Human rights groups screen Sri Lanka war crimes documentary in US Capitol Hill today

Washington, D.C.: International human rights groups have made arrangements to screen the "Sri Lanka's Killing Fields" documentary, first aired by the Channel 4 in Britain, in the United States Capitol today.


Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International-USA, the International Crisis Group, and Open Society Foundations in conjunction with the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission are co-hosting the screening of the documentary at the Congressional Auditorium in Capitol Visitor Center in Washington, D.C. today at 3 pm.

The screening, free and open to the public, will view and discuss the harrowing documentary, "Sri Lanka's Killing Fields", the organizers have said in their invitation.

U.S. Congressman Jim McGovern, Co-Chair of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, will give introductory remarks before the film screening. After the film, panelists will discuss ongoing efforts to further accountability in Sri Lanka, including the findings of the recent U.N. Panel of Experts report on war crimes in Sri Lanka, and the U.S. response to these developments.

First aired on British television in June, the documentary "captures, through live footage and extensive interviews with witnesses, the atrocities committed against civilians during the Sri Lankan Armed Forces' final campaign to defeat the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in early 2009," the release circulated by the organizers said.

The rights groups say the film was recently screened to wide acclaim at the United Nations in New York and Geneva, and has fueled renewed calls for an international response to these crimes.

The controversial video aired by Channel 4 television of Britain drew the ire of Western countries and right organizations which called for an international inquiry on the war crimes allegedly committed by Sri Lanka during the last stage of the three decades long war that ended in May 2009.

Sri Lankan government has flatly rejected the video as a collection of fabricated images put together by the Channel 4 with the backing of pro-LTTE groups to tarnish the country's image and hinder the reconciliation process that is proceeding now.

The United States and the United Kingdom even issued stern warnings to the Sri Lankan government to conduct an inquiry soon into the alleged war crimes or else face an international investigation.