BBC Denies Disaster Emergency Committee Air Time.....

Original post - Jan. 22:
The Disaster Emergency Committee includes these groups: Action Aid, the British Red Cross, Cafod, Care International UK, Islamic Relief, Oxfam, Save the Children and Tearfund, among others. To breach an agreement which is now 46 years old confirms that the BBC is firmly wedged up Israel's ass. Very well then, I now add the British Broadcasting Corporation on my personal boycott list and strongly recommend everyone else to follow suit.

Here is the text of the complaint email which I have sent to the BBC:

"I am extremely disappointed with your decision not to broadcast the appeal by the DEC for the Gaza crisis appeal. I can not fathom for the life of me how you can claim that by broadcasting a humanitarian appeal, you will compromise public confidence. On the contrary I have now lost all confidence in the corporation, and wonder whether I can trust the BBC to be unbiased."

Here's the web address if you care to send them your own views:
www.bbc.co.uk/complaints/

The BBC has refused to broadcast a national humanitarian appeal for Gaza, leaving aid agencies with a potential shortfall of millions of pounds in donations.

The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), an umbrella group for 13 aid charities, launched its appeal yesterday saying the devastation in Gaza was "so huge British aid agencies were compelled to act".

But the BBC made a rare breach of an agreement dating to 1963, saying it would not give free airtime to the appeal. Other broadcasters followed suit. Previously, broadcasters had agreed on the video and script to be used with the DEC, to be shown after primetime news bulletins.

The BBC, which has been criticised in the past over alleged bias in its coverage of the Middle East, said it did not want to risk public confidence in its impartiality. A BBC spokesperson said: "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 DEC's chief executive, Brendan Gormley, said: "We are totally apolitical ... this appeal is a response to humanitarian principles. The BBC seems to be confusing impartiality with equal airtime."

DEC appeals have recently raised £10m for the Congo and £18m for Burma.

An ITV spokesman said the broadcasters, after assessing the DEC's needs, had been unable "to reach a consensus necessary for an appeal".

Sky said: "By convention, if all broadcasters do not carry the appeal, then none do. The decision was effectively made for us."

Source

Edit #1 - Jan. 23:
I'm now almost pleased to edit this post. There is a small DEC appeal on the right hand side of the article, halfway down this page on BBC News. Careful, if you blink, you'll miss it.

Edit #2 - Jan.24:
The BBC remains steadfast in it's denial about being impartial regarding their broadcast standards. By refusing to air the DEC appeal, they are sending a message to us all that when it comes to the BBC, Israel and her supporters sensibilities trump humanitarian crisis and reality. Fools, they don't seem to mind in the least that they've offended everyone with a heart and a conscience. At least ITV and Channel 4 have seen the light.

Edit #3 - Jan. 25:
Bless you Tony Benn.

Tony Benn defies the channel bosses and broadcasts the DEC appeal himself!

Donations can be made via the DEC website www.dec.org.uk ,
24 hour credit card line 0370 60 60 900

cheques made payable to
"DEC Gaza Crisis"

send to:
DEC Gaza Crisis Appeal
PO Box 999,
London EC3A 3AA.

Donations can also be made at high street banks and post offices.

"I'm sorry but I'm a human being" -- Tony Benn