Sri Lanka slams UK's Channel 4 video

, Nov 2:

on Saturday dismissed a latest video documentary released by Britain's Channel 4 as "fake", saying attempts are being made to discredit the army ahead of the Commonwealth conference.

In the latest video, Channel 4 shows a group of soldiers surrounding a half-naked Tamil lady. The video claim that lady, a Tamil television presenter who had served in the LTTE, was executed after being captured by the troops and not during the final battle as claimed by the government.

She was found dead with her clothes stripped. "It is nothing new for Channel 4 to discredit Sri Lanka at important times such as the UN Human Rights Council sessions and the upcoming Commonwealth conference," military spokesman Brigadier Ruwan Wanigasuriya said. "We reject outright the video. It is a complete fabrication," Wanigasuriya said.

He said none of the LTTE members who had either surrendered or captured had been killed by the troops. Channel 4 had previously aired three documentaries which showed visuals of execution of LTTE members by the forces. Sri Lanka said that it would investigate the visuals.

The government at the same time dismissed the videos as malicious propaganda by the pro-LTTE diaspora. Prathiba Mahanamahewa, a senior commissioner at the local Human Rights Council, said the Channel 4's latest attempt is aimed at the Commonwealth summit scheduled for November 15-17.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has boycotted the summit, citing Lanka's rights accountability. Britain, the leading Commonwealth nation, is sending Prime Minister David Cameron despite a strong lobby to stay away from the event.

PTI