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Journalism of Courage
Video footage released by Britains Channel 4 has shown a Sri Lankan soldier shooting a suspect Tamil rebel at point blank range in spite of the latter being young,naked,bound and blindfolded. To top it all,the visibly amused soldier simply says after the killing: Its like he jumped.
According to ‘The Times’,the footage appears to show what the Tamil community and human rights campaigners have long alleged – that in its final surge against the Tamil Tiger rebels this year,the Sri Lankan Army summarily killed prisoners.
Channel 4 claims a Sri Lankan soldier recorded the video on his mobile phone in January,when government forces overwhelmed the LTTE stronghold at Kilinochchi.
After the murder the video,taken in daylight,pans out to show eight bound corpses,all shot in the head and all but one naked. Voices in the background speak Sinhalese; as the footage concludes,viewers see a ninth bound victim shot.
The capture of Kilinochchi was a milestone in the armys final push against the Tamil Tigers,which triumphantly concluded a 27-year war in May.
Within moments of the video being posted online,Sri Lankans reported that they were unable to access the Channel 4 website.
The Sri Lankan High Commission in London said it categorically denied that the Sri Lankan armed forces engaged in atrocities against the Sri Lankan Tamil community. They were only engaged in a military offensive against the LTTE.
