http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/story/sri-lanka-in-denial-over-war-crimes/1/147691.html

http://www.ndtv.com/video/player/documentary-24×7/sri-lanka-white-lies-and-brute-force/210479

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/world/jan-june11/srilanka1_06-15.html

ABC Radio PM –

The much-awaited release of the report contains the first UN’s estimate of the death toll. It says that 40,000 civilians were killed as they were trapped between the two sides and it blames government troops for most of those deaths.”

… when 40,000 civilians were killed, as the 25 year civil war between the Government and the secessionist Tamil Tigers was coming to an end.”

ABC Audience and Consumer Affairs concluded that Kerry O’Brien breached the ABC Code of Practice:

Audience and Consumer Affairs concluded that the statement by Kerry O’Brien was in breach of 2.2 of the ABC Code of Practice. A correction has been posted on the ABC online corrections page, which is available at the attached link; http://abc.net.au/news/corrections/”

An explanation was added on the ABC website:

Four Corners, 27 June 2011

Summary published: Tuesday 02, August 2011
Complaint: A viewer complained that the presenter made an inaccurate statement at the end of the program when announcing the content of the following week’s program.
Finding: Upheld against 2.1 ABC Editorial Policies (11 April 2011)

Audience and Consumer Affairs response: The ABC acknowledged that reasonable efforts were not made to ensure that material facts were accurate. In commenting on the upcoming report ‘Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields’, the presenter stated that 40,000 civilians were killed as the 25 year civil war in Sri Lanka was coming to an end. The statement should have noted that the figure of 40,000 dead was an estimate from a UN panel report, not an established fact”.

While introducing the Channel 4 documentary on 04/07/2011, Kerry O’Brien claims:

… but this time it relates to the brutal slaughter of humans, an estimated 40,000 of them.”

It’s believed that no fewer than 40,000 people died during the government’s final offensive against the Tamil Tigers. And that is now the focus of United Nations pressure on Sri Lanka to investigate alleged war crimes.
South Asia correspondent, Richard Lindell, reports on Sri Lanka’s post war reconstruction.
…

But there’s deep suspicion that some of these areas must contain the bodies of 40,000 civilians the UN estimates were killed in the last months of the war.”

’40,000 civilians killed’

However, according to a report by the UN expert panel set up by the Secretary General, around 40,000 civilians were killed during the war in Sri Lanka.”

The UN panel setup by the Secretary-General reckons that there is credible evidence that 40,000 civilians were killed in that final phase of the war.”

The death toll figure is consistent with an early United Nations estimate, but it’s much lower than the estimated 40,000 deaths given by a report commissioned by Ban Ki-Moon last year.”

The Killing Fields” documentary confuses a few weeks” for the 5 months” referred to in the Darusman report:

The United Nations panel has now concluded that as many as 40,000 people died in the final few weeks of the war.”

The UN estimates at least 40,000 people, mostly civilians were killed in a matter of weeks.” 

Comprehension does not appear to be a prerequisite to be an editor at Channel 4.

India Today / Headlines Today incorrectly claims:

The UN says over 40,000 Tamil civilians were killed during the last stages of the 30-year civil war in Sri Lanka. NGOs put the figure at over a lakh and fifty thousand.”

India Today / Headlines Today misunderstood as many as” to mean over”. You would expect a credible media organisation to name the NGOs that are claiming a death toll of 150,000 civilians. Ironically the article concludes with:

Truth, expectedly, is the biggest casualty in the 30-year conflict in Sri Lanka.”

The opening paragraph of the article must have been intended as confirmation.

India’s NDTV:Towards the end of the war, the UN says, around three and a half lakh Tamils were trapped in a narrow sliver of land, designated as safe zone by the Sri Lankan army, and over 40,000 were wiped out as the war reached its climax.”

It appears NDTV has misunderstood as many as” to mean over”.

The UN has reported that at least 40,000 civilians, more than half the toll for the entire war, died in the final months of the fighting in late 2008 and 2009.”  

PBS was first to present a unique take on the Darusman report, it seems to have misunderstood as many as” to mean at least”.

The article claims:

It has always been sparsely populated, but in the aftermath of a war in which the UN estimates 40,000 civilians were killed and more than 300,000 displaced – out of a population of about 700,000 – a lack of people is now a very real problem.”

The UN did not estimate 40,000 civilian deaths.

