Wed. 27 Apr. 2011 @ 13.27 - Editorial on UN report on Sri Lankan civilian deaths claims that Israel's 'burial' of war crimes allegations has endangered civilians 'in all other conflicts'. Following the release of a UN report into the conduct of both the Sri Lankan government and Tamil Tiger separatists during the 2009 culmination of the country's civil war, three of today's broadsheets carry editorials on allegations of war crimes committed by both sides. While both The Times and The Independent condemn the Sri Lankan government, both for allegedly killing the majority of up to 40,000 civilians, and for stifling all attempts to hold independent inquiries into its actions, The Guardian leads its editorial by denouncing Israel, and its response to the Goldstone report. For Just Journalism's report comparing coverage of war crimes allegations in relation to Israel and Sri Lanka, see: Israel and Sri Lanka: a media analysis of war crimes allegations Wed. 27 Apr. 2011 @ 11.27 - Report citing up to 40,000 civilians killed in 2009 admonishes UN for concealing the massive death toll. The UN panel report on the Sri Lanka war, officially released yesterday, contains scathing criticism of the United Nations for suppressing the huge casualty figures sustained in the closing months of the 26-year conflict between the government and Tamil separatists. Between January and May 2009, tens of thousands of civilians are thought to have died. However, the panel report commissioned by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon attacked the United Nations for concealing the true death toll, claiming that this failure to go public 'made the issue of civilian casualties less newsworthy'. It also accused the UN of being 'excessively cautious in comparison with other conflict situations', alleging 'a general under-reporting of violations by United Nations agencies'. The BBC News website, The Independent and Channel 4 News have covered the report's criticism of the UN on this point, with the former stating: 'the UN will carry out a review of its own actions during the conflict. The report criticises UN officials for not pressing the Sri Lankan government hard enough to exercise restraint and for not going public with high casualty figures which, it says, would have put more pressure on the government.' Just Journalism Spokesperson Michael Weiss writes in The Daily Telegraph on Amnesty International's questionable relationship with Middle East Monitor. April 26 2011 When Amnesty International sacked the brilliant feminist Gita Sahgal for pointing out the obvious human rights bloomer in her organisation's partnership with Moazzem Begg - a man who, the Telegraph reveals today, was once claimed by the US authorities to be "a confirmed member of al-Qaeda" - the official Amnesty explanation was that Begg was a swell guy. The unofficial rationale, I suspect, was that, as a former Guantanamo Bay detainee, he hated the Bush administration even more than Amnesty did. But now Amnesty has taken the next step in its easy-breezy attitude towards religious fundamentalism. The celebrated NGO has cosied up to a Hamas-friendly magazine based in London known as Middle East Monitor Online (MEMO). On May 23, Amnesty's Human Rights Action Centre will co-host what promises to be a ripping debate on "Complicity in Oppression: Does the Media Aid Israel?" The other co-hosts are MEMO and the Palestine Solidarity Campaign. Tues. 26 Apr. 2011 @ 17.45 - Reporting on shooting of Israeli visitors to Jewish holy site largely ignores reports that Palestinians set fire to sacred tomb, while Times blames relative of victim for 'stoking tensions'. On Sunday the media reported on a violent incident in the Palestinian town of Nablus, situated in the West Bank. A group of Israelis visiting Joseph's Tomb, a Jewish holy site, came under fire by Palestinian policeman, leaving one dead and several wounded. The shooting was picked up by the BBC News website, the Financial Times, The Guardian, The Times and The Independent. All of the coverage notes that the reason given by the Palestinian Authority for the shooting was the visit had not been coordinated between Israel and the PA, as is the norm. Several outlets then highlight how the event was likely to impact negatively on relations between Israelis and Palestinians in the West Bank. While only The Times mentioned that, following the attack, Palestinians set fire to Joseph's Tomb, this was framed as part of wider tensions that had been stoked by a relative of the victim - not the killing itself.April 27, 2011 The Wire Guardian uses UN Sri Lanka report to claim Israel has endangered civilians world-wide
The Wire UN Sri Lanka report slams UN for suppressing casualty figures
Op-eds and features Why is Amnesty hosting a Hamas-friendly publisher of racists?
The Wire Coverage of Nablus killing ignores Palestinian arson attack
Wednesday 27 April 2011
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