{"id":47832,"date":"2014-09-29T12:00:05","date_gmt":"2014-09-29T11:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=47832"},"modified":"2015-05-05T21:29:43","modified_gmt":"2015-05-05T20:29:43","slug":"formal-complaint-to-the-australian-broadcasting-commission","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2014\/09\/formal-complaint-to-the-australian-broadcasting-commission\/","title":{"rendered":"Formal Complaint to the Australian Broadcasting Commission"},"content":{"rendered":"

Program: <\/strong>ABC, Radio National, AM<\/em>
\nDate: <\/strong>18\/9\/2014
\nTitle: <\/strong>Mixed Response from Syrian rebels to American-led war on IS<\/em><\/a>
\nPresenter: <\/strong>Chris Uhlmann\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Reporter: <\/strong>Matt Brown<\/p>\n

25 September 2014<\/em>
\nDear Audience and Consumer Affairs,<\/p>\n

The above-mentioned AM<\/em> program breaches the ABC Code of Practice <\/em><\/a>in regards to Accuracy<\/strong>, Impartiality<\/strong> and Diversity of Perspectives<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

INTRODUCTION<\/strong><\/p>\n

The United States with support from Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Qatar, has begun airstrikes on Syria, ostensibly to target IS forces. To enter the airspace of Syria without the authorization of the Syrian government is an illegal act. Also, last week the American Congress voted to train and arm \u2018moderate Syrian rebels\u2019. These rebels are fighting both the Islamic State and the Syrian government, and there is reason to believe they see the Syrian government as their principal target. Under international law, it is illegal for countries to fund and supply weapons to insurgents intent on overthrowing the government of a sovereign state.<\/p>\n

The Australian government will have enormous pressure on it from the U.S. Administration to support their military actions in Syria. It is, therefore, imperative that Australians are as well-informed as they can possibly be about the war in Syria and the so-called moderate rebels that America and its allies are arming.\u00a0 Decisions which will determine the history of the 21st century are being made.<\/p>\n

What is more, the conflict in Syria impacts on communities in Australia and on people\u2019s sense of security and well-being. We can all be disorientated by the mixed messages and the hatred stirred up in biased, imprudent reports and commentaries on the war. It should be the responsibility of the ABC, our national broadcaster, to inform us fully and impartially on Syria and the region. However, its Middle East correspondent, Matt Brown, is not doing this.<\/p>\n

ACCURACY and IMPARTIALITY<\/strong><\/p>\n

In his report on AM<\/em> (18 September 2014) Matt Brown presented a biased portrayal of \u2018moderate\u2019 rebels in Syria. He described the rebels as \u2018moderate\u2019, as if their being moderate was a fact, not an opinion.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, emotive expressions that could elicit sympathy for the rebels were used. These included, concern<\/em>, hope<\/em>, congratulated<\/em>, thankful<\/em>, and a welcome gesture<\/em>.<\/p>\n

There was no suggestion that these rebels might be opportunists, who happily wear the label \u2018moderate\u2019 today as it entitles them to receive military hardware from the U.S. and its allies, but who have aligned with terrorist groups, including ISIL<\/a>, at times in the conflict when it suited them. Also, in coming days, months and years, there are already signs they will choose Al-Qaeda affiliated groups<\/a> over the U.S. and their allies. .<\/p>\n

Unlike Brown, BBC\u2019s Jeremy Bowen<\/a> expresses serious reservations about \u2018moderate\u2019 rebels.<\/p>\n

I have met many FSA fighters and they do have moderate views, certainly in comparison with jihadist groups. But the fighters are often religious and see no problem with building up alliances with the jihadists against a common enemy. Fighters also move from one group to another. <\/em><\/p>\n

Also, it\u2019s been reported<\/a> that the family of Steven Sotloff, one of the American journalists beheaded by ISIL, accused \u2018moderate rebels\u2019 of selling Steven to the extremists.<\/p>\n

Does a \u2018moderate\u2019 rebel kill differently to an \u2018extremist\u2019 rebel?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ahmad Al-Rahal, a \u2018moderate rebel\u2019 introduced in the AM report, declared in an interview in March 2014<\/a>,<\/p>\n

