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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Did Reuters Hijack Leb's Reply to UN? |
| 2006-08-07 |
| (h/t LGF) By Walid Phares A few hours after a Franco-American draft for a UN Security Council resolution was released, pro-Hezbollah lobbies and allies launched a campaign to hijack the response of Lebanon to the United Nations. As noted by seasoned observers the campaign started at the top with an alert release by News Agency Reuters written by Lin Noueihed. The article, put out early Sunday has reached the four corners of the Globe and its title has framed the position of the Lebanese people in a "no" to the UN expected resolution. Amazingly enough, Lin Noueihid titles her release "Lebanon rejects draft UN resolution." But when you read the release you realize that the "representative" of all of Lebanon in the eyes of the Reuters reporter is no one other than pro-Syrian, Hezbollah ally, Nabih Berri, the leader of Shiite Movement Amal. Basing her entire report on one of the most powerful supporters of the Syrian occupation and who heads a militia allied to Hezbollah, Noueihid gives Berri the full power of the credibility of Reuters. This title will find itself printed from Yahoo to the last local newsletter in the Fidji islands. Evidently, local editors around the world trust Reuters as they trust the Red Cross, and will conclude that indeed "Lebanon" has rejected a UN resolution, while in reality, it is Tehran-Damascus-Hezbollah axis that rejected it, and unfortunately a Reuters writer framed it otherwise. But leaders of the civil society, NGOs, members of Parliament and cadres from the Cedars Revolution said just the opposite. Reuters quotes Berri stating that "their resolution will either drop Lebanon into internal strife or will be impossible to implement," which in fact reveals his intents and those of Hezbollah: If the UN resolution is voted Hezbollah and its allies will attack the Lebanese Government and the Cedars Revolution Commenting from Beirut, Human Rights activist and Cedars Revolution Human Rights officer Kamal Batal said the "Reuters framing of Lebanon's answer to the UN is a hijacking of the opinions of millions of Lebanese. The popular majority in Lebanon wants to end the War now and the disbanding of all militias," he said. Analyzing Reuters' release closely George Chaya, Director for the Lebanese Information Office for Latin America in Buenos Aires said "it is not really a coincidence that Lin Nouaihid twisted realities and induced millions of readers around the world into error in perception. From a thorough review of Nouaihid's previous campaigns through Reuters and other media, you can easily see her framings in the Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib, Koran affairs in addition to her postings on radical web sites. Nouaihid has all the freedom to express her ideological positions but Reuters credibility as a fair and professional news agency are now damaged." In fact the Lebanese Government of Fouad Seniora has stated that the UN draft doesn't meet their requirements of a real solution. Seniora and his colleagues wanted a stronger UN resolution that would help Lebanon regain its control of its land. Berri's position is different: he is opposed to any UN resolution that would give Lebanon's army international support to disarm the militia. Lebanon's framing is not new. During the long and terrible wars of Lebanon from 1975 until 2000, writers in news agencies and journalists such as Jonathan Randall, Thierry DesJardins, Robert Fisk and others sculpted the perception of Lebanon at their discretion and often against the thinking process of Lebanon's popular majority. Dr Walid Phares is a Senior Fellow with the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies and a Visiting Fellow with the European Foundation for Democracies. |
| Posted by:Pappy |
| #5 “Amazingly enough, Lin Noueihid titles her release…” Traditionally, “newswire” reporters simply submit their articles and their editors are responsible to assign headlines as well as edit content. Furthermore, independent news organizations that hold subscriptions to newswire feeds are under no obligation to use the original headline and can edit for content by omitting some of information. |
| Posted by: DepotGuy 2006-08-07 09:28 |
| #4 Reuters is about to drop dead. This will be the fastest death among the MSM ever recorded. It took decades for CBS to turn cold. Reuters death could mark the beginning of a new era. |
| Posted by: wxjames 2006-08-07 07:56 |
| #3 'Noueihid gives Berri the full power of the credibility of Reuters.' Hahahaa credibility??? rofl |
| Posted by: ShepUK 2006-08-07 07:07 |
| #2 Hmmm, seems this 'Lin Noueihid' has a bit of a rep. for this kind of stuff, and Al-rooters sinks further down... |
| Posted by: Tony (UK) 2006-08-07 03:15 |
| #1 It fits right in with the "DOCTORED PHOTO" M.O. Media just reminding us we can't trust them. |
| Posted by: 3dc 2006-08-07 01:24 |