Sri Lankan journalist S. Somatheeran, whose documentary Burning Memories was screened in the ongoing International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala, said that the media has been generally shy of highlighting the magnitude of the human tragedy in Sri Lanka during the long civil war.

He was addressing a Meet-the-Directors programme organized by the Thiruvananthapuram Press Club and the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy on Tuesday.

Burning Memories depicts one of the most traumatic events of the early stages of the civil war in Sri Lanka, namely the burning of the Jaffna Public Library which housed more than 97,000 books and precious palm-leaf manuscripts. This incident represented a major loss to the cultural heritage of the island nation. The film attempts to portray how war has shaped the socio-political situation in the country.

"Even after the defeat of the LTTE, the whole of the island nation is under military control. Human rights are violated and journalists are assaulted and imprisoned. I am repeatedly asked whether Prabhakaran had actually been killed. It is surprising that the death of so many people in the civil war and the suffering of many others have not evoked much response," he lamented.

The film festival will conclude on Thursday. Culture Minister M.A. Baby will distribute the awards at a function to be held at the Kairali Theatre at 5.30 p.m. The award-winning films will be screened after the function. Over 225 films in various categories were screened at the week-long festival.

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