The article claims:

The government’s Humanitarian Operation statement comes three months after a report by a panel of UN experts found that ’’tens of thousands’’ of civilians were killed in the final days and weeks of the war.”

The Darusman Report is quite clear that it is referring to the final five months.

The article claims:

A UN report this year found up to 40,000 civilians were killed in the final weeks of the war against the separatist Tamil Tigers, and found government troops bombed no-fire zones, hospitals and food supply lines.”

The Darusman Report is quite clear that it is referring to the final five months.

Ten (Australia) – 17th October 2011

The 6:30 program anchored by George Negus claimed:

The United Nations believes 40,000 civilians were killed …” 

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) Investigation Report No. 2762 concluded:

Given that the statement failed to include the qualifying references to ‘as many as’ or ‘a range up to’, the ACMA considers that the licensee breached clause 4.3.1 of the Code in this instance.”

Furthermore, the television channel did not respond to the complainant and hence also breached clause 7.11 of the Code:

TEN apologises to the complainant for not providing a substantive written response as required under clause 7.11. The complaint was passed on to a program staff member to respond directly to the complainant. Unfortunately, the person subsequently left TEN News after the cancellation of the program without a response being sent and other staff being unaware of the outstanding obligation.”

The program has been canned.

A UN report this year found that up to 40,000 civilians were killed in the final weeks of the war, and found that government troops bombed hospitals and food supply lines.”

The Darusman Report is quite clear that it is referring to the final five months.

UN report finds up to 40,000 people were killed by Government forces in final days of Sri Lanka’s civil war

Catherine Philp
From: The Times
April 26, 2011 8:09AM
…

DELIBERATE shelling of civilians by government forces may have killed as many as 40,000 people in the closing stages of Sri Lanka’s civil war, a leaked UN war crimes report has found.”

The Australian acknowledged the error and chose to remove the offending article:

The article, sourced from The Times, stated that a UN war crimes report had found that 40,000 Sri Lankan civilians were killed by government forces in the final stages of the Sri Lankan civil war.

The Australian accepts that the UN report’s estimate of 40,000 deaths referred to civilian deaths overall, and not specifically to those people killed by Government forces.
We have accordingly removed the article from our website.

Please note, that The Times story did not appear in print in our newspaper.”

Ironically, the official response itself contains a factual error.

The article claims:

The UN estimates that 40,000 Tamil civilians were killed.”

1. K. Radhakrishnan – February 24, 2012

The United Nations Secretary General’s Expert Panel on Accountability issues in Sri Lanka has said that upwards of 40,000 civilians were killed.”

Last year, a special panel of experts appointed by the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, suggested that as many as 40,000 civilians died in the last few weeks of the war” 

Callum Macrae misinterpreted the five months referred to in the Darusman report to mean a few weeks” in his documentary too, Channel 4’s Killing Fields”.

They estimate that more than 40,000 Tamil civilians died in the final months of the war.” 

A United Nations panel appointed in April 2011 by secretary general Ban Kimoon says as many as 40,000 people were killed in the final weeks of the war and has called on the Rajapaksa administration to account for what happened.”

The United Nations has called for an investigation into the final stages of the civil war, accusing the Tigers of using civilians as human shields but also accusing the army of indiscriminate shelling and of denying civilians access to humanitarian aid. It estimates that 40,000 innocent people may have died.” [84]

The error was corrected immediately and an annotation acknowledging the error was added:

Correction:

An earlier version of this article described the United Nations as estimating that 40,000 innocent people may have died in the civil war in northern Sri Lanka. That is the high end of the estimate; the world body says at least 7,721 and as many as 40,000 civilians were killed. This version has been revised to reflect that estimate.”

The revised article now states:

It estimates that at least 7,721 and as many as 40,000 innocent civilians may have died.”

BANGALORE: Nearly 1,00,000 Tamil civilians were killed in the war in Sri Lanka during the final stages of civil war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, a report by a committee of the United Nations said.

The International Committee of the Red Cross ( ICRC) has estimated that nearly 14,000 wounded Tamil civilians were evacuated by ship from a no-fire zone in Sri Lanka during the end of war. Of which, the Committee said, 5,000 civilians were amputated and nearly 70,000 children died of starvation during the war in 2008.

Political Science professor Paul Newman from Bangalore University on Saturday presented these statistics quoting from a UN panel report headed by Marzuki Darusman, Steven Ratner and Yasmin Sooka.”

