Blocks on reporting the Sri Lanka fighting

We obtained some disturbing footage of apparent attacks on Tamil civilians in Sri Lanka yesterday.

The pictures – many of which we didn’t broadcast because they were too gruesome – showed rows of dead children, who had allegedly been killed by government shelling of the supposed “safe area” in the north of the island.

Note the use of those journalistic terms: “apparent”, “allegedly”. That’s because Channel 4 News doesn’t have a reporter in Pokkanai, where this footage was seemingly (there’s another one) shot.

We would if we could but we can’t, because the Sri Lankan government won’t let journalists anywhere near the frontline. So we’re reliant on whoever can film or tell us what’s going on.

I presume that the normal excuse is given – it’s for our own safety. But in fact the Sri Lankans, like the Israelis while they were bombing Gaza and the Chinese when they were rounding up and suppressing Tibetan protesters, simply don’t want independent witnesses. So they keep us out.

People often ask me what’s the most difficult aspect of my job and that’s it: governments stopping us getting to the news.

Sometimes you can’t get a visa. Sometimes they’ll give you a visa but confine you to the capital city. Sometimes they let you go to the area in question but force you to take a government “minder” whose job it is to stop you seeing or filming anything of interest.

In some countries, such as Zimbabwe, government has broken down to such an extent that journalists frequently go in as tourists and report anyway.

I’m not giving away any trade secrets here, because the reports have been broadcast for everyone to see. But other governments, and I would include the Sri Lankans here, are highly effective. 

Sri Lanka gets away with barring journalists, because no outside power cares enough.

The reports we receive suggest that terrible things are going on, with government shells hitting civilians and Tamil Tigers using people as human shields.

But as long as there are no independent eye witnesses, and few pictures, it hovers at the bottom of the international agenda and the governments, including those on the UN Security Council, who might add diplomatic pressure simply shrug and say they wish they could do something, but they can’t.