Police remove a protester who staged a sit-in at BBC Broadcasting House in London yesterday to demonstrate against the BBC for refusing to broadcast an emergency fund-raising appeal for people living in the Gaza Strip. The occupation followed criticism from lawmakers and religious leaders who said that the BBC's decision not to air an advertisement from the Disaster Emergency Committee, a group of charities which includes the Red Cross, Oxfam and Save the Children, was wrong.
LONDON (AP):
The Britian-based Sky News channel joined the BBC yesterday in refusing to broadcast an emergency fundraising appeal for people living in the Gaza Strip.
Executives at the international satellite broadcaster said they made the decision after a weekend of deliberations to protect the impartiality of the station's news report.
"The conflict in Gaza forms part of one of the most challenging and contentious stories for any news organisation to cover," said Sky News Director John Ryley. "Our commitment as journalists is to cover all sides of that story with uncompromising objectivity."
The ad was submitted for broadcast by the Disaster Emergency Committee, a group of charities that includes the Red Cross, Oxfam and Save the Children.
Ian Bray, a committee spokesman, said the appeal will be broadcast Tuesday evening by other British channels, including ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5. He said it will be between two and three minutes long and that the piece would not assign blame for the conflict but simply say the people of Gaza need help.
He said he has not seen it yet because the actual spot is produced and scripted by the news channels, not the charities. It will include a telephone number and website people can use to make donations, he said.
Heavy fighting
Protesters say the humanitarian appeal must be shown on Sky and BBC to help Palestinians in desperate need of assistance after heavy fighting in Gaza. Broadcasters say they worry they will be seen as taking sides in the conflict between Israel and Hamas, which rules Gaza, if they show the ad.
The issue over whether to show the ad has ignited passions throughout Britain.
BBC officials received more than 10,000 complaints and were the focus of numerous protests on the weekend after announcing the charity appeal would not be shown. The BBC's decision has been criticised by lawmakers and religious leaders, including the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams.