Skip to content or view screen version

The BBC's refusal to air a humanitarian appeal for Gaza

jhaaglund | 24.01.2009 14:10 | Anti-militarism | Other Press | Palestine

The BBC has blocked the broadcast of an appeal by the Disasters Emergency Committee (an alliance of apolitical humanitarian charities) calling for donations to relieve the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza caused by Israeli air strikes and blockades.

 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7848614.stm

This decision by the BBC is not the act of an impartial organisation, but a cowardly decision by director general Mark Thompson, motivated by fears that the Israeli government will bar BBC journalists from press conferences, as they did in 2003[1]. The existence of an ongoing conflict did not, after all, prevent the BBC from broadcasting similar DEC appeals in the past:
Gulf Crisis (1990)
Former Yugoslavia (1994)
Rwanda (1994)
Sudan (1998)
Kosovo (1999)
Liberia (2003)
Sudan - Darfur (2004)
Darfur & Chad (2007)

Those who can't attend the planned demonstration at the BBC Broadcasting House in London on the 24th of January at 2pm can also take part by:
*Loding a complaint with the BBC, this can be done via their website[2] or by telephone on 03700 100 222.
*Stopping your TV licence payments and donate the money to the DEC instead[3]


[1]  http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2003/nov/11/bbc.television
[2]  http://www.bbc.co.uk/complaints/complaints_stage1.shtml
[3]  http://www.dec.org.uk/

jhaaglund
- Homepage: http://www.af-north.org/

Comments

Hide the following 13 comments

this is really taking off

24.01.2009 15:17

I just listened to the BBC's question time and all of the politicos on the panel sided against the BBC decision as did all but just one of the ~400 audience.

a human

Do NOT stop license fee payments

24.01.2009 15:30

The author above has suggested stopping license fee payments to the BBC and donating the money to the DEC instead. Whilst I would encourage everyone to donate whatever they can afford to the DEC, stopping payment of the license fee en masse would be a VERY BAD IDEA.

I don't like the BBC's coverage of Gaza, that's why I only watch Al Jazeera, unless I want to hear about a domestic UK story when I watch the beeb. That said, the BBC's coverage is the best of all the western networks. This keeps standards up across all other UK broadcasters who have to compete with the BBC. If the BBC wasn't there Murdoch would I assure you take more advantage of his influence over Sky News. If you want proof as to why the BBC is worth our money, watch Fox News' coverage of Gaza on Sky channel 509. It is pro-Israel propaganda, plain and simple (as our most of the US networks, try CBS news which is shown late at night on Sky News). The BBC deserves our support to prevent the UK television news ending up like its US counterpart.

However much you disagree with the BBC's coverage and its despicable decision not to broadcast the DEC appeal, I am still relieved it exists.

Matt

Fuck the Licence fee! Fuck the BBC

24.01.2009 16:02



Why the hell would you get a licence in the first place?

One solution: Get rid of the mind numbing box and release yourself to the wild and if you can't remember do not open your door to strangers!

No Gods
No Masters
No State
No Wars
No Licence
No Brainer!

Aunty Christ

The BBC

24.01.2009 16:15

The BBC persues a statist and capitalist agenda, they just do it slightly differently to the way that Sky does it. Fuck the BBC and their flat tax.

Regardless, if we're too afraid to hit the cunts in the pocket, they're never going to cave.

jhaaglund
- Homepage: http://www.af-north.org/

There is no place nor time for people backing the BBC

24.01.2009 16:23

Matt,

The BBC, thoughout all its coverage on Isreali violence against what is left of Palestine, have brought about the illusion that the conflict started only when that so-called ceasefire was broken by Hamas back in December. Or when the clock started ticking on the BBC.
It never reported on the fact that this ceasefire was a mere smokescreen for the build up to this war in the first place. But that is most definitely not all. That essentially biased refusal to contextualize the conflict in historical and political terms - which was foremost initiated by a violent Zionist occupation of Palestinian land proposed and supported by colonial Britain - lies at the heart of all reporting on the conflict by non-independent media. Matt, fuck off and join the Green Party, or any party for that MATTer. There is no place nor time for people backing the BBC, especially when they have given such a large platform, throughout the massacre, to Israeli spokespeople justifying the killing of all these innocent civilians.

