We need to get Gaza right

BY Anand Bala| IN Opinion | 07/01/2009
If the Indian media ignores the facts, distorts the truth and draws parallels with Mumbai (e.g. - Israel has a right to self-defence) we will be missing the truth by much more than a mile!
A letter to the Hoot from ANAND BALA.

Dear Editor

 

I am a little scared to admit this, but I am as shaken by what is happening in Palestine as I was by the recent spate of bombings in this country (if not more).

 

From a media standpoint - we have gotten our coverage of Gaza all wrong. Nobody in India is talking with incisive analysis on the Gaza issue. Some people are even trying to draw parallels with Mumbai (How asinine can the media get?)

 

Here are a few facts -

 

Hamas have been elected by the people of Palestine. Israelis cannot ignore them - just because they do not like them. Gaza is THE largest open air jail in the world.  There is very little food, water or sanitation. Hamas rockets are a response to the Israeli blockade. The war is asymmetric. You cannot compare a handful foot soldiers to a force like the Israeli army.

 

It is a fact that the people of Palestine are being choked (1.5 million people in a narrow strip of land) and are being denied basic access are kept in conditions which are approaching concen-tration camp descriptions. The homemade rocket strikes (rockets that make their way through tunnels even on the Isreali side) is symptomatic of the condition in which the people of Gaza live it is NOT the root problem.The blockade is.

Side Notes -

  1. If the Indian media ignores the facts, distorts the truth and draws parallels with Mumbai (e.g. - Israel has a right to self-defence) we will be missing the truth by much more than a mile!
  2. Sadly and controversial there is a lesson in this for India. Kashmir and the North East are complex conflicts that can never be resolved with the presence/use of military might.
  3. The Telegraph – at least on their Internet edition - has a glamorous photo of Jordan¿s Queen as a part of a shallow story. How trashy can you get? Link
  4. The Times of India is running a story equating HAMAS with the LeT - based on a statement from the whitehouse spokesperson, Times of India ofcourse will not report that the two are not similar or that the US has never supported any resolution in the UN that seeks to censure the Isrealis for thie actions against the people of Palestine.
  5. The Hindu - seems to be a bit more intelligent in its coverage. However - it is still covering news and there is very little analysis. 
  6. For JUST the bare facts on Gaza vs Israel - look at a table of figures posted on Alertnet and the related crisis briefing.

Anand Bala

Bangalore

 

January 6, 2009

 

 

 

 

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