Defence secretary accuses BBC among others of being biased towards Tamil Tigers
by Randeep Ramesh, South Asia correspondent
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 1 February 2009 17.13 GMT
Sri Lanka has publicly warned foreign media, western media and aid
agencies that they will be expelled from the country if their
reporting is deemed sympathetic to the Tamil Tiger guerrillas, who are
making a last stand deep in the island’s jungle.
In an interview to local media, the defence secretary, Gotabhaya
Rajapaksa, highlighted the role of ambassadors of Switzerland and
Germany, and television networks CNN, BBC and al-Jazeera in his
criticism of foreigners, accusing them of being biased towards the
rebels, known formerly as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
“They will be chased away [if they try] to give a second wind to the
LTTE terrorists at a time the security forces, at heavy cost, are
dealing them the final death blow,” he said.
The blunt words underline how difficult it has become to cover one of
the world’s bloodiest and most under-reported conflicts. The
government controls access to the war zones and international media
groups complain of reporters being intimidated.
European diplomats have come under fire in Sri Lanka for their
high-profile support of journalists and media freedom, particularly
after the assassination of crusading editor Lasantha Wickramatunga.
Rajapaksa claimed that media reports were damaging the security forces at a time when they were “dealing the final death blow” to the Tigers.
In the newspaper article, he singled out the BBC correspondent
reporting from Colombo, Chris Morris, saying that “if he does not act
responsibly and attempts to create panic, I will have to chase him out
of the country”.
The BBC said it had been assured by the Sri Lankan government that the comments had been “misreported”. In a statement the corporation said it welcomed these reassurances. “The BBC remains committed to
reporting the story in Sri Lanka in a fair and balanced manner,” it
said.
When contacted by the Guardian, Rajapaksa said he had not seen the
reports indicating his apparent readiness to throw journalists out of
Sri Lanka. “I have given many interviews,” he said. “What I have been
saying is that the BBC, CNN and al-Jazeera have to be careful in their
reporting so that they do not worsen the situation.”
The defence secretary said that these three organisations had been
taken on guided tours to “areas free from LTTE. It is very clear we
used no shelling or air strikes [in civilian areas] but what I say is
sometimes not reported.”
One piece by the BBC had angered the Sri Lankan authorities because it featured video clips from Tamilnet, a website which is seen as pro-Tamil Tiger. “It is a mouthpiece of the terrorists and the BBC are
using the [footage] and saying civilians are being shelled.”
The defence secretary, the younger brother of Sri Lanka’s president
Mahinda Rajapaksa, is a powerful figure in Sri Lanka and is credited
for bringing the Tigers to the brink of extinction.
The LTTE, which has fought for a separate state for the Tamil minority
for 25 years, has been routed in military clashes. Once in control of
large swathes of the north and east of Sri Lanka the rebels are now
confined to a mere 100 square miles of jungle.
The war has extracted a terrible human toll. Humanitarian groups say
as many as 250,000 unprotected civilians are trapped in the area –
used, say Sri Lanka’s government, as “human shields” by the rebels.
Over the weekend tens of thousands of Tamils marched in London in
protest over the Sri Lankan army’s actions.
The army has promised to allow safe passage to trapped civilians and
urged the Tamil Tigers to do the same. However, United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), who have staff in the area, say that civilians are still being killed in the crossfire.
Today CNN reported that artillery shells fell on a hospital in the
northern Sri Lankan district of Mullaitivu, where civilians, including
children, were being treated.