OPENING TC 02:00:00People in sea at sunset The war in Sri Lanka has gone on for 12 years now. Beyond the visible peace and calm it rages with great ferocity, perhaps more so today than at any time before.
TC 02:15:05People by sea - daylightfood stalls Just a year ago things were different. There was hope. The Popular Alliance that had just won the elections had agreed to a cease fire with the guerrillas of LTTE, the Tamil Tigers. The possibilities of a peaceful solution, were perhaps, better than ever.
TC 02:31:12People walking by sea, next to cannonGraphics: map of Sri Lanka But on April 19th last year the Tigers broke the cease fire. And shortly thereafter the government forces started its biggest offensive. In December they took the Tigers’ stronghold Jaffna in the North.
ASTON TC 02:44:59S M J SERANATRAMINISTER ETHNIC AFFAIRS “The fight is not against Tamils, it is not a fight against Sinhalese and Tamils, but it is a fight by the elected government through its military wing, against few Tamil citizen terrorists.”
TC 03:08:17People in front of billboard portraiton street President Kumaratunga and Defence Minister Ratwatte know that a durable peace can only be reached by political settlement. Therefore they have introduced a plan for power sharing, a plan aimed at accommodating moderate Tamil groups and demands for increased autonomy in the North East.
TC 03:28:04Busy street scenesshopsTraffic The Tigers are not part of this picture. They are excluded until they put down their arms.And the plan must first be accepted by Parliament, and there has to be a referendum. The question is, of course, if the Sinhalese majority is prepared to vote for increased rights for the Tamil minority.
TC 03:45:19People eating in cafe Among many Sinhalese opposed to the plan is the Buddhist clergy.
ASTON TC 03:55:00MADALUWAWE SOBITHA THEOBUDDHIST MONK, SINHALESE(TRANSLATION)“First the Tamils in the North will try to get their own territory. And then the Muslim minority will want theirs. And then the country will be divided. According to the plan the Tamils will now, in principle, get their own state. The next step will be that the other Tamil group, the Indian one, will also want a separate state.”
TC 04:24:15Reporter driving in car (interior of car)TC 04:33:13Palm fringed bay of PassekudhaTC 04:55:19Government soldiers behind barbed wire in derelict building We leave the capital Colombo and cross the island to the beautiful East coast.In the bay of Passekudha the old luxury hotels stand deserted and dilapidated. This has been a war zone since the beginning of the eighties. No tourists have been seen here for twelve years.The government soldiers that are here live as if under siege.
TC 04:59:08Soldiers driving armoured vehicle on rural road Last year they evacuated many bases in this area. The government needed its soldiers for the battle of Jaffna and that is where they were concentrated to.
TC 05:07:17Close ups of soldiers in vehicleArmy patrolling roadsArmy checkpoints So, today they control only the main roads and a number of small villages along the coast. In other words, a Sinhalese dominated army in an area with an overwhelming majority of Tamils.No wonder perhaps, so many Tamils look to the Government troops as an occupation force.
TC 05:30:03People lining up on road for security check The civilians are steadily being targeted with meticulous security checks. Everything and everybody has to be searched.
TC 05:46:12Man lying in chair listening to radio atJesuit schoolTC 05:55:07Father Harry Miller looking out overrooftops of Batticaloa But at the Jesuit school in Central Batticaloa the priests criticise both sides in the conflict.Father Harry Miller has been working here for 47 years. And he sees the leader of the Tamil Tigers, Vellupillai Praphakaran, personally, as the greatest obstacle to peace.
ASTON TC 06:09:00FATHER HARRY MILLERJESUIT PRIEST“Its not what he gains, its the peace he can lose. He’s made his bid and its a bid of insurrection. He’s a freedom fighter, so you might call him a renegade freedom fighter now whose cause is his own. He no longer serving the cause of the Tamil people. Everything he asked for at the beginning, except independence, and even that had been given almost to the extreme in the devolution of power. There is nothing left for him in victory, except having to pay for his crimes.”ASTON TC 06:36:05RAJAN HOOLE, HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST (Tamil)“I think the road has to be essentially political, and in this LTTE is going to struggle as hard as it can to make sure that it doesn’t happen. But to start with the Government will have to implement the peace package and return to Tamil accountability under the law. That is at the moment now for example, the Tamils in the North in certain areas are being shelled, and that is not the way to talk to people. The way to talk to people is to make sure that the State is accountable, that they are not treated in an indecent manner.”