The Times of India claims that the UN Advisory Panel report said there was a civilian death toll of 100,000 during the final stages of the war. The Times of India is attributing this to a presentation by Paul Newman

In the last stages of the war, the Sri Lankan army indiscriminately shelled the Tigers trapped on a beach. Along with them, 40000 civilians too were killed.” 

In 2009, after an estimated 40,000 civilians were killed by Sri Lanka …” 

I want to focus today on Sri Lanka. We have seen reports from the United Nations that 40,000 innocent women and children were massacred at the end of the conflict.” 

I guess being a native English speaker does not necessarily mean one has the ability to comprehend what one reads.

The civil war in Sri Lanka was one of the region’s most dreadful conflicts of recent times. In its last five months alone, 100,000 people were killed, 40,000 of them civilians.” 

British MPs are quite creative! The UN estimates between 80,000 and 100,000 deaths during the entire duration of the four-decade long war.

The UN report estimates 40,000 Tamil civilians were killed towards the end of the war, some, as already noted, by the navy. In addition, 4,000 Tamil soldiers (LTTE) are being held incommunicado by the government. The 500-page UN report notes that:”

The 200-page Darusman report estimates a range of up to 40,000 civilian deaths cannot be ruled out at this stage”.

Another UN report said a death toll of 40,000 in just five months was credible; this inquiry says it could even be 70,000.” 

The Darusman report actually stated, a range of up to 40,000 civilian deaths cannot be ruled out at this stage”.

The Darusman report also referred to the approx. 70,000 unaccounted figure:

Others have put the estimate at 75,000, a figure obtained by subtracting the number of people who emerged from the conflict zone (approximately 290,000) from the estimate of the number thought to have been in the conflict zone (approximately 330,000 in the NFZ from January, plus approximately the 35,000, who emerged from the LTTE-held areas before that time).”

The Advisory Panel still set the upper-bound of civilian deaths at 40,000.

After all, according to the UN, perhaps 40,000 Tamil civilians had been killed in the final few months, mostly by government forces, and overwhelming evidence of war crimes has since emerged.” 

Interestingly, in 2011, Gordon Weiss had the following to say about the UN:

We do have pretty good indications that probably somewhere between ten and forty thousand people were killed. This is not my own figure, plucked from nowhere. It’s credible enough for the UN to have used it as part of its assessment in to the available evidence.”

Gordon Weiss who initially quoted 7000 to boost his book sales changed the figure to 40,000 and when challenged at his book launch he changed the figure to 10,000 and disowned responsibility for the change of numbers.

• Amnesty International has substituted ‘credible allegations’ with ‘credible evidence’ in all their reports on PoE

Ex 1:

PoE states:

In stark contrast, the Panel found credible allegations, which if proven, indicate that a wide range of serious violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law was committed both by the Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE, some of which would amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.” 

Amnesty International states: (7 May 2011)

A report submitted to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on 12 April 2011 by the Panel of Experts he appointed to advise him on accountability issues in Sri Lanka ’found credible evidence, which if proven, indicate that a wide range of serious violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law was committed by both the Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE, some of which would amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.’

Commentary: When informed the Amnesty International issued a statement. Thank you for your message regarding Amnesty International’s public statement on Sri Lanka of 17 May. The mistake you highlight was a typographical error on our part which we have now corrected. Thank you for bringing this to our attention.”

But did not correct it on their website even by end July 2011. The corrected version prevails without reference to it being corrected.

Ex 2:

Steve Crawshaw – International Advocacy Director of Amnesty International – 25 May 2011

A hard-hitting UN report has found compelling evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity during the final phase of the war in Sri Lanka in spring 2009.”

Commentary : The Darusman report found credible allegations” not ’compelling evidence’

Guilty of substituting ‘credible evidence’ instead of ‘credible allegations’.

Example 1:

Sri Lanka UN panel of experts 25 Apr released report on accountability in Sri Lanka; finds credible evidence” govt, LTTE committed serious violations amounting to war crimes during final stage of 2009 civil war, says govt shelling responsible for most of tens of thousands” civilian deaths. Report recommends independent international investigation, but UNSG Ban 25 Apr said he first needs consent of Sri Lankan govt or mandate from UN Human Rights Council, GA or UNSC, where China and Russia likely to veto.” 

