Posts
Crowds
protest BBC biased reporting on Gaza (PHOTOS, VIDEO)
Protests
against BBC coverage of Israeli military operation against the
Palestinian refugee population in the Gaza strip are erupting across
the UK, with thousands joining a call for fair, unbiased and
contextual reporting of the events on the ground.
RT,
15
July, 2014
London,
Manchester, Liverpool, and Newcastle saw marches to “protest
at the BBC's biased reporting”as
well as to gather signatures for an open letter to the BBC Director
General. London took the main stage of the protest movement.
Palestine
Solidarity Campaign, Stop the War Coalition, Campaign against Nuclear
Disarmament (CND) and many other organizations, in the letter to the
publicly funded broadcaster, say that
the company is“duty-bound
to provide balanced reporting without bias.”
Instead,
the organizers argue, the BBC’s reporting of Israel’s assault on
Palestinians in the operation Protective Edge, fails to mention the
years of occupation, deportations and siege Palestinians have lived
through. “BBC’s reporting
of these assaults is entirely devoid of context or background,” the
organizers write.
The
main protest point of a nationwide rally gathered huge crowds outside
the BBC Broadcasting House in London.
Booing
and demands for better coverage are just among some of the chants
heard in the rallies across the UK, that reminded the BBC that
“resistance to occupation is a right under international law.”
“When
you portray Israel’s shelling of a civilian population as a
‘response’ or ‘retaliation’ to rocket strikes from Gaza, we
would like to remind you that these events flow from the displacement
of the overwhelming majority of the Palestinian people from their
homes and communities,” the open letter reads.
In
Liverpool, hundreds gathered outside the BBC Radio Merseyside to
rally against Israeli attacks on Gaza and against biased reporting of
the current situation. Organized by Liverpool Friends of Palestine
and supported by Merseyside Stop the War Coalition, the event also
became a venue to show solidarity with the Palestinian people and to
call for peace and a ceasefire.
In
Manchester “Stop the Bombing of Gaza” event also gathered a
crowd. Organizers, in their call to action said that “Barack Obama,
David Cameron and UK foreign secretary William Hague support“Israel's
right to defend itself” through killing “women, children and
disabled people.” They gathered in Piccadilly Gardens in Manchester
center to call for a change in Whitehall's policy.
A
vigil in memory of the Palestinian victims was also held in
Newcastle. Similar anti-BBC demonstrations were also held on Sunday
in the UK, including Glasgow and Edinburgh as well as Cambridge and
Oxford. More
protests are
scheduled during the week.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.