Once known for its exquisite tea, drowsy climate, and amiable people, Sri Lanka was the Indian Ocean jewel of the British Empire. After independence, the island enjoyed a booming economy and a liberal parliamentary democracy. It had a judiciary, a lively independent press, and a stability envied by emerging nations. The world expected a leader amongst nations.

Instead, in pursuit of power and fundamentalist Buddhism, an oligarchy of Sinhalese political leaders and monks hijacked democracy. In response a ruthless enemy was born: the Tamil Tigers. The result - one of modern history's longest civil conflicts - spawned a host of horrific innovations: suicide bombers, child soldiers, death squads, violent Buddhism and murdered journalists.

But ethnic conflict is only part of the story.

Twenty-seven years on, with Iran, Burma, Libya, and China as its closest allies, democracy has been reduced to a cabal of brothers who control the economy, the courts, and the media. Today they tout their bloody victory over of the Tamil Tiger guerrillas as an example for other nations with 'terrorist' problems.

Gordon Weiss, a veteran journalist and UN official for two decades, was firmly entrenched in the conflict as spokesperson for the United Nations in Colombo. He was a close observer as, in just four months in 2009, tens of thousands of civilians perished along with the last of the Tamil Tigers. His account unravels the compelling history that leads up to that horrific episode, peeling back the Sri Lankan government's cloak of silence to reveal the truth of those tragic events.

The Cage offers a rare glimpse into the reality behind the daily headlines: the inner workings of media manipulation, and the plight of international aid workers struggling to provide humanitarian assistance to those caught in the crossfire of a deadly civil conflict.

Gordon Weiss was the United Nations Spokesman in Sri Lanka for two years during the recent civil war. For two decades he worked as a journalist and for international organisations in numerous conflict and natural disaster zones. He is currently a Visiting Scholar at the University of Sydney, Australia.