[ La corporation mediatica canadese CBC prosegue con la diffusione di
notizie false e tendenziose atte a criminalizzare in modo esclusivo la
parte serba, nonostante - ad esempio - l'evidenza drammatica dei
recentissimi pogrom in Kosovo-Metohija... ]
Da: Boba <petar@...>
Data: Mar 20 Apr 2004 06:51:11 Europe/Rome
A: (Recipient list suppressed)
Oggetto: Pls. Fwd// CBC's discrimination against Serbs
Kao sto ste verovatno vec primetili, editor "The National"-a nam je
neadekvatno odgovorio na nasu prvu zalbu CBC-ju. Molimo Vas da
odreagujete ponovo. Takodje bi zeljeli da Vam obratimo paznju na
cinjenicu da je veoma bitno poslati nasu zalbu CRTC-u, regulativnom telu
CBC-ja. Uputstvo za CRTC je "pod dva". Dodali smo i e-mail adrese vise
kanadskih politicara koji su indirektno povezani kako sa finansiranjem
CBC-a, tako i u kritikama istog.
Molimo Vas da uradite tri stvari:
1. Pod jedan - Forward-ujte ovaj pripremljeni odgovor izmedju zvezdica
na sledece adrese i (po zelji) kopirajte Centar za Mir na Balkanu u
bcc-u [ scontact@... ] da bi znali koliko je ljudi
odreagovalo.
2. Pod dva - Obavezno poslati zalbu CRTC-u
Complain to CRTC - http://www.crtc.gc.ca/RapidsCCM/Register.asp?lang=E
Subject: CBC's discrimination against Serbs
Re: March 29, 9:00PM: CBC's "The National - Carol Off's documentary "Of
Crimes and Courage"
Nemojte da vam je tesko da ovo uradite. Svima ce nam biti lakse ako
jednog dana ne budemo morali da gledamo onakve stvari na TV-u.
3. Pod tri prosledite ovaj e-mail dalje.
Obavezno se "potpisite u deo poruke gde pise "vase ime.." i ostavite
svoju adresu.
Istovremeno, molimo vas da ne saljete poruku sa uputstvom jer se par
puta desilo da je sve, ukljucujuci i prethodno uputstvo, prosledjeno
CBC-u.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
To:Jonathan_Whitten@... ;
Cc: national@...; letters@...; ombudsman@...;
Bob_Campbell@...; Tony_Burman@...; Alcock.R@...;
Scherrer.H@...; solbem@...; jack@...;
KeyesS@...
Subject: CBC's discrimination against Serbs
Re: March 29, 9:00PM: CBC's "The National - Carol Off's documentary "Of
Crimes and Courage"
Dear Mr. Whitten
Thank you for your reply. I have reviewed your response and,
unfortunately, cannot find any concrete points that would address our
concerns regarding the biased portrayal of Serbs in CBC media outlets.
As the CBC is a publicly funded media establishment, I find this pattern
of biased reporting unacceptable. The CBC's blatant discrimination
against Serbs is hurtful to the Serbian community in Canada.
I have attached below an outline of concrete examples from CBC news and
documentary transcripts that further justify our concern. Please
review.
Although the demonization of Serbs in Carol Off's "Of Crimes and
Courage" is the subject of our most recent complaint, our grievances to
the CBC date back to 1997 (specifically, Carol Off's "The National"
report, April 14th, 1997). The Serbian community has repeatedly
corresponded with the CBC on this issue and we have yet to receive a
satisfactory action-based response that would convince us, and many of
your other viewers, that the CBC does not in fact discriminate against
Serbs.
I have no reason to doubt that "your own handbook of Journalistic
Standards and Practices, which stresses lack of bias in reporting and
programming" is written in such a way that may be considered rigorous,
comprehensive, and detailed. However, based on your previous
anti-Serbian documentaries, I have concerns regarding the CBC's ability
to abide by these rules in practice.
As I mentioned in my first letter, there have been over 500,000 Serbian
refugees in the past 8 years who have never returned to their homes.
This number is greater than that for ALL former Yugoslav Republics
combined. As the editor of THE NATIONAL, can you please point me to any
specific 1-hour documentaries aired by the CBC in the past 8 years that
dealt with the conditions of Serbian refugees, and their lives before
and after they left their homes?
