30.3.2008
By Walter Jayawardhana
Pic
1 - A
scene from Prabhakaran
Pic 2 - Foreign
Minister Rohitha Bogollagama assured that to extend all
the assistance to the Co-Producer of the film “Prabhakaran”,
Mr. Saman Tantirige when Mr. Thantirige met Minister Bogollagama
at the Ministry today (28/03). During the meeting Mr.
Thanthirige has requested assistance from the Ministry
and the Deputy High Commission in Chennai. Foreign Minister
Bogollagama instructed Foreign Ministry officials to take
necessary action to assist Producer of the film.
The director of the film entitled Prabhakaran, gave up
his hospital bed protest fast and proceeded to Gemini
Color Laboratories, in Chennai, Tamil Nadu to obtain his
robbed film by a suspected Liberation Tigers of Tamil
Eelam (LTTE) instigated mob.
Sri
Lankan government sources said he traveled to Chennai
with special security provided by the Indian government
on the request of the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Rohitha
Bogollagama.
Sources close to his family said the Indian Central government
intervened on behalf of the victim and instructed the
Tamil Nadu authorities to obtain the film snatched from
the hands of the director, Thushara Peiris at the Gemini
Colour laboratories by the mob.
After
the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister told the producer of the
film that New Delhi would intervene in the matter, Thushara
peiris with laceration injuries to his backand a broken
nose caused by the marauding mob provoked by suspected
LTTE elements in the city discharged himself from the
Nawaloka Hospital where he started the protest fast and
flew to Chennai with the producer of the film, Saman Chandrasiri,
the sources said.
The
injured director started his protest fast , March 26th
and gave it up March 27th after Sri Lankan Foreign Minister
promised to intervene.
According
to the mob , Peiris said, they were furious that he had
made an anti-Tamil film , a canard believed to have been
spread by the LTTE.
Sri
Lankan cinema artists who were very supportive of the
Director were flocked to his private hospital room, sources
said.
“By attacking the director , the LTTE has given,
unprecedented publicity to the film because of the number
of headlines it made in Colombo and Chennai,’ the
sources said.
Famous
actress Nilmini Tennekoon fed him when he decided to give
up his fast.
Courtesy
Asian Tribune
