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UK commander attacks TV footage
Edited and re-jigged.The leader of UK forces in the Gulf has clashed with a television station over its "deplorable" decision to show footage of dead soldiers and prisoners of war. Air Marshal Brian Burridge told Qatar-based al-Jazeera it should take no pride in a film of the bodies of two soldiers lying in a dusty street and two prisoners of war in a room with Iraqis. Meanwhile the Ministry of Defence has told BBC News Online the two prisoners shown on al-Jazeera are civilian drivers employed by a company in Saudi Arabia. It said they were part of an aid convoy with a military escort, but were separated when it was stopped by a "civil disturbance". The Ministry of Defence has said the dead men are thought to be two soldiers who went missing during fighting around the town of al-Zubayr, near the southern city of Basra. One of the dead soldiers appeared to have been shot in the chest, but the other's injuries were unclear. Their wrecked vehicle was included in the footage, with armed civilians climbing over it. The soldiers' families have been informed of the development. At a news briefing Mr Burridge said: "We deplore the decision by al-Jazeera to broadcast such material and call on them to desist immediately." He said the broadcast had been a "flagrant breach" of the Geneva Convention, adding: "All media must be aware of the limits of taste and decency." But an al-Jazeera correspondent at the conference hit back, saying: "British and US forces said that their war will be clean. When? I think our decision is to show our audience the truth, even if it is a dirty war. "We are in al-Jazeera not a part of the coalition, nor a part of the Iraqi regime. We are independent The stance was immediately criticised by Mr Burridge, who said he understood that al-Jazeera wanted to produce balanced and engaging news they could be proud of. But he said: "That type of reporting is neither balanced, nor should anybody take any pride in it. Take it from me." The UK commander said he had been "shocked and appalled" by the broadcast and urged journalists to avoid becoming the After the footage was shown Tony Blair's official spokesman said: "The prime minister's reaction was horror both at the deaths and at the fact that the pictures were shown." So threaten to pull their UK broadcasting licence if they do it again, Tony. The MoD said it could not confirm the nationality of the two captives shown in the TV footage. Al-Jazeera said it believed they were Kenyans working for the British Army as lorry drivers. The MoD told BBC News Online that for some reason the two drivers failed to turn right when the rest of the convoy did and had been captured. A spokeswoman said: "It would be quite normal to hire civilian contractors." The men must be afforded prisoner of war status for as long as they are held, the MoD added. FWTW in Ba'athist hands. Posted by: Bulldog 2003-03-27 |
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