Again, as the editor, can you please elaborate further on "We will be
carrying more reports and coverage in greater depth in the coming days
and weeks"? We would like more specific information as to "when and
what" we are to expect, to substantiate this promise.
As Canadian citizens concerned about the biased and discriminatory
portrayal of Serbs on a national, publicly-funded media network, we will
continue to pursue this issue with the CBC. We request that you
follow-up with proof of the CBC's commitment to addressing this concern,
as well as the anticipated timeline in which these expected reports will
be prepared and aired.
To assist you in fulfilling this request, we are more than willing to
meet with representatives of the CBC and to provide further information
and co-operation. We look forward to your timely response. Objective
media is not only a concern; it is a right belonging to all Canadian
viewers.
Attachment - Points of reference outlining CBC's programming bias
against the Serbs.
Please allow me to go over a few points from your letter, and the
documentary's transcripts, which further reflect the CBC's bias.
[THE NATIONAL was not alone: similar reports were aired on CBC
Newsworld, CBC Radio's news and current affairs programs, and CBC NEWS:
ONLINE.]
> From "Of Crimes and Courage" transcript:
"In March 1999, nearly a million ethnic Albanians fled Kosovo. Serbian
leader Slobodan Milosevic had launched his most effective ethnic
cleansing operation of the entire Balkan wars. NATO forces bombed Serbia
to stop Milosevic."
The way this paragraph is written would make someone believe that "a
million ethnic Albanians fled Kosovo" before the bombing started. This
is entirely untrue. NATO did not start bombing after "a million" ethnic
Albanians fled Kosovo - "a million" ethnic Albanians fled Kosovo after
NATO started bombing. There is no evidence that there was a planned
operation that was launched before the NATO bombing -these were all
theories that have never since been confirmed. This theory is merely a
convenient pretext to the bombing - similar to WMD in Iraq.
"The Serbs had orders to cleanse the town of Albanians."
This statement is full of generalizations, yet it is stated as fact.
There is no mention of who, specifically, gave these orders, nor the
group to whom such orders were specifically given. Also, there is no
allegedly/supposedly/apparently" anywhere in the sentence.
"Goran Stoparic had seen the two men at the garden massacre. He also saw
them after they had been questioned. He says they both believed they had
nothing to fear. Among Serbian police, they were considered heroes."
How do you know that they were considered heroes among "Serbian police"
[here implying all members of the Serbian police]? Did your reporter
conduct a scientific poll of Serbian police officers that would allow
her to confidently imply that the majority, if not the entire, Serbian
constabulary felt this way? Stating this as a fact makes it sound as if
the Serbian police are a bloodthirsty, unjust organization guided by
ethnic hatred. Again, this statement makes a major and defamatory
generalization.
This is the link to the article in question and I would like you to
address Carol Off claim "...In the midst of the war, it was something
unprecedented. The Serbian Justice Ministry ordered a murder
investigation. Serbian police were killing Kosovo Albanians with
impunity...."
What evidence Mrs. Off has for this claim ?
Please read the following article from your website:
INDEPTH: BALKANS
The Balkans CBC News Online | March 19, 2004
"Violence has once again flared up in Kosovo, a small province in the
former Yugoslavia currently under administrative control of the United
Nations. Albanians form the majority of the population in Kosovo, which
is now [emphasis added] part of Serbia-Montenegro."
What do you mean by "which is now part of Serbia-Montenegro"? Kosovo and
Metohija (which is the full name for province of "Kosovo") has always
been a part of the centuries-old Serbian state--the name Metohija means
"church property". Also, why is it that the CBC has never investigated
or mentioned how the Albanians came to form the "majority of the
population" in Kosovo and Metohija over the last fifty years?
"The latest violence was sparked by reports that Albanian boys drowned
after being chased by Serbs in the ethnically-divided city of Mitrovica.
People went on a rampage, firing guns, burning homes and attacking UN
offices."
There isn't even an attempt to allude to the fact that this accusation
was proven false (as confirmed by KFOR, NATO and UNMIK). Thus, by
inserting this false justification, the CBC reduces the planned and
coordinated ethnic cleansing of Serbs (again confirmed by KFOR, NATO and
UNMIK) to some sort of spontaneous outburst of righteous indignation.