There is no sectarianism in this revolution. Syria only has two sects: that of the regime and that of the revolution.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

It is difficult to see how such a crude uncompromising approach to a \u2018revolution\u2019 differs from the Khmer Rouge\u2019s, whose ideology was just as black and white and led to the killing fields in Cambodia. It is therefore shocking that Brown reports on Al-Rahal totally uncritically.<\/p>\n

Given the lethal qualities of the \u2018revolution\u2019 in Syria and its attraction to young Muslim Australians, the ABC has a heavy responsibility to both the general public in Syria and in Australia to ensure \u2018rebels\u2019 in Syria, no matter what their name-tag today, are neither glamorized nor sanitized by ABC journalists.<\/p>\n

The other \u2018moderate\u2019 rebel commander Brown introduces to the AM audience is Jamal Al Maa\u2019arufe (also spelt \u2018Ma\u2019ruf\u2019 and \u2018Maruf). Currently, Maa\u2019arufe is said to head a coalition of insurgent groups called the Syrian Revolutionaries\u2019 Front.\u00a0 Dr As’ad AbuKhalil,<\/strong> a professor of political science at California State University has written the following about Jamal Maa\u2019arufe on his blog, Angry Arab<\/em><\/a>:<\/p>\n

A Syrian leader of rebel thugs, Jamal Ma`ruf, having been groomed by Saudi intelligence, announces in the media that he is now ready and willing to fight ISIS.\u00a0 Let me translate: he has just received a large supply of weapons and cash from American and Saudi intelligence. Let the thuggery begin.<\/em><\/p>\n

DIVERSITY of PERSPECTIVES<\/strong><\/p>\n

Although rebels control quite a large area in Syria, the majority of Syrians still choose to live in government controlled cities and towns. These people include up to two million Syrian Christians as well as Muslims of all sects who do not support a militarized opposition or an Islamised political system, similar to Saudi Arabia\u2019s or Iran\u2019s. Yet, their voices are not heard in this AM report. It is as if they do not exist, yet they are people Australians would feel great empathy for if only we knew their stories and views.<\/p>\n

Ironically perhaps, James Foley, the American journalist whose beheading became part of the pretext for U.S. military strikes on Syria, did diligently seek the views of civilians in Aleppo who were critical of the Free Syrian Army, supposedly moderate rebels. This may have cost him his life. In an October 2012 article titled Syria: Rebels losing support among civilians in Aleppo<\/em><\/a>, Foley wrote,<\/p>\n

The rebels in Aleppo are predominantly from the countryside, further alienating them from the urban crowd that once lived here peacefully, in relative economic comfort and with little interference from the authoritarian government of President Bashar al-Assad.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThe terrorism here in Syria is spreading, and the government has to do something about it,\u201d said Mohamed Kabal, a 21-year-old university student.<\/em><\/p>\n

Foley also presented the perspective of a disillusioned rebel.<\/p>\n

He said he’s seen civilians executed after rebels recklessly accuse them of being mercenaries for the regime.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI saw one beaten to death,\u201d he said. \u201cThe FSA didn\u2019t check their facts, and now he\u2019s dead. I know the man. He was 46. He has five children.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Unlike some media outlets, such as the BBC<\/a>, Channel 4<\/a>, and the Telegraph<\/em><\/a>, the ABC has not sent a reporter into government controlled cities to seek a diversity of perspectives <\/strong>in regards to the war. The ABC has maintained it hasn\u2019t been able to get a visa for a reporter. But this is no excuse for the lack of balance in Matt Brown\u2019s report. In June, tens of thousands of Syrians in Lebanon voted<\/a> in the Syrian presidential election. Brown could travel to Beirut to seek out their views.<\/p>\n

