The Mysterious Case Of The Vanishing World Tribunal On Iraq

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Wed, 6 Jul 2005 09:59:10 UT

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The Mysterious Case Of The Vanishing World Tribunal On Iraq

 

 

 

 

 

MEDIA LENS: Correcting for the distorted vision of the corporate media

 

July 6, 2005

 

 

MEDIA ALERT: THE MYSTERIOUS CASE OF THE VANISHING WORLD TRIBUNAL ON

IRAQ

 

 

" The best relationship with our viewers is no longer one of

parent-child but of consenting adults trying to piece together the

best picture of

the world. " (Roger Mosey, head of BBC TV news)

 

" A good case can be made that propaganda is a more important means of

social control in open societies like the United States than in closed

societies like the late Soviet Union... This system of thought control

is not centrally managed... It operates mainly by individual and market

choices, with the frequent collective service to the national interest

arising from common interests and internalised beliefs. " (Edward

Herman)

 

 

World Tribunal? What World Tribunal?

 

Media Lens has detected a recent shift in media reporting. It is hard

to quantify, but there is a palpable uneasiness amongst media

professionals at the increasing rise of the `blogosphere' and

internet-based

`alternative' media sites. Joe and Jo Public are increasingly aware that

the news and commentary distributed by the BBC, ITN, Channel 4 news and

the liberal broadsheets, are protecting major war criminals in London

and Washington.

 

A blanket of almost total media silence covers Bush and Blair's crimes

in Iraq, and their support for relentless corporate exploitation around

the globe. These war criminals continue to be presented as

world-straddling father figures who could " solve " poverty in Africa

and so become

the beloved figureheads of a " great generation " .

 

Consider that virtually the entire British media ignored the

deliberations of the World Tribunal on Iraq in Istanbul from June

24-27. Modelled

on Bertrand Russell's tribunal on the US invasion of Vietnam, the

tribunal consisted of hearings into numerous aspects of the invasion and

occupation of Iraq. A jury of conscience from ten different countries

listened to the testimony of 54 advocates. This jury declared the war one

of the most unjust in history:

 

" The Bush and Blair administrations blatantly ignored the massive

opposition to the war expressed by millions of people around the

world. They

embarked upon one of the most unjust, immoral, and cowardly wars in

history. The Anglo-American occupation of Iraq of the last 27 months has

led to the destruction and devastation of the Iraqi state and society.

Law and order have broken down completely, resulting in a pervasive lack

of human security; the physical infrastructure is in shambles; the

health care delivery system is a mess; the education system has ceased to

function; there is massive environmental and ecological devastation;

and, the cultural and archeological heritage of the Iraqi people has been

desecrated. " (World Tribunal on Iraq, `Press Release about Jury

Statement,' June 27, 2005, http://www.worldtribunal.org/main/?b=93)

 

The jury presented 13 findings against the US and UK governments that

included:

 

* Planning, preparing, and waging the supreme crime of a war of

aggression in contravention of the United Nations Charter and the

Nuremberg

Principles.

 

* Targeting the civilian population of Iraq and civilian

infrastructure.

 

* Using disproportionate force and indiscriminate weapon systems.

 

* Failing to safeguard the lives of civilians during military

activities and during the occupation period thereafter.

 

* Using deadly violence against peaceful protestors.

 

The jury also levelled charges against the security council of the

United Nations for " failing to stop war crimes amongst other crimes " . It

also charged " private corporations for profiting from the war " and

accused the corporate media of " disseminating deliberate falsehoods and

failing to report atrocities " . (ibid.)

 

Veteran activist Walden Bello, reporting from Istanbul, pointed in

particular to the " combination of eyewitness accounts that made clear

beyond a shadow of doubt that the siege of Fallujah in November 2004

was a

case of collective punishment " . (Bello, `The Perfect Storm: the World

Tribunal,' June 28, 2005;

http://www.focusweb.org/main/html/Article631.html)

 

Bello noted, too, that the tribunal clearly showed the extent of " the

western media's participation in the manipulation of public opinion " .

 

At a press conference after the tribunal, jury chairperson Arundathi

Roy said: " If there is one thing that has come out clearly in the last

few days, it is not that the corporate media supports the global

corporate project; it +is+ the global corporate project. "

 

This is a perfect summation indicating why corporate crimes rarely

surface in the corporate media. A newspaper database search on July 5

revealed that only one newspaper – the small-circulation Morning Star

– had

reported on the Tribunal. There was nothing in the Guardian, the

Observer, the Independent, the Independent on Sunday, the Financial

Times,

the Times or any of the other `watchdogs of democracy'. There were also

zero mentions at BBC news online. Although Media Lens is unable to

monitor all television and radio news bulletins, we are not aware of any

broadcast reports of the tribunal.

 

The level of professional media discipline required to fail to report

such an important event is truly remarkable. But then, as we have

frequently noted, this is standard practice when `our' crimes are under

scrutiny, rather than the crimes of official `enemies'.

