The indefensible claim led to a knock on effect of other media outlets also refusing to air Gaza appeals, notably Sky News and ITN.
The Disasters Emergency Commission is an umbrella organisation, created in 1963 to help administer and co-ordinate multiple charities funds and aid, so that they could be better targeted to those who are most in need.
The BBC claim that they don’t wish to risk public opinion regarding their impartiality. A spokesperson said today: “The decision was made because of question marks about the delivery of aid in a volatile situation and also to avoid any risk of compromising public confidence in the BBC’s impartiality in the context of (a) news story.”
The BBC reneged on a 46 year old agreement dating back to 1963 in which they agreed to be part of the DEC’s ‘Rapid Response Network’, giving airtime to help them fundraise for emergency appeals.
The DEC consists of 13 member Aid agencies which include Save the Children, Help The Aged, Christian Aid, British Red Cross and Oxfam. It is believed that they are probably “not impressed at the inhumanity” of the BBC’s decision.
The BBC have been roundly criticised for many years for their bias and lack of criticism of their controllers, the British Government, who removed the top brass of the BBC under Thatcher’s conservative government during the 1980’s, accusing it of ‘liberal bias’, better known as ‘not following government propaganda’.
http://www.transdiffusion.org/emc/as…bcthatcher.php
Recently it was noted that callers to BBC Radio and also posters on the BBC website’s ‘Have Your Say’ were not allowed their say as most pro-Palestinian posts and calls were screened or moderated out.
http://www.thelondondailynews.com/bl…za-p-2099.html
Meanwhile, a comparison of today’s news shows how unbiased they still are:
BBC: “Israel defends use of phosphorus”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/mid…st/7846970.stm
The Times report: “Israel admits using white phosphorous in attacks on Gaza”
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/new…cle5575070.ece
The BBC have agreed to continue to use license payers fees to increase CEO’s wages, pay large sums of money for talentless presenters with speech impediments, while making sure that their drama output, like the recent “Little Dorrit” and the recent remake of “Survivors” continue to be under-funded, badly produced and contain no real acting ability or reason for existence.
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Meanwhile, the Disasters Emergency Commission really does need your help to get aid to the suffering civilians of the Gaza strip, so I would beg you to go to their website and donate whatever you can to help your fellow human beings.
http://www.dec.org.uk/index.html
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It’s time that there was serious civil disobedience to refuse to pay BBC license fees just to be fed government propaganda and lies.
©Initiatrix 2009