TRUTHS vs INACCURATE & BIASED REPORTING <\/strong><\/p>\n

In 2011, on an ABC community webpage, there was an account of the violence and terror<\/a> then being committed by armed gangs across Syria. However, despite challenges<\/a>, the mainstream narrative on the crisis in Syria has been consistent: a minority sect is oppressing the Sunni majority and a brutal dictator is killing his own people. Matt Brown promotes it in this AM report, as do print journalists<\/a>, NGOs<\/a>, human rights organizations<\/a>, even UN bodies<\/a>. \u00a0When prominent Malaysian peace activist, Dr Chandra Muzaffar<\/a>, writes on what might attract young Muslim men the rebel cause in Syria, we in Australia should pay heed. He is a \u2018moderate\u2019 Muslim exploring truths.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, through repetition, the narrative has become a \u2018truth\u2019 people are emotionally attached to. Hence, although a well-regarded M.I.T. professor<\/a>, a doctor in pharmacology<\/a>, a US intelligence expert<\/a>, a veteran investigative journalis<\/a>t; have all challenged the claim that Assad used chemical weapons against his people in August 2013, ABC presenter<\/a> Waleed Aly can still insist Assad did, without thinking it necessary to substantiate the accusation.<\/p>\n

So Matt Brown\u2019s recent AM report continues the tradition of this narrative. It begins with a discussion of the Sunni IS forces and ends with damnation of the \u2018torture chambers\u2019 of Bashar Al-Assad, who, as Brown says, is the \u2018main target\u2019 of \u2018moderate\u2019 rebels. (NB: Alternative sources<\/a> question the \u2018Caesar\u2019 claims of \u2018torture chambers\u2019<\/a>, but a mainstream journalist is highly unlikely to be instructed to probe deeply once a convenient \u2018truth\u2019 is embedded.)<\/p>\n

In the report, rebel claims are presented without challenge by Brown; thus, they easily become \u2018truths\u2019. So Jamal Al Maa\u2019arufe speaks about the fight against the \u201cunjust Bashar\u2019s illegitimate state\u201d. Believing that the Syrian state is illegitimate may be what prompts rebels to brutally murder state employees, including bakers<\/a>. post office workers<\/a>, doctors<\/a> and teachers<\/a>. But how can a state that has been represented in the U.N. since its inception be \u2018illegitimate\u2019?<\/p>\n

Brown says a government airstrike \u2018reportedly\u2019 killed Jamal Al Maa\u2019arufe\u2019s wife and daughter. Brown acknowledges it is a claim. However, apart from this AM report, a tweet and a Facebook entry, It is very hard to find support on the internet for it. An article in SYRIA: direct<\/a><\/em>, reports on the airstrike, but it claims \u00a0Maa\u2019arufe\u2019s deputy was killed<\/a>; there is no mention of family members. Already Brown presents a sympathetic portrait of rebel leader Al Maa\u2019arufe.\u00a0 Suggesting that he has lost his wife and daughter in a government airstrike further reinforces that portrayal. That may be the purpose of it. \u00a0as to repeat what seems to be merely a little chatter on the internet seems irresponsible journalism, especially when the stakes are so high when there is misinformation presented on Syria, high for the people of Syria and the region, and high for Australians, as we are now learning.<\/p>\n

CONCLUSION<\/strong><\/p>\n

Unchallenged rebel slogans, misinformation and distortions can only further entice young Muslim Australians to Syria to fight the \u2018Alawi dictatorship of Bashar Al Assad\u2019<\/a>, as James Carleton described it on RN Breakfast (22\/9\/14) in clear contradiction of the true demographics, which are that the Syrian government, army, and business elite are dominated by Sunni Muslims<\/a>. Young Australian Muslims who aspire to becoming martyrs in Syria or Australia can inadvertently become the victims of lies.<\/p>\n

Syria is a conflict we all contribute to if we do not demand the highest standards of reporting. \u00a0Not only do we risk being victims of our own naivety and gullibility, but by ignoring the voices and suffering of millions of Syrians – people like us – we compromise our basic beliefs and values, and we risk being complicit in heinous crimes.<\/p>\n

______________________<\/p>\n

Ms Susan Dirgham, National Coordinator of “Australians for Mussalaha (Reconciliation) in Syria”.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Breaches on ABC Code of Practice in Accuracy, Impartiality and Diversity of Perspectives. Does a \u2018moderate\u2019 rebel kill differently to an \u2018extremist\u2019 rebel? – Ahmad Al-Rahal, a \u2018moderate rebel\u2019, declared in March 2014, \u201cThere is no sectarianism in this revolution. Syria only has two sects: that of the regime and that of the revolution.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[62],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47832","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-media"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47832","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47832"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47832\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47832"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47832"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47832"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}