!Our dreams don't on your ballots!

lev

lev

Why don't you...

24.01.2009 16:35

I stuck my TV in a skip after seeing 'You've been Framed' for the first time.

The BBC is now just a propaganda mouthpiece like all the other corporate services. Who can call themselves an activist and defend the BBC???

Sure it is shit that they are being Zionist scum bags again and the DEC appeal should be aired, but I really couldn't care less if Kim Il Jong started running the BBC... it could only get more honest about its agenda.

Ditch your TV! You'll find that you get better news on the Net and will end up reading more books again.

Rehabbed Telly Addict

Dear Matt

24.01.2009 16:36

Matt,

The BBC, thoughout all its coverage on Isreali violence against what is left of Palestine, have brought about the illusion that the conflict started only when that so-called ceasefire was broken by Hamas back in December. Or when the clock started ticking on the BBC.
It never reported on the fact that this ceasefire was a mere smokescreen for the build up to this war in the first place. But that is most definitely not all. That essentially biased refusal to contextualize the conflict in historical and political terms - which was foremost initiated by a violent Zionist occupation of Palestinian land proposed and supported by colonial Britain - lies at the heart of all reporting on the conflict by non-independent media. Matt, fuck off and join the Green Party, or any party for that MATTer. There is no place nor time for people backing the BBC, especially when they have given such a large platform, throughout the massacre, to Israeli spokespeople justifying the killing of all these innocent civilians.

!Our dreams don't on your ballots!

lev

lev

!Our dreams don't fit on your ballots!

24.01.2009 16:54

sorry,

!Our dreams don't fit on your ballots!

lev

Why I'm defending the BBC

24.01.2009 17:07

I see I've come under a bit of criticism for my earlier post. My response would be that your criticisms of the BBC are valid, hence I don't watch it and only watch Al Jazeera. And I agree it is virtually indistinguishable from Sky. My point is that if we starved the BBC financially so that it was no longer around, Sky would not remain as it is, and would become far more like Fox News in the US. When a Palestinian politician told a Fox anchor in an interview that Hamas held the ceasefire and Israel broke it, the anchor replied "well you're dramatically misrepresenting the facts there". There's a video of that on YouTube somewhere.

However much you loath the BBC's coverage, at least admit that it is leagues above Fox, or anything else coming out of the US for that matter (not counting CNN International which is far better than its domestic sister, and more like the BBC). I would be interested to know if you could name a western TV channel whose coverage is better than the BBC's (perhaps channel 4 is, but I doubt it is substantially better, for example, I doubt it has corrected the misconceptions over who broke the ceasefire that you point to above).

So this is why, however much I dislike its coverage, I don't want to see the back of the BBC.

Matt

good thing too

24.01.2009 17:14

If your dreams include support for scumbags who murder women, torture political opponents, teach kids to kill themselves and shell civilians then I'm bloody glad they don't fit on a ballot box!

relieved

complaint line swamped

24.01.2009 18:14

if you fone their complaint line, they now have an automated 'option 1' if you want to register complaint about their decision "so as to keep their operators free for other normal duties"

i chose to talk to an operator anyway!!

keep swamping them - maybe we can get this appeal on air and that could directly help those in real urgent need

FYI

...and then target Lloyds

24.01.2009 22:51

When you've lodged your complaint with the BBC, get in touch with Lloyds who equally don't want to see any aid going to civilians of Palestine.

www.bristol.indymedia.org.uk/article/689584

Sparky The Clown

BBC/Fox

25.01.2009 09:32

Matt, your argument is a complete non-sequitor. What is it about the BBC that you think prevents Sky News from being more like Fox? Either way, the aim of a campaign of non-payment of the licence fee wouldn't be to bankrupt the BBC, but to force them to back down.

jhaaglund