Evan Davis's semi-editorial introduction to the migrant story on last night's Newsnight promoted the same line as the BBC News at Six.
Instead of noting that the authorities in Macedonia and Calais used tear gas in reaction to violent disturbances by large groups of migrants, Evan gave us this (including some strikingly loaded language):
At different ends of Europe migrants have been meeting tear gas today, as Europe fashions a more forceful response to its refugee crisis. In Calais the new fences around the Eurotunnel terminal have made it significantly hardly to get into Britain, trapping many in the camps there. The French want an end to 'the Jungle' but migrants protested today as demolition teams went it. In Macedonia, right at the other end, a border has been reimposed, trapping thousands in Greece - people who want to journey up to northern Europe - causing real friction and despair. Now, you could call it 'the Donald Trump solution': build walls to stop people coming in. For some it's the idea that actually works; for others it simply shows you have a choice: You can have strong borders or humane values but it's hard to have both.
Interviews followed with the Macedonian foreign minister, being asked if he came into politics to tear gas children, and David Miliband, being allowed to argue (uninterrupted) that the EU needs to help Germany cope with the refugees and that walls and fences don't work.
Impartial? I don't think so.
It should be obvious to all that the BBC has been running an 'open borders' campaign for some time now.
ReplyDeleteIt has long since ceased to report the issues.
Utter propaganda, backed as always by total censorship.
ReplyDeletePaddington Bear's Best Friend should have amended his intro to the following:
ReplyDelete"At different ends of Europe migrants have been engaged in life-threatening violent protests, as Europe fashions a slightly more forceful response to the illegal migration crisis. In Calais the new fences around the Eurotunnel terminal have made it significantly harder to effect illegal entry into Britain, so leaving the migrants with choices to make about their next move. The French want an end to 'the Jungle', not least to help Cameron win his referendum, and inevitably migrants protested today as demolition teams went it. In Macedonia, right at the other end, border controls have been reimposed, preventing illegal border crossing by thousands of migrants in Greece - people who want to journey up to northern Europe - and that's despite already passing through at least two countries where they are safe. Now, it would be a bit daft to call it 'the Donald Trump solution' since states have always had border control - in fact border control is one of the things that defines a state and as a state-backed broadcasting organisation funded by tax revenues, it's something we ought to at least acknowledge. It's not as though we would like millions of people to come here, take up residence and not pay the licence fee. There are of course ethical solutions: funding aid to people directly in war zones, or in countries close by with which they have cultural affinity...and we can follow Australia's solution to dangerous migration flows - processing people far away from mainland Europe for instance over a long time period, which will result in an immediate reduction in the number of asylum applicants. Of course we may wish to grant asylum to people who we are sure share our cultural values but that will involve extensive screening since we know groups like IS try to use migration to circumvent our security defences. So let's look at some of these practical and ethical solutions."
Inviting the population of an entire country to come through all at once when nobody is prepared, there is no infrastructure in place to deal with it, no way to pay for it, and the criminals and bad actors come with the decent folk, is not a humanitarian act by any stretch of the imagination. It's cynical and narcissistic.
ReplyDeleteCynical, narcissistic, irresponsible and downright stupid!
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