LONDON, March 27 (UPI) -- Amid accusations of what is accurate reporting and what is not, al Jazeera, the "black sheep" of the "all-war-all-the-time" 24-hour news channels has found itself the focus of the news once again, instead of simply reporting it.
A British military spokesman, speaking from coalition headquarters in Qatar Thursday, started his briefing by severely criticizing the Arab TV network for showing footage of two British soldiers who were reportedly killed by Iraqi troops.
Air Marshal Brian Burridge said al-Jazeera "should take no pride in a film of the bodies of two soldiers lying in a dusty street and two prisoners of war in a room with Iraqis."
The British officer called the incident "deplorable."
According to the British Broadcasting Corp., a reporter for al-Jazeera replied to the British accusation by saying the station was independent and determined "to show our audience the truth, even if it is a dirty war."
The Qatari-based satellite network stunned the Arab world with its brazen Western-style reporting. It first attracted the West's attention in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington as the only news network maintaining a full-time bureau and correspondent in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.
Taysir Allouni, a Syrian national, remained in Kabul for al-Jazeera for much of the U.S. bombardments, reporting exclusively on the Taliban and their leaders in ways that often angered and irritated officials in the Bush administration. Secretary of State Colin Powell voiced his displeasure with al-Jazeera's reporting to Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al Thani, Qatar's ruler during a Washington visit, a complain that was rebuffed by the emir.
During the U.S.-led assault on Afghanistan, al-Jazeera's Kabul offices were destroyed by a U.S. missile. Mohammed Jasim, the network's managing director was quoted as saying at the time that he would not speculate as to whether the offices were targeted by the Americans, but stressed that the location of the bureau "was widely known by everyone, including the Americans."
The Arab network attracted further controversy in the United States when it aired video and audio tapes of suspected terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden urging Muslims to fight against the West in a holy war.
In the current war on Iraq, al-Jazeera has also exasperated the United States when it aired footage of dead and captured American soldiers, prompting the Pentagon to appeal to U.S. networks not to air the footage.
In a strange twist of fate, the network has seen its correspondents banned from covering the New York Stock Exchange and its Web sites were hacked this week as the West, a long-time critic of government-controlled Arab media, is now enraged by the first independent voice emanating from the Arab world.
"This is yet another unfortunate incident," said Jihad Ballout, Communication and Media Relations manager for the network told United Press International from Qatar.
Commenting on the Wall Street ban he said al-Jazeera has "urged the authorities to reconsider. Perhaps it wasn't fair to target two al-Jazeera reporters. This will prevent us from doing our job," said Ballout.
Al-Jazeera, which reaches an audience of some 35 million people, complained that freedom of the press must be protected. "This is not restricted only to America, it should be an international effort," Ballout, was quoted as saying to ABC Australia.
The U.S. accused al-Jazeera of breaking the rules of the Geneva Conventions by showing images of prisoners of war. Yet the conventions, adopted after World War II, makes no specific mention of prisoners and television. Article 13 of the conventions states: "Prisoners of war must at all times be humanely treated. ... Likewise, prisoners of war must at all times be protected, particularly against acts of violence or intimidation and against insults and public curiosity. Measures of reprisal against prisoners of war are prohibited."
Article 14 stipulates: "Prisoners of war are entitled in all circumstances to respect for their persons and their honor. Women shall be treated with all the regard due to their sex and shall in all cases benefit by treatment as favorable as that granted to men. Prisoners of war shall retain the full civil capacity which they enjoyed at the time of their capture. The Detaining Power may not restrict the exercise, either within or without its own territory, of the rights such capacity confers except in so far as the captivity requires."
Many people in Europe and the Arab world have accused the United States and Britain of adopting double standards when it comes to the Middle East and particularly on the issue of prisoners.
They cite footage shown on Western televisions of captured Iraqis made to kneel in the sand, being searched while guns are pointed at them and having their hands tied behind their backs as they are made to squat in the desert. Other critics refer to images of suspected al-Qaida members held in Guantanamo, Cuba, which were seen on Western television blindfolded, shackled and caged. Images that upset many across the Arab world.
Regardless of the outcome of the al-Jazeera debacle, truth, that first casualty of war, will undoubtedly suffer more as the war continues.
