''Eritreans rally against UN sanctions'' http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/8528007.stm
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So many people I know who come from different countries believe as I do that the BBC is biased. When I speak to people from Africa in general they feel that the BBC is only keen in reporting negative aspects about Africa but whenever there is some good news, the BBC does not give equivalent proportion of attention and coverage. Every time I ask people from the Middle East, they say the BBC is biased especially in its coverage of the Palestine and Israel news. People from Asia (India, Pakistan and Afghanistan) that I have spoken to also have similar assessment of the BBC.
But
when it comes to Eritrea, the BBC is not only biased but I feel that
there is a hidden agenda to defame and humiliate the Eritrean people
and government.
But Why and what are
the motives of the BBC?
Eritreans recognise that as everywhere else in Africa and in the other continents we have political, economic and social problem that the BBC and other mass media organisations are adequately covering but we also recognise that there are several good aspects that need to be reported and celebrated. For example, in spite of its limited resources, Eritrea has comfortably met and even exceeded some of the Millennium Development Goals which majority of African counties have miserably failed to do so. Why then doesn't the BBC report such news?
On Sunday, 21st of February 2010, the BBC sent its African correspondent, a young lady who coincidently happens to be of Ethiopian origin to the departure point in London where hundreds of British Nationals of Eritrean origin were boarding coaches destined for Geneva to take part in the worldwide coordinated and peaceful demonstrations.The BBC correspondent witnessed this glorious occasion and interviewed several people for over an hour. These hundreds of British Nationals of Eritrean origin that were gathered there are law abiding citizens that were legally exercising their rights to peacefully protest against what they believe are unjust and irresponsible UN sanctions against their country of origin, Eritrea.
These citizens included people of all levels and spheres of education and professions and have willingly, genuinely and voluntarily chosen to join the worldwide peaceful demonstrations but the photo above does not represent them or Eritrea.
This Photo shows Somali Rebels fighting the Transitional Somali government. The BBC has on several occasions posted reports stating that these rebels are accused of having links with terrorist organisation including Al-Qaeda.
Why would then the BBC choose to use this photo in its article titled ''Eritreans rally against UN sanctions'' that was posted on Monday 22/02/2010 to show British Nationals of Eritrean origin? http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/8528007.stm
To find the reason, I decided to make a formal complaint using the online complaints home page http://www.bbc.co.uk/complaints/homepage/
This was how I composed my complaint on Thursday 25/02/2010:-
I would like to make a complaint
The BBC correspondent could have used the photos taken at the departure point where thousands of Eritreans were leaving for Geneva by coaches. Instead a photo showing Somali rebels was used for this article. I found this to be very offensive and so did my Eritrean friends.
The Reply from BBC was as follows:-
Dear Sir,
I
am sorry if the photo offended you - that was not the intention.
When we wrote the story first thing in the morning, there were no photos
available.
We did intend to update the story later on but ended up being very busy that day and so did not have the time.
Unfortunately, we have a rather small team and we are unable to do everything we would like to.
Yours,
Name deleted
My Response to the email above was as follows:-
Thanks for your prompt response but I am rather surprised by the content of your response.
By the way the photos offended so many Eritreans worldwide not only me. Also, I don't understand why you didn't post the article without any photos if you did not have the correct/appropriate ones?
To use photos of Somalis Islamic fighters who are accused of having links with terrorist organisations to depict British nationals of Eritrean origin living in the UK during the peaceful demonstration is completely unacceptable, unethical and unprofessional.
I demand a public apology on your website and repost/update the article using the photos that were taken either at the departure point in London or during the demonstrations in Geneva.
If you disagree, please let me know so I can escalate my complaints to the appropriate senior management.
Thanks
and regards
Kidane Eyob
What happened next?
There was no reply until the following morning Friday 26/02/2010 so I decided to follow up my complaint by making a phone call using the number provided on the complaints home page http://www.bbc.co.uk/complaints/homepage/ which is 03700100222 and explained my reasons for making a complaint and how I was dissatisfied and disappointed by the response I received. Also, I asked for my complaints to be escalated and for the article to be either updated with correct photo or to be removed from the BBC website. I was asked whether I would like to receive the response by phone or by email and I chose the later.
Following
this phone call, however, I received a reply to my email on Friday afternoon
(26/02/2010) which reads as follows:-
Dear Mr Eyob,
The story is about the wider protests and the reasons for them, not specifically the rally in the UK. The key issue, as we report in the story, is that the UN says Eritrea is backing rebels in Somalia.
As I said, we would have preferred to use a photo of the rallies but we have checked and there are, in fact, no such pictures available - certainly none from agencies for which we would have usage rights.
As for the issue of using pictures on our pages, they are part of the visual presentation, like a newspaper, and our policy is to use pictures wherever possible. As I said earlier, there was no intention to cause offence, but I can only stress again that we consider the picture to be appropriate to our report.
However,
if you believe a serious and specific breach of the BBC's Editorial
Guidelines has occurred here, and you wish to pursue this complaint
further, you can contact the BBC's Editorial Complaints Unit, within
20 working days, and they will carry out an independent investigation.
You can write to them at the following address:
Editorial Complaints Unit
Room 5170
White City
201 Wood Lane
London W12 7TS
Alternatively you can e-mail the Unit at: ecu@bbc.co.uk, but please
note that complaints submitted via e-mail must include a postal address
as ECU findings are sent by letter.
Best
wishes,
Name deleted
Following the above email, I decided to escalate my complaints for an independent investigation and I hope to receive the response by post in the next couple of weeks.
Do you as a reader think the BBC is biased in its reports regarding Eritrea?
Do you as an Eritrean find the above photo used to show British nationals of Eritreans origin offensive?
Would
you like to make a complaint to the BBC for using this photo on its
article ''Eritreans rally against UN sanctions''?
If you do, please use the link below to access the BBC Complaints homepage
http://www.bbc.co.uk/complaints/homepage/
Note the titles of other BBC articles with hidden agenda and motives
1- ''Eritrea to pay Ethiopia millions''
In fact ''Both were ordered to pay each other damages for the 1998-2000
border war, but the verdict leaves Eritrea with $10m (£6m) more
to pay.''
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8208285.stm
2- ''Eritrea: The land its citizens want to forget'' http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/8393376.stm
3-
''Eritrea arrests 30 praying women, relatives say''
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/8407704.stm
''Thirty elderly women have been arrested in Eritrea while praying together,
one of their relatives living in the United States has told the BBC.
Requesting anonymity, she said she only found out about her mother when
she phoned to speak to her this week.''
Any one could have made that phone call.
4- ''Eritrea broke law in border war'' http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4548754.stm
5- ''Celebration hides discontent in Eritrea'' http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/2935752.stm
6- ''Eritrea's deep divisions, 10 years on'' http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/2934130.stm
The writer can be contacted using the email below
kidaneyob@yahoo.co.uk
To have your say in response to the above article please email us on: meadnashop@yahoo.co.uk