[Nettime-bold] Did CNN use 1991 Images of Palestinians Celebrating Invasion ofKuwait?

[Soenke Zehle <soenke.zehle@web.de>]

Article by: Marcio 
Wednesday 12 Sep 2001

Reference at indymedia website:
http://www.indymedia.org:8081//front.php3?article_id=63288


Article: 
I'd like to add some ideas from here, down south.

There's an important point in the power of press, specifically the power
of CNN. 

All around the world we are subjected to 3 or 4 huge news distributors,
and one of them - as you well know - is CNN. Very well, I guess all of
you have been seeing (just as I've been) images from this company. In
particular, one set of images called my attencion: the Palestinians
celebrating the bombing, out on the streets, eating some cake and making
funny faces for the camera.

Well, THOSE IMAGES WERE SHOT BACK IN 1991!!! Those are images of
Palestinians celebrating the invasion of Kuwait! It's simply
unacceptable that a super-power of cumminications as CNN uses images
which do not correspond to the reality in talking about so serious an
issue. 

A teacher of mine, here in Brazil, has videotapes recorded in 1991, with
the very same images; he's been sending emails to CNN, Globo (the major
TV network in Brazil) and newspapers, denouncing what I myself classify
as a crime against the public opinion. If anyone of you has access to
this kind of files, serch for it. In the meanwhile, I'll try to put my
hands on a copy of this tape.

But now, think for a moment about the impact of such images. Your people
is hurt, emotionally fragile, and this kind broadcast have very high
possibility of causi! ng waves of anger and rage against Palestinians.
It's simply irresponsible to show images such as those.

Finally, I'd like to say that we all regret and condemn all that has
happened in the last days; but Nikos has a point here. I really don't
want to be misunderstood here, but the truth is that US government had
shown no respect for other countries in the last decades. In the 60s and
70s they had halped lots of military coups throughout the world
(including Brazil in 64). Later, with Reagan and Bush Father, the
Washington Consensus have been demolishing the bases of our economies,
making us more and more dependant (and, many of us, prehocupied with
this situation). 

Your current president quickly made things worse: Kioto Protocol, Star
Wars, Colombia Plan, the exchange of rain forest for pieces of external
debt, tha abandonment of the position of third party in negotiations
between IRA and England, and between Palestinians and Israel. All those
mistakes in US external politics made your country more hatred than
before, and, of course, more vulnerable.

Listen, I'm NOT justifying the terrorist actions that took place in your
country; but it seems to me that, if your leaders had come along another
path of thoughts and actions, you wouldn't be suffering what you are
now. 

Best regards, and the hope that everything is resolved for the best of
all of us 

Márcio A. V. Carvalho
State University of Campinas - Brazil 


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