BBC refuses to air Gaza aid film
Posted: 24-01-2009 , 14:28 GMT
The BBC has defended a decision not to air a TV fund-raising appeal for Gaza Strip, saying it wanted to avoid compromising public confidence in its impartiality. It said a decision was taken with other broadcasters not to show the Disasters Emergency Committee crisis appeal on any network in the UK.
A corporation statement added there were also doubts about "the delivery of aid in a volatile situation". On its part, DEC said there was "clear evidence" the British public wanted to help.
In a statement, the BBC said: "The BBC 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 an ongoing news story.
"However, the BBC will, of course, continue to report the humanitarian story in Gaza." Later on Saturday, a protest was held over the BBC's decision.
DEC is an umbrella organisation representing a number of aid agencies. Spokeswoman Shaista Aziz said it was confident in the abilities of DEC members and other parts of the organisation to respond and there was an "overwhelming humanitarian need". She added: "We regret the fact that the message we wanted to get across will not reach as many people as hoped."
ITV and Channel 4 are to air the charity appeal for Gaza. ITV said its move came after "the majority of broadcasters" reached a consensus. The BBC, ITV and Sky had previously agreed not to show the ad.
Before the new decision, a spokesman for ITV told the Times website: "The DEC did ask broadcasters if they could support the appeal. "We assessed the DEC's request carefully against agreed criteria and were unable to reach the consensus which is necessary for an appeal."
A cabinet minister urged broadcast of the Disasters Emergency Committee film to recognise "immense human suffering".
© 2009 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
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