Example 2:

Sri Lanka UN panel of experts 25 Apr released report on accountability in Sri Lanka; finds credible evidence” govt, LTTE committed serious violations amounting to war crimes during final stage of 2009 civil war, says govt shelling responsible for most of tens of thousands” civilian deaths. Report recommends independent international investigation, but UNSG Ban 25 Apr said he first needs consent of Sri Lankan govt or mandate from UN Human Rights Council, GA or UNSC, where China and Russia likely to veto.” 

Upon bringing it to their notice. The ICG corrected it and in the PDF of their website carried *”Sri Lanka changed 30 May 2011: credible evidence” replaced with credible allegations”. (30 May 2011)

The United Nations estimates that up to 40,000 civilians may have died in the final stages of the civil war that ended in 2009 and cites credible evidence of war crimes committed by both government forces and the opposition Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (the LTTE or Tamil Tigers).” 

Example 1

Sri Lanka’s president has rejected calls for a war crimes probe after a UN finding of “credible evidence” government forces committed atrocities when crushing Tamil Tiger guerrillas in 2009.
Example 2

The UN panel, which did not have an investigative mandate, accused victorious Sri Lankan government troops of killing tens of thousands of civilians and said there was “credible evidence” war crimes were committed by both sides.”

Example 3: Stephen Dziedzic 5 July 2011

Last year, a United Nations panel of experts found there was credible evidence that up to 40,000 civilians were killed in the conflict.” 

Editor’s note:(July 27) the article originally reported that there was credible evidence. There are credible allegations that 40,000 civilians were killed.”

ABC news apologized for the confusion. Yet, how many would have continued to accept allegations as evidence.

In June 2010, the UN chief asked a panel of experts to advise him on the evidence available relating to the conduct by both sides in the closing months of the war. In a report published in April this year, the panel of experts concluded that there was credible evidence that up to 40,000 people were killed in the final months of the civil war between the Tamil Tigers and Government forces.”

In April when the UN Advisory panel released its report saying that it had received credible evidence that both the security forces and the LTTE had committed war crimes the government rejected it claiming it could not be substantiated.”

ABC acknowledged the error:

We acknowledge that correspondent Kanaha Sabapathy incorrectly stated that the UN Panel had reported that they had received credible “evidence” regarding war crimes when in fact the UN Panel reported they had received credible “allegations”. ABC News has added an editor’s note to the transcript of this story which states:

• “The use of the phrase ’credible evidence’ when referring to the United Nations report is incorrect.
  The UN’s panel of experts report uses the phrase ’credible allegations’.

The ABC acknowledges there is a distinct difference”

A UN panel of experts recommended an international investigation over the army’s 2009 final offensive against the Tamil Tiger rebels, saying there was credible evidence of war crimes on both sides.”

Rudd said Australia had urged Sri Lanka to act on United Nations findings of “credible evidence” of war crimes through its Lessons Learned and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC), due to report in November.”

India’s central government has not commented publicly on a recent UN-commissioned report, in which a panel of experts said there was credible evidence that both sides in the Sri Lankan war may have committed war crimes.” 

BBC – Charles Haviland – 24 May 2011

The lobby group’s comments came a month after a report commissioned by the UN said there was credible evidence that both sides may have committed war crimes: the Tigers, for instance, by shooting escaping civilians, and the government, for example, by shelling hospitals.” 

BBC – Charles Haviland – 24 May 2011

The lobby group’s comments came a month after a report commissioned by the UN said there was credible evidence that both sides may have committed war crimes: the Tigers, for instance, by shooting escaping civilians, and the government, for example, by shelling hospitals.” 

BBC – 31 May 2011

The UN has said there is credible evidence that both sides may have committed war crimes – the Tigers by shooting escaping civilians and the government by shelling hospitals.” 

BBC Hardtalk – Stephen Sackur – 5 July 2011

The UN panel setup by the Secretary-General reckons that there is credible evidence that 40,000 civilians were killed in that final phase of the war.”   

Channel 4 – Alex Thomson – 16 April 2011

A leaked UN report reveals the United Nations believes there is credible evidence that war crimes were committed in Sri Lanka’s civil war. Channel 4 News Chief Correspondent Alex Thomson recalls the frustration and the tension” of trying to report on a ’secret war’.” 

Channel 4 News – 03 June 2011

The media release for the documentary Killing Fields” contains the same factual error:

The UN report found credible evidence that both sides of the conflict committed serious war crimes. The report called for an international inquiry – that call has so far has gone unheard.” 