"It's some of the worst violence since the 1999 Kosovo war. Hundreds of
thousands of refugees streamed out of Kosovo during NATO's 78-day
bombing campaign amid an operation of ethnic cleansing of Albanians by
Serb forces."
The "violence" referred to above is specifically the ethnic cleansing of
Serbs, the destruction of their homes, and the destruction of Serbia's
cultural and religious monuments. However, the CBC is quick to try and
make the audience view the violence as some sort of justifiable
"payback", by mentioning the expulsion of Albanians in 1999.
This statement also raises question about the CBC's fact-checking
ability:
March 22, CBC Radio: For most viewers of CBC English language
television and listeners of CBC Radio, Monday March 22 was the first
time any would hear any detailed mention of the "violence" in Kosovo. Up
until that point, CBC Radio and English television had only made the
briefest reference to the "interethnic violence" emphasing the UN's
role. On March 22, CBC English Television broadcast a piece which lasted
just over 1 minute, the CBC reporter devoted most of the time repeating
the Albanian excuse for the violence (the dogs chasing children story
with no attempt to seek verification from the UN).
This effort to excuse the violence is repeated at the CBC website with
an article devoted exclusively to the Albanian political "funeral". Note
in particular the totally obvious and wholly unnecessary repetition of
the lie in the article.
After suggesting that Serbs were responsible for the violence which
ensued, the reporter made no effort to go into details. Some vague
reference to "burning homes and churches" and for all of 3-4 seconds was
deemed sufficent.
The reporter then went into considerable detail of the burning of
mosques in Belgrade and Nis. The reporter emphasised the mosque as
dating from the "seventeenth century". CBC obviously considered this
very important.
Absolutely no mention was made in the one minute report of the number of
attacks on Serbs; no mention of the widespread nature of the violence,
no mention that more than 50,000 Albanians participating in what was
likened to a "Kristallnacht", no mention of the number of homes,
hospitals, schools, and churches destroyed and looted, no mention of the
refugees.
And of course, no images either.
The above instances of bias are, unfortunately, only a few examples
among many. These provide only a glimpse of the regular bias in the
CBC's reporting of the Balkan crisis over the years.
Sincerely,
UPISITE VASE IME UMESTO OVOG TEKSTA
notizie false e tendenziose atte a criminalizzare in modo esclusivo la
parte serba, nonostante - ad esempio - l'evidenza drammatica dei
recentissimi pogrom in Kosovo-Metohija... ]
Da: Boba <petar@...>
Data: Mar 20 Apr 2004 06:51:11 Europe/Rome
A: (Recipient list suppressed)
Oggetto: Pls. Fwd// CBC's discrimination against Serbs
Kao sto ste verovatno vec primetili, editor "The National"-a nam je
neadekvatno odgovorio na nasu prvu zalbu CBC-ju. Molimo Vas da
odreagujete ponovo. Takodje bi zeljeli da Vam obratimo paznju na
cinjenicu da je veoma bitno poslati nasu zalbu CRTC-u, regulativnom telu
CBC-ja. Uputstvo za CRTC je "pod dva". Dodali smo i e-mail adrese vise
kanadskih politicara koji su indirektno povezani kako sa finansiranjem
CBC-a, tako i u kritikama istog.
Molimo Vas da uradite tri stvari:
1. Pod jedan - Forward-ujte ovaj pripremljeni odgovor izmedju zvezdica
na sledece adrese i (po zelji) kopirajte Centar za Mir na Balkanu u
bcc-u [ scontact@... ] da bi znali koliko je ljudi
odreagovalo.
2. Pod dva - Obavezno poslati zalbu CRTC-u
Complain to CRTC - http://www.crtc.gc.ca/RapidsCCM/Register.asp?lang=E
Subject: CBC's discrimination against Serbs
Re: March 29, 9:00PM: CBC's "The National - Carol Off's documentary "Of
Crimes and Courage"
Nemojte da vam je tesko da ovo uradite. Svima ce nam biti lakse ako
jednog dana ne budemo morali da gledamo onakve stvari na TV-u.
3. Pod tri prosledite ovaj e-mail dalje.
Obavezno se "potpisite u deo poruke gde pise "vase ime.." i ostavite
svoju adresu.
