Just a fake - New Channel 4 Video Alleging Extra-Judicial Killings in Sri Lanka

The new Channel 4 video of alleged extra-judicial killings in Sri lanka which the new UN Rapporteur, Prof. Christof Heyns claimed as being authentic after having same tested by three US forensic experts at the Geneva sessions of the UNHRC in June 2011, has once again been determined as a FAKE by Mr. Siri Hewavitharana of Australia, who is one of the world’s leading experts on digital video systems and former head of Cisco’s Global Broadcast and Digital Video Practice division. Mr. Hewavitharana is presently the Executive Director of IPTV Systems in Sydney, Australia.

Mr. Hewavitharana’s incisive comments relating to Channel 4’s latest video have been published in a news report carried in the Asian Tribune of June 6, 2011, which is annexed hereto for your easy reference. It must also be mentioned here that Mr. Jonathan Taylor, the foregn affairs correspondent of the Channel 4 News of UK claimed that the gun wielding men dressed in Sri Lanka army uniforms were members of the Sri Lankan security forces and that the alleged victims were members of the Tamil community without providing any proof as to their identities other than the UN Rapporteur stating that according to experts hired by him the video was authentic. We are aware that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), also known as the Tamil Tigers possessed such uniforms having overrun Sri Lankan army installations in the past, which they donned to carry out atrocities against their own Tamil people and other ethnicities. Yet other data to question the authenticity of the video, and grounds to reach other conclusions are given by us following the undernoted comments of Mr. Hewavitharana.

From Siri Hewawitharana, Sydney Australia

Sydney, 06 June, (Asiantribune.com):

Siri HewawitharanaIt seems new Channel 4 video at UN is worse than the previous one even though new video supposed to show old video clip with added drama and whole video is fake with a date indicating UTC 2009-07-15 13 :17:23 and taken by a Video Camera and Not by a mobile phone as indicated.

Worst part is UN’s new Rapporteur Christof Heyns hired a new US based video specialist Mr Grant Fredericks to analyse the video. I am surprised, with his conclusion, that the video is Edited using Philips editing software and Never Came from the mobile phone since video is using an Optical Zoom which is not available in Any mobile Camera that is available to date.

To me, video editing is so obvious that all it needs is to look into the video end to see more than one video layer, and audio is also not synchronized in with the video as indicated by the previous Channel 4 video…. The technical foot print is identical on both videos indicating it is edited by the same software and by the same idiot.

Also Mr. Jeff S. Spivack is now giving different and conflicting answers but avoiding the main criticism that video is edited using a PC and he uses childish or dishonest analysis saying rudimentary editing possible on a mobile phone cannot do this type of a video… Who is he kidding?

At one part he says the video is edited using Philips software and using a PC and other part he said it cannot be done with the mobile phones editing applications…. How does he answer Mr Grant Frederick’s analysis saying these are high quality video that came from a Video Camera?

What can he say about 17 frames of video that is inconsistent with the original video? This anomaly was created by a new video wrapper that try to create from original video camera to the mobile video format and if you work in this area you know why this happened, except Mr. Grant says he does not know why it happened? It will be cheaper that, UN hire clowns since only clowns speak like that.

To me these are what I call hired guns with an agenda but I would not dignify these people saying they are experts in video. They are experts in downright incompetence or dishonesty that can be bought for 30 pieces of silver….

My technical conclusion that was done with the previous and the present video is almost identical to Mr Grant Frederick’s analysis.

- Asian Tribune -

Other Evidence:

The presence of another video carrying the same horrific scenes of execution where the voices recorded at the time clearly speak Tamil words has been uncovered, which was shown on the community channel Boston Lanka News Edition of June 14, 2010. The Channel 4 video, on the other hand, where the Sinhalese sounding voices are somewhat less clear and sounding artificial appear to have been dubbed later. We understand that the Sri Lankan authorities have submitted a copy of this other video to the parties concerned for their investigation. The link to the related news edition to access the second video is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohI3CSD4neM .

Global News

Read it on Global News: Tamil migrant may have taken part in shooting of soldiers, hearing told by Doug Quan, Postmedia News - April 19, 2011.

Doug Quan, Postmedia News: Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Deportation hearings continue for some Tamil migrants who arrived in Canada on the Sun Sea ship.

VANCOUVER — The Immigration and Refugee Board is probing whether a Tamil migrant who arrived in Canada last summer on the MV Sun Sea may have had a role in the shooting of dozens of detained Sri Lankan army soldiers at the end of a battle.

Under questioning from his lawyer Fiona Begg, he testified that he took the call as an invitation — not an order — to take part in the killing of wounded Sri Lankan soldiers, who were being held inside a house.

http://www.globalnews.ca/world/Tamil+migrant+have+taken+part+shooting+soldiers+hearing+told/4643627/story.html

The above news item is further evidence of the Tamil Tigers executing Sri Lankan security forces personnel who were in their custody during the latter stages of the war.Tamil Tigers executed and burnt Sri Lankan soldiers taken as prisoners of war Excavations of the mass grave in Kilinochchi where the bodies of 26 Sri Lankan soldiers executed by the LTTE are believed to have been buried, have now been completed, the police said.

The mass grave is believed to be of 26 soldiers who were taken as prisoners of war by the vanquished terrorist group and kept for years before they were executed when the military forces were approaching the Tiger territory last year.

The police yesterday said some human bones along with powdery residues believed to be of ashes and bullets have been recovered from the grave.

According to four LTTE suspects who were allegedly involved in the killing and are in custody now, the soldiers had been imprisoned at the Victor Base Prison at Vallipuram in Mullaitivu for more than three years.

The LTTE suspects had told the authorities that 8 Army soldiers and 18 naval ratings had been tortured from 2006 in a torture chamber at a location 10 kilometers away from the Mullaitivu highway. When the security forces were approaching, the fleeing Tigers have executed the prisoners of war on 6th January 2009 and burnt their bodies in the mass grave.

http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20101126_01

The Channel 4 video could well have been a recording of the above gruesome execution of Sri Lankan Army soldiers and Naval ratings taken prisoner by the Tamil Tigers, which they doctored and presented to the UK TV station in their attempt to frame the Sri Lanka authorities for war crimes committed by them. The LTTE had specialist masters of forgery and deception in their ranks, constantly churning out propaganda videos to mislead the public, making this video yet another of their fake pieces which is a creation that fits in with their warped and criminal minds.

Mahinda Gunasekera

Honorary President

Sri Lanka United National Association of Canada