Channel 4 – Alex Thomson – 16 April 2011

A leaked UN report reveals the United Nations believes there is credible evidence that war crimes were committed in Sri Lanka’s civil war. Channel 4 News Chief Correspondent Alex Thomson recalls the frustration and the tension” of trying to report on a ’secret war’.”  

Channel 4 News – 03 June 2011

The media release for the documentary Killing Fields” contains the same factual error:

The UN report found credible evidence that both sides of the conflict committed serious war crimes. The report called for an international inquiry – that call has so far has gone unheard.” 

Channel 4 documentary Killing Fields” – Jon Snow

During the melodramatic introduction by Jon Snow to the Killing Fields” documentary he makes the same factual error:

The UN recently published a report that found ’credible evidence’ that both government and Tamil Tiger rebels committed serious war crimes.”

Callum Macrae – Producer and Director of Killing Fields” – 21/06/2011

Callum Macrae, Producer and Director of Killing Fields”, during an interview with Groundviews  , claims the Darusman report states: … credible evidence that the senior command knew of what was going on …”

But actually if you take the total of the report as well, it is true that it does collectively represent credible evidence”

There is obviously much confusion in official circles on what to do with the report of the panel appointed by the UN Secretary General to look into issues of accountability in Sri Lanka, which has flagged credible evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity.” 

Ranga Sirilal (Writing by Bryson Hull; Editing by Sugita Katyal) – May 26, 2011

Western governments led by the United States have pushed Sri Lanka to establish a believable probe into the panel’s finding of “credible evidence” government troops killed thousands of civilians at the end of the country’s civil war in 2009. 

Ranga Sirilal (Writing by Bryson Hull, editing by Rosalind Russell) – Aug 18, 2011

A panel commissioned by the U.N. secretary-general in April said it had “credible evidence” both sides had committed possible war crimes, and in particular alleged the government had killed thousands of civilians.”  

Stephanie Nebehay – Sep 12, 2011

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was poised on Monday to send a report by his advisory panel, which last April found “credible evidence” that government forces committed war crimes when crushing the Tigers, to the rights Council, U.N. officials said.” 

Rob Taylor – Oct 17, 2011

A United Nations advisory panel’s report says there is “credible evidence” that both sides committed war crimes, which the government hotly contests. Many of the allegations originated with pro-Tamil Tiger sources or propaganda outlets

Michael Perry (Reporting by Michael Perry, Editing by Jonathan Thatcher) – Oct 24, 2011

A U.N. advisory panel report says there is “credible evidence” both sides committed war crimes, which the government rejects.” 

Ben Doherty – December 19, 2011

The findings were in stark contrast to a UN expert’s report earlier this year, which found ’’credible’’ evidence of war crimes on both sides of the conflict and said civilians were deliberately targeted by government troops, particularly in the final months of the war.” 

Paul Maley – October 26, 2011

Numerous independent reports, including the UN Panel of Experts commissioned by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, have found there is credible evidence the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam committed war crimes.” 

Paul Maley and Amanda Hodge – October 17, 2011

Several inquiries, including one by the UN Panel of Experts, have found there is credible evidence that both the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam were guilty of war crimes.” 

The Australian made a public correction:

A REPORT published on The Australian’s website on October 17 (Australia’s envoy ‘not named’ for war crimes”) reported that the UN panel of experts had found there was credible evidence that both the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam were guilty of war crimes”. The Australian accepts that the UN report refers to credible allegations” of war crimes rather than credible evidence”. This correction arises from a settlement arranged by the Australian Press Council.”

An independent panel established by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon reported earlier this year that there was “credible evidence” that both the Sri Lankan forces and those of the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) had committed war crimes during the final stages of the fighting.” 

Earlier this year, a panel of United Nations-appointed researchers recommended an international probe into the final months of Sri Lanka’s decades-long civil war. Their report concluded there was credible evidence the military may have killed tens of thousands of civilians in deliberate attacks on non-combatant targets such as hospitals.” 

The UN arm did place on record that war crimes did occur during the last stages of the war in Sri Lanka and credible evidence was available to back this claim.” 

The UN Panel headed by Darusman found credible evidence” that the Sri Lankan army had killed tens of thousands of civilians in the final stages of the war against the LTTE.” 

But a UN report in April this year went further. The UN’s panel of experts detailed credible evidence that the same army systematically bombarded so-called no-fire zones sheltering civilians; deliberately bombed hospitals overflowing with wounded women and children; withheld food from starving people; and murdered prisoners.”