the recently formed Alliance for Peace and Reconciliation in Sri Lanka (APRSL). He has been involved in Sri Lankan politics since the mid 1970's and came to the UK to study in 1979 following anti-Tamil violence in 1977. He was taken captive in 2005 by the LTTE and released after 62 days.
Priyath Liyanage is head of the Sinhala Service at the BBC
Tags for this entry: Charu Lata Hogg, civil war, Frances Harrison, South Asia, Sri Lanka
14 Comments
Sri lanaka from 1948( independance from britain) real problem started.. The power of government go to singala people.. minority tamil people no equal rights. their language, freedom, security all they lost. From 1956 they start ask their equal rights from government. they non violently asked. But 1956 govenment attacked the tamils.. 2000 tamils killed and distroy properties.
Again 1972, 1983 they killed more then 5000 tamils.. from that day they start thinking about their self protection only survive their lives. tamil tigers created..
The government never give any solutions.. they start use forces against tamils .. Until now more then 100000 people killed without any solution.
Now every day average 50-100people killing by
shelling and air attacks on tamil civilion..
There is no hospital, no humanitarian helps .
There is no media reporters allowed.. How out side world know the truth?
How the world beleive the state of terrorist sri lanka false propaganda?
Go to the war area and find the truth without sri lanka goverment influence.
Only way to Know the truth go war area and speak with the tamil people.. I am sure SL not let you go to that war area. There is the fact. World worst disaster by SL forces doing there.. they want to hide. More 2000 tamils killed. and more then 5000 people injured since war started. Please don't believe any thing from SL. this is clearly genocide. Bring to the world and rescue the balance300 thousands people.. more info www.tamilnet.com
Sri Lankan politics will never see a new era. Neither the Sinhala politicians & Budhist monks will have a new agenda. This is why Sri Lankan history has been rewritten several times and the countries constitution has been revisred several times to the disadvantage of Tamil population. History has the facts. No need to have forums, viewing liberation as terrorism. Of course what we witness (or the world turning a blind eye) now is that no regional or super power wants to see a new nation born without their tacit support.
Dear Sir / Madam,
It is good that Frontline is hosting such an event to discuss the future for Sri Lanka. However, there is a gap in the panellists that you have chosen for the discussion - there is no representation at the table for a vast majority of the Tamil Diaspora in the UK. Mr Jayedevan is not one of the members of the British Tamil Forum that recently organised a 100,000 member march in the London denouncing Sri Lanka's war against the Tamil minority. He is part of a small group of Tamils who are opposed to the LTTE and who have close links to the current Sri Lankan regime (he recently visited Sri Lanka as a guest of the Sri Lankan government). If the discussion is to be balanced - should you not also invite someone who represents the vast majority of the Tamil Diaspora in the UK, like the spokesperson of the British Tamil Forum (BTF)? Please advise.
Frontline Club replies - Pearl Thevanayagam - a Tamil journalist - will also be on the panel thus providing a Tamil voice to the discussion.
Who is Jayadevan? What is Alliance for Peace and Reconciliation in Sri Lanka (APRSL)?
Is qualification "taken captive in 2005 by the LTTE"? How did he (the London based "journalist") end up at the hands of LTTE?
Are you really serious that this exercise will bring out any meaningful discussion or outcome? or will it really discuss and reflect on the genocide of Tamils in Sri Lanka? It will be a great surprise if they do that.
Looking at the names of the people in the panel it looks like the so called All-party committee appointed by President of Sr Lanka, Rajapakse, in search of a political solution, which does not have any real representation from Tamil people. By including a known anti-LTTE person like Jayadevan in the panel and anti-Tamil journalists from BBC and excluding any real Tamil representative who reflects real aspirations of Tamils in Sri Lanka and their struggle for equal rights and honourable life,one wonders what is the real agenda of this exercise.
TAMILS NEED TAMIL EALAM THAT IS THE ONLY SOLUTION TO SOLVE THIS PROBLEM.LTTE IS THE ONLY ONE WHO REALEY FIGHT FOR TAMILS FREEDOM.
Sri Lanka plays a game "divide and conquer" with the west. Is it war on terror as it says or is it Genocide of Tamils? Why cannot we force a decent debate to force parties for a federal political solution, Sri Lanka Diaspora, both Sinhalese and Tamils will support!
If you want to debate about the current issues,where is the rep from TNA or Srilankan Govt?you have to involve these parties to find out about the situation.please take the ground situation first.The debators are not living in srilanka,they don't know any thing about the suffering of Tamils in Vannei.
Should be very interesting debate to watch.
First of all let me accept that fact Tigur's have used heavy handed tactics with number Tamils people not cooperating with them.
But my worry is many people are overlooking much worse things being done by the government. Government it self using all sort
of propaganda to hide the genocide its being commit since 80's. If only a BBC or CNN can give 1 hour to present the truth of the Tamil people struggle for freedom and the
government atrocities committed against innocent Tamils. The world opinion can be changed and tamils can be saved.
Only when independent monitors are allowed in to North - East, the truth can be uncovered. Government want allow that. Because they have lot to hide.
See here for more details.
Indictment against sri lanka
GenocideVideo's
Final note, no the war will not end now, tamils want give up their fight for the rights.
Prajeev
Just to let you know about the club's thinking behind the panel, can you please take a look at this post
http://frontlineclub.com/blogs/frontline/2009/02/frontline-under-fire.html
We're a journalist's club and we generally focus on issues that impact journalism.
The Index of Censorship has a round up of the discussion here:
http://blog.indexoncensorship.org/2009/02/25/genocide-row-obscures-wider-debate/
It is absurd to cliam that the frontline club received death threats or they had been initimidated. While it is true was that they received angry reaction for changing the panel. The rest is exaageration.
If this is supposed to be a constructive debate people must be allowed to finish asking their questions instead of being disturbed every few seconds.
This was a farce.
Sri Lankan govt. is not going to win the war or win the heart and minds of Tamils. It is the most worst government under Rajapaksa & co. His brother is charged in US courts for GNOCIDE against the Tamils.