LONDON, Jan 24 (AFP) - Thousands of people demonstrated in London today against the BBC's refusal to broadcast a charity appeal to raise emergency funds for people in the Gaza Strip.
The BBC is worried that broadcasting the appeal could compromise its impartiality and questions whether aid can be delivered efficiently in Gaza.
But the decision has provoked fierce criticism from Prime Minister Gordon Brown's government, Muslim groups and the demonstration's organisers.
International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander has written to the BBC urging it to reconsider its decision.
“I think the British public can distinguish between support for humanitarian aid and perceived partiality in a conflict,” he told BBC radio Saturday.
“I really struggle to see, in the face of the immense human suffering in Gaza at the moment, that this is in any way a credible argument.”
The Muslim Council of Britain said the BBC's decision not to show the appeal was “a serious dereliction of its public duty”. |
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