TC 07: 13:28Patients in hospital in Baticcaloa This is the hospital at Baticcaloa. Very few independent reports have come from northern or eastern Sri Lanka since April last year. The government has always claimed that the civilian population has been spared in the war.But here there are whole families that were burnt by petrol bombs released over suspected guerrilla camps. Other civilians simply had the misfortune to get caught in cross fire.
TC: 00:07:42:01Pavithran, lying in bed with foot insling Pavithran, 6 years old, lost almost everyone of her big family. Their home was close to a military base with government military forces. One morning the guerrillas attacked. Pavithran’s cousin Sakuntala managed to escape.
ASTON TC: 00:07:55:30SAKUNTALA, COUSINTRANSLATION“The others stayed in the house. They thought the soldiers had left but they were still on the road. When the family came out they were shot at. Three died and two were wounded. I heard about it when I was in the neighbouring village.”
TC 08:16:00Women prayingMan playing drumMan at temple So is there an end to this brutal war? Is there a solution to the deep ethnic differences that lie in the heart of it all? Or will the war continue to take its grisly toll on both sides?
ASTON TC: 08:28:14 JOSEPH PARARAJAHSINGHAMMEMBER OF PARLIAMENT (TAMIL)“If the ethnic question is to be resolved, then my opinion is that the government should talk to the LTTE because they are fighting on the ground, and they are holding almost more than 60 - 65% of the land of the North East, and it is by speaking to them and bring them back to the mainstream of politics, negotiating with them is how the problems of this country can be resolved.
TC 08:54:18Line of women walking in paddy fieldsHarvesting Just a few miles from Baticcaloa the rural population lives under Tamil Tiger control. Life in the villages looks normal enough at first sight. But the reality is that the guerrillas rule with an iron fist.
TC 09:10:08People on rural road The Tamil Tigers are looked upon as one of the toughest in the world, some would say the most fanatical. When they took up arms in the beginning of the 80’s they were but one of several Tamil groups that struggled against the discrimination against the Tamil minority.
TC 09:33:00Soldiers with guns by wallSoldiers sitting But little by little they eliminated rivalling groups and today they are alone.
TC 09:49:00Farmers in fields with tractor The brunt of the guerrilla movement has become a totalitarian one that will not stand criticism of its exercise of power and every soldier is a possible martyr.
ASTON: TC 09:50:00LTTE - SOLDIERTRANSLATION“We use the Prussic acid to save society if we are caught. We do have information. It is better to commit suicide than to give information to the army.”
The head of the Tigers in East Sri Lanka explains why the tigers broke the cease fire last year.
ASTON: TC 10:15:45KARIKALAN. POLITICAL SECTION OF LTTE(TRANSLATION)“We had a deadline set for 1994-1995. We had been tricked so many times before by the Sinhalese government. We demanded that the people should have freedom of movement and that the economic sanctions against the North should be lifted, that they opened a road to the Jaffna peninsula and that the Tamil Tigers could move freely with its arms in the eastern provinces. We do want to negotiate but then the military will have to leave Jaffna. And they should not try to disarm us.”
TC 11:05:19Graveyard How much are the Tigers prepared to sacrifice to realise their dream of a free Tamil homeland? How far are they prepared to go? Near the village Thodiady they have made a graveyard for their martyrs on the Eastern front. In a short while it has become almost crowded.
TC 11:24:00Pictures of ‘black tigers’ on wall On a wall there are posters, pictures of so called “black tigers”, young men and women who took on suicide missions. Many of them are just teenagers.