Istovremeno, molimo vas da ne saljete poruku sa uputstvom jer se par
puta desilo da je sve, ukljucujuci i prethodno uputstvo, prosledjeno
CBC-u.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
To:Jonathan_Whitten@... ;
Cc: national@...; letters@...; ombudsman@...;
Bob_Campbell@...; Tony_Burman@...; Alcock.R@...;
Scherrer.H@...; solbem@...; jack@...;
KeyesS@...
Subject: CBC's discrimination against Serbs
Re: March 29, 9:00PM: CBC's "The National - Carol Off's documentary "Of
Crimes and Courage"
Dear Mr. Whitten
Thank you for your reply. I have reviewed your response and,
unfortunately, cannot find any concrete points that would address our
concerns regarding the biased portrayal of Serbs in CBC media outlets.
As the CBC is a publicly funded media establishment, I find this pattern
of biased reporting unacceptable. The CBC's blatant discrimination
against Serbs is hurtful to the Serbian community in Canada.
I have attached below an outline of concrete examples from CBC news and
documentary transcripts that further justify our concern. Please
review.
Although the demonization of Serbs in Carol Off's "Of Crimes and
Courage" is the subject of our most recent complaint, our grievances to
the CBC date back to 1997 (specifically, Carol Off's "The National"
report, April 14th, 1997). The Serbian community has repeatedly
corresponded with the CBC on this issue and we have yet to receive a
satisfactory action-based response that would convince us, and many of
your other viewers, that the CBC does not in fact discriminate against
Serbs.
I have no reason to doubt that "your own handbook of Journalistic
Standards and Practices, which stresses lack of bias in reporting and
programming" is written in such a way that may be considered rigorous,
comprehensive, and detailed. However, based on your previous
anti-Serbian documentaries, I have concerns regarding the CBC's ability
to abide by these rules in practice.
As I mentioned in my first letter, there have been over 500,000 Serbian
refugees in the past 8 years who have never returned to their homes.
This number is greater than that for ALL former Yugoslav Republics
combined. As the editor of THE NATIONAL, can you please point me to any
specific 1-hour documentaries aired by the CBC in the past 8 years that
dealt with the conditions of Serbian refugees, and their lives before
and after they left their homes?
Again, as the editor, can you please elaborate further on "We will be
carrying more reports and coverage in greater depth in the coming days
and weeks"? We would like more specific information as to "when and
what" we are to expect, to substantiate this promise.
As Canadian citizens concerned about the biased and discriminatory
portrayal of Serbs on a national, publicly-funded media network, we will
continue to pursue this issue with the CBC. We request that you
follow-up with proof of the CBC's commitment to addressing this concern,
as well as the anticipated timeline in which these expected reports will
be prepared and aired.
To assist you in fulfilling this request, we are more than willing to
meet with representatives of the CBC and to provide further information
and co-operation. We look forward to your timely response. Objective
media is not only a concern; it is a right belonging to all Canadian
viewers.
Attachment - Points of reference outlining CBC's programming bias
against the Serbs.
Please allow me to go over a few points from your letter, and the
documentary's transcripts, which further reflect the CBC's bias.
[THE NATIONAL was not alone: similar reports were aired on CBC
Newsworld, CBC Radio's news and current affairs programs, and CBC NEWS:
ONLINE.]
> From "Of Crimes and Courage" transcript:
"In March 1999, nearly a million ethnic Albanians fled Kosovo. Serbian
leader Slobodan Milosevic had launched his most effective ethnic
cleansing operation of the entire Balkan wars. NATO forces bombed Serbia
to stop Milosevic."
The way this paragraph is written would make someone believe that "a
million ethnic Albanians fled Kosovo" before the bombing started. This
is entirely untrue. NATO did not start bombing after "a million" ethnic
Albanians fled Kosovo - "a million" ethnic Albanians fled Kosovo after
NATO started bombing. There is no evidence that there was a planned
operation that was launched before the NATO bombing -these were all
theories that have never since been confirmed. This theory is merely a
convenient pretext to the bombing - similar to WMD in Iraq.
"The Serbs had orders to cleanse the town of Albanians."
This statement is full of generalizations, yet it is stated as fact.
There is no mention of who, specifically, gave these orders, nor the
group to whom such orders were specifically given. Also, there is no
allegedly/supposedly/apparently" anywhere in the sentence.
