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Politics : Foreign Policy Discussion Thread -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Hawkmoon who wrote (3763)	2/12/2003 5:25:22 AM
From: zonder	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 15987

Reporter with Borders, where they protested against a Palestinian restriction against photographing palestinian children marching in uniform with weapons I am sorry, I don't remember seeing that site. Strange. Just last night, I watched a program on French TV on glorification of martyrdom, especially re women, and there was was more than ample coverage of toddlers marching in uniforms, kids saying they want to be martyrs to the camera, etc. Nobody tried to restrict the cameraman, nor the woman asking the questions... Oh now I realize you are talking about the group "Reporters Sans Frontieres". Read on below to see how they have protested against the Israeli government... Anyway, the point was never whether or not Palestinian kids are exposed to weapons and uniforms from an early age, nor whether there is a morbid fascination with martyrdom among them. It was something very specific - the accusation that Palestinian gunmen deliberately fire from behind Palestinian kids, thereby causing Israeli gunmen to accidentally shoot the kids for propaganda purposes, despite the Israelis efforts not to. Now that I have seen nowhere else, and I do follow the news from several major sources in various languages. I just have to ask why we don't see western media sources reporting on the mid-east? But they do. Every day. I agree with you that the coverage could be better, more up to date and in-depth, but I am not sure if Palestinians are the culprit for that. Read below... Is it because most of don't speak Arabic, but the Israelis treat that language as co-equal with Hebrew?? Come on, Hawk :-) Every news agency has reporters speaking Arabic, Hebrew, Russian, etc. It is part of the job. Especially now that most of the important news of the planet is around Arab-speaking people, do you really think that any problem in news gathering or publishing can possibly be related to major agencies' lack of Arab-speaking personnel? However, I do remember quite a few protests against the state of Israel for restricting journalist access into the occupied territories. A quick search led to these links: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is writing to express its alarm at official Israeli attempts to restrict media coverage in the West Bank, as well as several incidents in which Israeli troops have fired on working journalists. cpj.org [Do read the whole page on the link. It is a letter to Sharon.] Israel has now declared Ramallah a closed military area and has ordered all journalists to leave. news.bbc.co.uk Journalists protest at Israeli press ban Journalists' groups have united in their condemnation of the Israeli authorities for failing to protect press freedom in the West Bank town of Ramallah. "Although Ramallah is indeed a dangerous place, journalists are there because they have a duty to cover this important story. We are deeply disturbed by Israel's evident desire to prevent journalists from witnessing its current activities on the West Bank," Ms Cooper added. Meanwhile, Reporters Sans Frontieres has added its voice to the fray, with its general secretary, Robert Menard, calling for an immediate lifting of the ban on journalists. "Allowing the Israeli occupation of Ramallah to take place without media witnesses is to foment rumours and disinformation," said Mr Menard. Meanwhile, journalists from a number of organisations - including the Guardian - have protested about the lack of freedom of movement for journalists. The BBC yesterday protested to Israel after its correspondent Orla Guerin was pinned down by Israeli gunfire. Peace activists have also come under fire while mounting protests against the Israeli army's activity in the so-called "closed military zone". On Saturday Israeli forces barred reporters from the French television station France 2 from entering Ramallah. One France 2 reporter told the Committee to Protect Journalists that soldiers threatened them, hurled a bottle, and fired a shot in their direction. guardian.co.uk And I guess the real question is how will it change your perspective on Arafat and the Palestinians if someone DOES find sources other than Israeli news... I don't have any sympathy for Arafat - I believe he has done many grave errors that cost dearly to his people, and I am not convinced if ending the conflict and a prosperous Palestine is his ulterior motive. My sympathy for Palestinians is due to my understanding of their suffering. As a nation, they have entered a most unhealthy phase, one I would almost call a "death cult", but I can understand where they are coming from - there is a whole generation there who live in prison-like camps, who get killed like flies, and whose "world" is so dreary and devoid of hope that they opt out for a dreamland they believe will be reached by being a martyr. I am not approving any of this. I am only trying to understand, and in understanding, try to find a way out. I would actually be very interested in talking on the above - understanding and finding a way out. We first need to come over the prevailing feeling I sense around here that Palestinians are irrational and pyromaniac lunatics whose actions cannot be understood anyway. Then we can start to understand the hows and the whys of the current situation, I believe.