TC 11:35:21Couple on bike, riding at duskPam trees, sunsetTC 12:02:00 So far more than 50,000 people have died in the war. The defence minister said recently that the government plans to launch new offensives against the Tigers on the Eastern front in the coming months.True Sri Lanka is a breathtakingly beautiful country, but appearances are deceptive.ENDS
TC 02:15:05People by sea - daylightfood stalls Just a year ago things were different. There was hope. The Popular Alliance that had just won the elections had agreed to a cease fire with the guerrillas of LTTE, the Tamil Tigers. The possibilities of a peaceful solution, were perhaps, better than ever.
TC 02:31:12People walking by sea, next to cannonGraphics: map of Sri Lanka But on April 19th last year the Tigers broke the cease fire. And shortly thereafter the government forces started its biggest offensive. In December they took the Tigers’ stronghold Jaffna in the North.
ASTON TC 02:44:59S M J SERANATRAMINISTER ETHNIC AFFAIRS “The fight is not against Tamils, it is not a fight against Sinhalese and Tamils, but it is a fight by the elected government through its military wing, against few Tamil citizen terrorists.”
TC 03:08:17People in front of billboard portraiton street President Kumaratunga and Defence Minister Ratwatte know that a durable peace can only be reached by political settlement. Therefore they have introduced a plan for power sharing, a plan aimed at accommodating moderate Tamil groups and demands for increased autonomy in the North East.
TC 03:28:04Busy street scenesshopsTraffic The Tigers are not part of this picture. They are excluded until they put down their arms.And the plan must first be accepted by Parliament, and there has to be a referendum. The question is, of course, if the Sinhalese majority is prepared to vote for increased rights for the Tamil minority.
TC 03:45:19People eating in cafe Among many Sinhalese opposed to the plan is the Buddhist clergy.
ASTON TC 03:55:00MADALUWAWE SOBITHA THEOBUDDHIST MONK, SINHALESE(TRANSLATION)“First the Tamils in the North will try to get their own territory. And then the Muslim minority will want theirs. And then the country will be divided. According to the plan the Tamils will now, in principle, get their own state. The next step will be that the other Tamil group, the Indian one, will also want a separate state.”
TC 04:24:15Reporter driving in car (interior of car)TC 04:33:13Palm fringed bay of PassekudhaTC 04:55:19Government soldiers behind barbed wire in derelict building We leave the capital Colombo and cross the island to the beautiful East coast.In the bay of Passekudha the old luxury hotels stand deserted and dilapidated. This has been a war zone since the beginning of the eighties. No tourists have been seen here for twelve years.The government soldiers that are here live as if under siege.
TC 04:59:08Soldiers driving armoured vehicle on rural road Last year they evacuated many bases in this area. The government needed its soldiers for the battle of Jaffna and that is where they were concentrated to.
TC 05:07:17Close ups of soldiers in vehicleArmy patrolling roadsArmy checkpoints So, today they control only the main roads and a number of small villages along the coast. In other words, a Sinhalese dominated army in an area with an overwhelming majority of Tamils.No wonder perhaps, so many Tamils look to the Government troops as an occupation force.
TC 05:30:03People lining up on road for security check The civilians are steadily being targeted with meticulous security checks. Everything and everybody has to be searched.
TC 05:46:12Man lying in chair listening to radio atJesuit schoolTC 05:55:07Father Harry Miller looking out overrooftops of Batticaloa But at the Jesuit school in Central Batticaloa the priests criticise both sides in the conflict.Father Harry Miller has been working here for 47 years. And he sees the leader of the Tamil Tigers, Vellupillai Praphakaran, personally, as the greatest obstacle to peace.
ASTON TC 06:09:00FATHER HARRY MILLERJESUIT PRIEST“Its not what he gains, its the peace he can lose. He’s made his bid and its a bid of insurrection. He’s a freedom fighter, so you might call him a renegade freedom fighter now whose cause is his own. He no longer serving the cause of the Tamil people. Everything he asked for at the beginning, except independence, and even that had been given almost to the extreme in the devolution of power. There is nothing left for him in victory, except having to pay for his crimes.”ASTON TC 06:36:05RAJAN HOOLE, HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST (Tamil)“I think the road has to be essentially political, and in this LTTE is going to struggle as hard as it can to make sure that it doesn’t happen. But to start with the Government will have to implement the peace package and return to Tamil accountability under the law. That is at the moment now for example, the Tamils in the North in certain areas are being shelled, and that is not the way to talk to people. The way to talk to people is to make sure that the State is accountable, that they are not treated in an indecent manner.”
