The Sri Lankan government has pressured Nepali authorities to block the screening of three documentaries about the island at the Film Southasia festival this month.
The films are ‘Broken’ and ‘The Story of One’, directed by Kannan Arunasalam, and No Fire Zone’ directed by Callum Macrae.
In a statement released on their website, Kanak Mani Dixit, Chair of Film Southasia, said,
“FSA protests this unwarranted intrusion into the cultural sphere, an action that goes against the freedom of expression and the right of documentary filmmakers to exhibit their work.”
The three films will now be screened outside the festival venue at ‘private screenings’.
Commenting on Sri Lanka’s actions, Macrae said in a statement,
“The government has constantly assured the international community – and in particular the members of the Commonwealth – that they will investigate the serious allegations war crimes and crimes against humanity which we exposed in No Fire Zone: The Killing Fields of Sri Lanka,”
“In practice though, they seem more concerned with travelling the world attempting to suppress our film – and prevent anyone from seeing the evidence of these crimes... I am glad to say that so far they have not succeeded.”
"Once again the Sri Lankan government has shown its true colours. While telling the world that it is investigating the allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity – it is in practice mounting an international campaign to deny the truth and silence the witnesses. Film South Asia deserves every credit for refusing to stop the screenings, instead moving them to another venue."
“The Sri Lankan regime of Mahinda Rajapaksa and his brothers is determined to suppress the evidence of these crimes and their responsibility for them. That is why the Sri Lankan government wants to stop the world seeing our film. From the UN to the European parliament, from Malaysia to Nepal they have tried to stop the screenings. I am glad to say they have never succeeded."
“In Sri Lanka itself they are desperately trying to silence any critics. Military repression of the Tamils in the north of the country is ongoing. The Tamil homelands are being ethnically re-engineered by plantation of majority Sinhala families and soldiers. Land grabs are rampant. In the south anyone who speaks out against the regime is silenced. The independence of the judiciary is under attack. Journalists are being threatened and intimidated. Government supporters are now turning on other ethnic minorities in Sri Lanka – in particular, they are targeting Muslims."
"In November the leaders of the Commonwealth will gather in Sri Lanka for the bi-annual Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM)."
If those leaders want the Commonwealth to retain any credibility, they must not turn a blind eye to the crimes of their hosts – or their attempts to deny the truth and silence their critics. For our part we pledge that we will continue to take this film around the world – and we will continue to tell the truth about what happened. "