lundi 28 juillet 2008

Perspective

A British militant was killed by Iraqi resistance soldiers in Helmand Province last week. Resistance fighters ambushed the Western mercenaries wounding six others. A spokesmen for the resistance movement spoke of his regret for the loss of human life but said that as long as occupying militants were in Iraq, this is the kind of treatment they would have to expect.

Change the language change the perspective -

"Some Matter More - When 47 Victims Are Worth 43 Words‏" noreply@medialens.org

"The point being that “militant” is a pejorative term used by journalists to suggest illegitimacy. In June 1999, the BBC reported that “Kosovo Albanians have been welcoming the return of armed KLA soldiers.” (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/369239.stm) KLA insurgents fighting Serbian forces were supported by the West and were regularly described as “soldiers” rather than “militants” or “insurgents”. The British media have similarly referred to the “Chechen resistance” fighting the Russian army. Ironically, British and American journalists also commonly referred to Afghan forces fighting the 1979-1989 Soviet occupation of Afghanistan as “resistance fighters” and “freedom fighters” (See our media alert: http://www.medialens.org/alerts/07/071120_invasion_a_comparison.php). The use of such terms is of course inconceivable in US-UK reporting of the current occupation."