By IRNA,
London : The BBC is being challenged about how far it will take its censorship of political comments about Israel after being caught filtering out the word ‘Palestine’ from a song broadcast on BBC Radio 1Xtra channel.
The Palestine Solidarity Campaign UK (PSC), which campaigns for freedom, justice and equality for the Palestinian people, described the removal of Palestine from the words ‘Free Palestine’ sang by artist Mic Roghteous three minutes into the song as an “extraordinary act of censorship.”
“Ironically, the lyrics were ‘I can say Free Palestine’. Well, apparently, you can’t if you try to say them on the BBC,” said PSC director Sarah Colborne.
“What kind of Orwellian world are BBC directors living in? How can the BBC possibly justify removing these words? This kind of censorship of artists should be strongly opposed by anybody who believes in a free society, and anybody who wants to uphold the centuries old tradition of making political comment through art,’ Colborne said.
The censorship comes after the BBC was accused last month of making up its own editorial rules to defend a whole series of complaints made about the alleged pro-Israeli bias in a documentary about last year’s killing of nine activists on board the Gaza Freedom Flotilla in international waters.
Colborne said the Palestinians of the West Bank and Gaza are living under Israeli occupation and military rule and “their desire for freedom is no different from that of any other population who have suffered under oppressive regimes.”
“Just how far is the BBC going to take its censorship, or is it only the Palestinians’ demands for freedom that will fall foul of BBC censors?,” she asked.