"Goran Stoparic had seen the two men at the garden massacre. He also saw
them after they had been questioned. He says they both believed they had
nothing to fear. Among Serbian police, they were considered heroes."
How do you know that they were considered heroes among "Serbian police"
[here implying all members of the Serbian police]? Did your reporter
conduct a scientific poll of Serbian police officers that would allow
her to confidently imply that the majority, if not the entire, Serbian
constabulary felt this way? Stating this as a fact makes it sound as if
the Serbian police are a bloodthirsty, unjust organization guided by
ethnic hatred. Again, this statement makes a major and defamatory
generalization.
This is the link to the article in question and I would like you to
address Carol Off claim "...In the midst of the war, it was something
unprecedented. The Serbian Justice Ministry ordered a murder
investigation. Serbian police were killing Kosovo Albanians with
impunity...."
What evidence Mrs. Off has for this claim ?
Please read the following article from your website:
INDEPTH: BALKANS
The Balkans CBC News Online | March 19, 2004
"Violence has once again flared up in Kosovo, a small province in the
former Yugoslavia currently under administrative control of the United
Nations. Albanians form the majority of the population in Kosovo, which
is now [emphasis added] part of Serbia-Montenegro."
What do you mean by "which is now part of Serbia-Montenegro"? Kosovo and
Metohija (which is the full name for province of "Kosovo") has always
been a part of the centuries-old Serbian state--the name Metohija means
"church property". Also, why is it that the CBC has never investigated
or mentioned how the Albanians came to form the "majority of the
population" in Kosovo and Metohija over the last fifty years?
"The latest violence was sparked by reports that Albanian boys drowned
after being chased by Serbs in the ethnically-divided city of Mitrovica.
People went on a rampage, firing guns, burning homes and attacking UN
offices."
There isn't even an attempt to allude to the fact that this accusation
was proven false (as confirmed by KFOR, NATO and UNMIK). Thus, by
inserting this false justification, the CBC reduces the planned and
coordinated ethnic cleansing of Serbs (again confirmed by KFOR, NATO and
UNMIK) to some sort of spontaneous outburst of righteous indignation.
"It's some of the worst violence since the 1999 Kosovo war. Hundreds of
thousands of refugees streamed out of Kosovo during NATO's 78-day
bombing campaign amid an operation of ethnic cleansing of Albanians by
Serb forces."
The "violence" referred to above is specifically the ethnic cleansing of
Serbs, the destruction of their homes, and the destruction of Serbia's
cultural and religious monuments. However, the CBC is quick to try and
make the audience view the violence as some sort of justifiable
"payback", by mentioning the expulsion of Albanians in 1999.
This statement also raises question about the CBC's fact-checking
ability:
March 22, CBC Radio: For most viewers of CBC English language
television and listeners of CBC Radio, Monday March 22 was the first
time any would hear any detailed mention of the "violence" in Kosovo. Up
until that point, CBC Radio and English television had only made the
briefest reference to the "interethnic violence" emphasing the UN's
role. On March 22, CBC English Television broadcast a piece which lasted
just over 1 minute, the CBC reporter devoted most of the time repeating
the Albanian excuse for the violence (the dogs chasing children story
with no attempt to seek verification from the UN).
This effort to excuse the violence is repeated at the CBC website with
an article devoted exclusively to the Albanian political "funeral". Note
in particular the totally obvious and wholly unnecessary repetition of
the lie in the article.
After suggesting that Serbs were responsible for the violence which
ensued, the reporter made no effort to go into details. Some vague
reference to "burning homes and churches" and for all of 3-4 seconds was
deemed sufficent.
The reporter then went into considerable detail of the burning of
mosques in Belgrade and Nis. The reporter emphasised the mosque as
dating from the "seventeenth century". CBC obviously considered this
very important.
Absolutely no mention was made in the one minute report of the number of
attacks on Serbs; no mention of the widespread nature of the violence,
no mention that more than 50,000 Albanians participating in what was
likened to a "Kristallnacht", no mention of the number of homes,
hospitals, schools, and churches destroyed and looted, no mention of the
refugees.
And of course, no images either.
The above instances of bias are, unfortunately, only a few examples
among many. These provide only a glimpse of the regular bias in the
CBC's reporting of the Balkan crisis over the years.
Sincerely,
UPISITE VASE IME UMESTO OVOG TEKSTA