WFP apology for BBC falsehood on Sri Lankan IDPs

World Food Program (WFP) country director for Sri Lanka , Mr. Adnan Khan today (Dec 10) apologized to the Sri Lankan government over a story filed by the BBC Sinhala service calling Sri Lanka a Somalia.

The BBC Sinhala service paddling on its not so hidden agenda, had quoted a comment made by one Mr. John Cambell, a WFP representative in non-liberated areas that "conditions for displaced people there are as basic as in Somalia".

Mr. Khan meeting with Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa today at the Defence Ministry treated with disdain this diabolical lie disseminated by the BBC Sinhala Service and said he would launch a special inquiry to the matter. Also, he said the WFP would issue an official statement clarifying the facts in the near future.

Meanwhile, the BBC with its known complicity with the Goebbelsian propaganda of the LTTE terrorists, or the "Tamil Tiger rebels " has further distorted facts by coloring the story with a brief introduction to Somalia.

"Somalia has been without an effective central government since President Siad Barre was overthrown in 1991. Years of fighting in the African nation between rival warlords and an inability to deal with famine and disease have led to the deaths of up to one million people", says the BBC story.

The defence.lk calls this an abominable attempt by the BBC Sinhala service to mislead its intended audience that Sri Lanka too has identical conditions.

The truth that is deliberately concealed by the BBC Sinhala service is that the sufferings of the civilians are artificially created by the LTTE terrorists to win international sympathy for their cause. In reality, these IDPs are the human shield held by the terrorists for the safety of their psychopathic chief V. Prabhakaran. The 'rebel held area" in BBC's terms is not more than a hiding place for the terrorists. All public services including health, education, transport, banks and administration are maintained by the central government. Even the terrorist chief is fed on food sent by the government. It is the medicine sent by the government that keeps his diabetes torn body alive.

While acknowledging the dictum that facts are sacred and comments is free, defence.lk believes that responsible journalism should strive to piece together a fuller picture of the issue. The BBC's story on Sri Lankan IDPs has obviously been filed with vicious intent to tarnish the good image of the country and the government, without any basis in fact.

To all discernible people who might have been influenced by this diabolical lie, defence.lk publishes the following pictures, that show civilians who had sought refuge with the security forces yesterday (Dec 9). They had escaped the LTTE run mono-ethnic hellhole in the Wanni at the risk of their lives. Do they by any means portray hapless figures of the particular country mentioned by BBC?

Finally, we request all interested in Sri Lanka to make a thorough study on the conflict as well as on the nature of the LTTE terrorists when making assumptions on our country. Assumptions made on a cursory glance, often based on one-sided stories filed by the international media would certainly make you victims of their hidden agendas.

Women soldiers attending for children's needs