C4 video, a personal attack on me: Shavendra

29 July 2011 08:50 pm Views - 11523

Shavendra Silva who is Sri Lanka’s deputy United Nations permanent representative said the latest Channel-4 video was a personnel attack on him and Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa as the first killing fields documentary failed to attain its objectives.

Major General Silva made these comments while speaking to the Daily Mirror by phone from New York.

“In the latest Channel-4 video a person called Fernando is accusing me and the Defence Secretary that orders were given to me to execute some of the people who surrendered”, he said.

“Whatever the orders given by me as the head of the 58th Division to my brigade commanders and commanding officers there was no such person called Fernando among them. Also none of the officers or other rankers attached to my division fled at the end of the war”, he said while speaking exclusively to the Daily Mirror.

“Fernando also went on to say that he saw people without their heads and hacked to death. The media was there and the soldiers were there. I assure none of them witnessed such things during the battle”, Major General Silva said.

Speaking on his encounter with Channel-4 correspondents, Major General Silva said they were after him for a long time to ask him about these allegations.

“I was confronted in New York by them and they have gone to say that I gave them an interview for one minute. I was talking to them for nearly 40 minutes and I also took them to my UN office”, he added. “My escort also recorded the interview I gave them. I have sent the video footage to the local media. In the newest video, 80 per cent to 90 per cent of the time Channel-4 is accusing me for conducting the executions,” he said.

“When we challenged them just after they aired the first video they literary had no comeback after we pointed out their many fundamental flaws and biased opinions,” Major General Silva said.

“They also mentioned that Major General Shavendra Silva is a retired officer now. They were not aware that I am still in the military service even though I am a diplomat now. Therefore the purpose of Channel-4 in airing such videos was to disgrace and tarnish the image of the security forces”, he said. (Supun Dias)