Tamils support Channel 4 Documentary

International Tamil celebrities get on twitter to encourage their followers to watch the recently aired Channel 4 (UK) documentary titled Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields. So far the list includes M.I.A to award winning Jazz musician Vijay Iyer, who all have a mainstream international following. The extract below is from the channel 4 website about the horrific & graphic program into war crimes in Sri Lanka, a first for British television.

Jon Snow presents a forensic investigation into the final weeks of the quarter-century-long civil war between the government of Sri Lanka and the secessionist rebels, the Tamil Tigers. With disturbing and distressing descriptions and film of executions, atrocities and the shelling of civilians the programme features devastating new video evidence of war crimes – some of the most horrific footage Channel 4 has ever broadcast.

Captured on mobile phones, both by Tamils under attack and government soldiers as war trophies, the disturbing footage shows: the extra-judicial executions of prisoners; the aftermath of targeted shelling of civilian camps; and dead female Tamil fighters who appear to have been raped or sexually assaulted, abused and murdered.

The film is made and broadcast as UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon faces growing criticism for refusing to launch an investigation into ‘credible allegations’ that Sri Lankan forces committed war crimes during the closing weeks of the bloody conflict with the Tamil Tigers.

The Tweets so far…

M.I.A aka Maya Arulpragasam – Award winning international recording artiste – watching! #puking http://www.channel4.com/info/press/programme-information/sri-lankas-killing-fields. #storytold#bornfree

Krishnan Guru-Murthy – British television presenter & Journalist – So if you watched #killingfields do u feel any different about Britain removing asylum seekers back to Sri Lanka?

Chinmayi – Award winning Indian playback Singer – I wish all the men who committed so many crimes against other human beings in Sri Lanka, especially the soldiers who raped, roast in hell.

Meena Kanadsamy – Writer & activist from India – Channel4 video #killingfields must be shown in Parliament. India can’t wash its hands of a genocide it helped perpetrate

V.V.Ganeshananthan – Author of Love Marriage – Washington Post World’s Best of 2008 – His movie, "Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields," on tonight in the U.K. http://bit.ly/lfW4oD "If the UN fails yet again, the message to every tyrant and repressive government will be clear: if you want to kill your own people with impunity, you will probably get away with it."

Vijay Iyer – Grammy Nominated American Jazz musician – Shocking evidence of war crimes. please watch —> Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields by Channel 4 [Full video] http://t.co/a7f4W1O via @youtube 

The program which was aired at 11.05pm on Tuesday received over 700,000 UK viewers. Channel 4’s website continues to be inundated with visitors as they have removed all geographical blocks for 6 days (from Tuesday 14th June 2011) allowing viewers from across the world to view the 50 minute documentary. If you have yet to view the program, please visit http://www.channel4.com/programmes/sri-lankas-killing-fields/ . Please be advised that the program is not suitable for children or pregnant women.