 

 

Violent And Barbaric US Soldiers

 

BBC news director Helen Boaden was pressed by several Media Lens

readers – acting of their own volition, an uncomfortable thought for

some in

the media - just why the BBC had ignored all the evidence of Bush and

Blair's war crimes presented at the World Tribunal on Iraq. She replied:

 

" We've covered the issues discussed many times and will continue do so,

though we did not cover this - not least for logistical reasons. "

(Email to Media Lens reader, June 29, 2005)

 

Readers may well be scratching their heads, wondering how they managed

to miss all of these BBC reports covering the G8 leaders' culpability

for war crimes. You may also be wondering why the BBC, one of the

world's most lavishly-funded news corporations, could not manage even one

short item from Istanbul on any of its flagship news programmes.

 

Regular readers may recall that Boaden has already declared publicly

that: " you can be certain that if we had proof of [uS war crimes], it

would be leading every bulletin. " (Email to Media Lens, May 19, 2005)

 

But despite the copious evidence presented at the World Tribunal in

Istanbul, the BBC maintains a stoic refusal to report US/UK atrocities

and

war crimes.

 

However, the BBC can no longer maintain, for example, that there is no

evidence of napalm use by US forces in Iraq. It is now on the official

record that the US +has+ deployed an updated form of napalm – and that

US officials even lied about it to Britain (See: Colin Brown, 'US lied

to Britain over use of napalm in Iraq war,' The Independent, June 17,

2005; Andrew Sparrow, 'Parliament misled over firebomb use,' Daily

Telegraph, June 20, 2005; Richard Norton-Taylor, `US misled UK over Iraq

fire bombs,' The Guardian, July 1, 2005).

 

We have seen no BBC bulletin leading with - or even mentioning – the

appalling issue of napalm use by " coalition " forces in Iraq.

 

Nor have we seen any mention of the urgent humanitarian crisis in the

western Iraqi cities of Haditha and Al-Qa'im, an area that is home to

300,000 people, where hospitals have been attacked and damaged by US

forces. Eyewitnesses, including medical personnel, claim that US soldiers

violated the Geneva Convention and international law by preventing

civilians from accessing healthcare. US forces also prevented food and

medication reaching Haditha and Al-Qa'im and targeted the cities' two

main

hospitals, medical staff and ambulances. According to Dr. Salam Ismael,

general secretary of the Doctors for Iraq Society:

 

" Eyewitnesses reported at least one patient being shot dead in his bed

on a hospital ward. Doctors were prevented from assisting patients and

civilians in need. A number of doctors and medical personnel were

killed in the attack and others were arrested by US forces in the

hospital.

They were later released, along with the hospital manager who was

detained for two days.

 

" The huge military operations in the area have caused widespread damage

and an unknown number of civilians were killed and injured during the

attack.

 

" Video footage shot by doctors shows a badly damage medical store in

the Haditha hospital and damaged surgical theatres. The medical store

contained medicine and equipment for all hospitals and medical centres in

the west of Iraq. Staff and patients say the damage was carried out by

'by violent and barbaric US soldiers.' " (Ismael, 'Iraqi hospitals

attacked and damaged by US forces,' July 2, 2005;

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle & code=ISM20050702 & arti\

cleId=624)

 

Reports of brutal " coalition " attacks on Iraqi hospitals, however, are

deemed unsuitable for British audiences of mainstream media, including

the 'impartial' BBC.

 

 

SUGGESTED ACTION

 

The goal of Media Lens is to promote rationality, compassion and

respect for others. When writing emails to journalists, we strongly urge

readers to maintain a polite, non-aggressive and non-abusive tone.

 

Write to Helen Boaden, director of BBC news,

Email: helenboaden.complaints

 

And Roger Mosey, head of BBC television news:

Email: roger.mosey

 

And Mark Byford, deputy director-general

Email: mark.byford

 

Ask why the BBC is failing to cover the many reports of alleged US war

crimes in Fallujah and elsewhere in Iraq. Why did the main BBC news

programmes ignore the recent World Tribunal on Iraq? When has the BBC

ever

reported on Bush and Blair's culpability for war crimes?

 

Please copy your emails to the following:

 

Pete Clifton, BBC news online editor

Email: pete.clifton

 

Mark Thompson, BBC director general

Email: mark.thompson

 

Michael Grade, BBC chairman

Email: michael.grade

 

Ask the following newspaper editors why they ignored the recent World

Tribunal on Iraq:

 

Martin Newland, editor of the Daily Telegraph:

Email: Martin.Newland

 

Simon Kelner, editor-in-chief of the Independent and Independent on

Sunday,:

Email: s.kelner

 

Guardian editor, Alan Rusbridger:

Email: alan.rusbridger

 

Observer editor, Roger Alton:

Email: roger.alton

 

Financial Times editor, Andrew Gowers:

Email: andrew.gowers

 

Please send copies of all emails to us at: editor

 

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consider giving less to the corporate media and donating more to Media

Lens: http://www.medialens.org/donate.html

 

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