TC 07: 13:28Patients in hospital in Baticcaloa This is the hospital at Baticcaloa. Very few independent reports have come from northern or eastern Sri Lanka since April last year. The government has always claimed that the civilian population has been spared in the war.But here there are whole families that were burnt by petrol bombs released over suspected guerrilla camps. Other civilians simply had the misfortune to get caught in cross fire.
TC: 00:07:42:01Pavithran, lying in bed with foot insling Pavithran, 6 years old, lost almost everyone of her big family. Their home was close to a military base with government military forces. One morning the guerrillas attacked. Pavithran’s cousin Sakuntala managed to escape.
ASTON TC: 00:07:55:30SAKUNTALA, COUSINTRANSLATION“The others stayed in the house. They thought the soldiers had left but they were still on the road. When the family came out they were shot at. Three died and two were wounded. I heard about it when I was in the neighbouring village.”
TC 08:16:00Women prayingMan playing drumMan at temple So is there an end to this brutal war? Is there a solution to the deep ethnic differences that lie in the heart of it all? Or will the war continue to take its grisly toll on both sides?
ASTON TC: 08:28:14 JOSEPH PARARAJAHSINGHAMMEMBER OF PARLIAMENT (TAMIL)“If the ethnic question is to be resolved, then my opinion is that the government should talk to the LTTE because they are fighting on the ground, and they are holding almost more than 60 - 65% of the land of the North East, and it is by speaking to them and bring them back to the mainstream of politics, negotiating with them is how the problems of this country can be resolved.
TC 08:54:18Line of women walking in paddy fieldsHarvesting Just a few miles from Baticcaloa the rural population lives under Tamil Tiger control. Life in the villages looks normal enough at first sight. But the reality is that the guerrillas rule with an iron fist.
TC 09:10:08People on rural road The Tamil Tigers are looked upon as one of the toughest in the world, some would say the most fanatical. When they took up arms in the beginning of the 80’s they were but one of several Tamil groups that struggled against the discrimination against the Tamil minority.
TC 09:33:00Soldiers with guns by wallSoldiers sitting But little by little they eliminated rivalling groups and today they are alone.
TC 09:49:00Farmers in fields with tractor The brunt of the guerrilla movement has become a totalitarian one that will not stand criticism of its exercise of power and every soldier is a possible martyr.
ASTON: TC 09:50:00LTTE - SOLDIERTRANSLATION“We use the Prussic acid to save society if we are caught. We do have information. It is better to commit suicide than to give information to the army.”
The head of the Tigers in East Sri Lanka explains why the tigers broke the cease fire last year.
ASTON: TC 10:15:45KARIKALAN. POLITICAL SECTION OF LTTE(TRANSLATION)“We had a deadline set for 1994-1995. We had been tricked so many times before by the Sinhalese government. We demanded that the people should have freedom of movement and that the economic sanctions against the North should be lifted, that they opened a road to the Jaffna peninsula and that the Tamil Tigers could move freely with its arms in the eastern provinces. We do want to negotiate but then the military will have to leave Jaffna. And they should not try to disarm us.”
TC 11:05:19Graveyard How much are the Tigers prepared to sacrifice to realise their dream of a free Tamil homeland? How far are they prepared to go? Near the village Thodiady they have made a graveyard for their martyrs on the Eastern front. In a short while it has become almost crowded.
TC 11:24:00Pictures of ‘black tigers’ on wall On a wall there are posters, pictures of so called “black tigers”, young men and women who took on suicide missions. Many of them are just teenagers.
TC 11:35:21Couple on bike, riding at duskPam trees, sunsetTC 12:02:00 So far more than 50,000 people have died in the war. The defence minister said recently that the government plans to launch new offensives against the Tigers on the Eastern front in the coming months.True Sri Lanka is a breathtakingly beautiful country, but appearances are deceptive.ENDS