New Delhi: Public broadcasters in the UK and Canada, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), have courted controversy for refusing to refer to Hamas as a ‘terrorist’ organisation.
This, despite leaders of the UK, Canada, the US, Saudi Arabia, the European Union (EU), Japan, and Australia, among others, referring to the Palestinian Islamist group as such in the wake of its attack against Israel on 7 October.
Besides Israel, the US, Canada, the EU and the UK have designated Hamas a ‘terrorist’ group for its armed resistance against Israel.
The BBC was the first to come under fire for referring to Hamas gunmen as “fighters” or “militants” in its coverage of the ‘war’ in Israel, as opposed to ‘terrorists’. This was in stark contrast to the line taken by British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak who categorically referred to Hamas as “terrorists”.
Despite Lucy Frazer, the UK’s secretary of state for Culture, relaying these concerns to BBC’s director-general Tim Davie, the British public broadcaster has refused to bow to political pressure or re-assess its editorial guidelines.
Lord Eric Pickles, the UK special envoy for post-Holocaust issues, weighed in on the controversy Monday by accusing the BBC of “not delivering coverage that is fair, balanced or reasonable”.
President of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, Marie Van Der Zyl, told TalkTV, “Despite the fact that our government and the opposition have said Hamas are terrorists and proscribed by law, the BBC is refusing to say these people are terrorists. They are describing them as militants.”
Voices from within the British public service broadcaster, however, defended its decision to refer to Hamas as “militants” or “fighters”.
John Simpson, a foreign correspondent and BBC’s world affairs editor, in a statement on X argued that using the word “terrorist” undermines the impartiality of a publication.
“British politicians know perfectly well why the BBC avoids the word ‘terrorist’, and over the years plenty of them have privately agreed with it. Calling someone a terrorist means you’re taking sides and ceasing to treat the situation with due impartiality…There’s always someone who would like us to rant. Sorry, it’s not what we do,” he wrote.
British politicians know perfectly well why the BBC avoids the word ‘terrorist’, and over the years plenty of them have privately agreed with it. Calling someone a terrorist means you’re taking sides and ceasing to treat the situation with due impartiality. The BBC’s job is to…
— John Simpson (@JohnSimpsonNews) October 10, 2023
The Rishi Sunak-led UK government continues to condemn the Hamas offensive as a “terror” attack.
On Monday, Robert Jenrick, minister of state for immigration, reiterated the government’s stand at a vigil.
“Let us be clear what the world has witnessed. These weren’t as some in the media say militants or fighters. They were terrorists. They were murderers. They were barbarians and the BBC or whoever else we see on the television should say it as it is,” he was quoted as saying by The Telegraph.
Over 900 Israelis and more than 700 Palestinians in Gaza have reportedly been killed in the attack by Hamas and the subsequent counter-offensive by Israel in the Gaza Strip.
Also Read: ‘Hamas an evil not even created by devil…no negotiations this time’, says Israel foreign minister
‘CBC adopting tone of moral superiority’
The CBC, according to emails first accessed by media monitor Honest Reporting Canada, instructed staff not to use the word “terrorist” when describing Hamas gunmen.
“Do not refer to militants, soldiers or anyone else as terrorists,” read a leaked email from George Achi, CBC’s director of journalistic standards. “The notion of terrorism remains heavily politicised and is part of the story,” Achi wrote in his email. He added that quotes of a government or a source referring to fighters as ‘terrorist’ should be accompanied with context “to ensure the audience understands this is opinion, not fact”.
This drew ire from other sections of Canadian media.
In an op-ed for Toronto Sun, Monday, titled ‘CBC’s arguments for not calling Hamas a terror group are weak’, columnist Brian Lilley accused the public broadcaster of adopting a tone of “moral superiority”. Lilley also said that CBC had termed the 1985 Air India Kanishka bombing carried out by Sikh separatists that killed 329, including 278 Canadian citizens, as a “terror” attack.
“For all their posturing, CBC is far less disciplined in avoiding the use of the word terrorism in other instances. A report earlier this year on the Air India bombing had no issue using the term terrorism freely, without attribution, as should be the case, but with Hamas, CBC issues warning not to use the term,” wrote Lilley.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
Also Read: Muslim countries on Hamas attack: Condemnation & calls for ‘restraint’, but some blame Israel