CNN has edited out part of an
interview with Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vitaly Churkin
that focused on the situation in Syria. The final edition of Tuesday’s
program hosted by Christiane Amanpour lacks his answers to some key
questions relating to the settlement of the Syrian crisis. Afshin
Rattansi, an award-winning journalist, who launched one of the Middle
East's first international satellite TV stations, talked with our source about the controversial issue.
CNN
has edited out part of an interview with Russian Ambassador to the
United Nations Vitaly Churkin that focused on the situation in Syria.
The final edition of Tuesday’s program hosted by Christiane Amanpour
lacks his answers to some key questions relating to the settlement of
the Syrian crisis. One
of the questions cut out by CNN journalists concerned President Bashar
al Assad’s role after the start of the transition period. “This is
something for Syrians to decide”, Vitaly Churkin said in the full
version of the interview posted on the website of the Russian Embassy to
the United Nations.
He
added that President Assad is supported by ‘a large segment of the
Syrian population’. Therefore, Syrians should be allowed to decide what
kind of path they need to bring the conflict to an end.
The
US TV channel also dropped the diplomat’s remarks deploring any
preconditions by the Syrian opposition for the Geneva Two peace
conference. Mr.Churkin dismissed them as inadmissible.
Besides,
CNN cut out the Ambassador’s statements on the Syrian opposition, which
is trying to hamper humanitarian activities in the country. Vitaly
Churkin said, specifically, that a high-level working party is currently
holding consultations in Geneva to deal with the humanitarian situation
in Syria.
The
Ambassador also pointed to a curious fact that was also omitted in the
final version of his interview. According to Mr.Churkin, every time
people leave a besieged area, they move to the territories controlled by
the government. In his opinion, this tells volumes about WHOM the
Syrian population is relying on, including for providing humanitarian
support.
First
of all, could you comment briefly on the fact that the Russian
diplomat’s interview was censored, and answers to some key questions
were cut out? What’s your take on this?
It
is another sign of disaster for mainstream media. The entire Syrian
conflict has been covered on this particular network CNN in a
drumbeat-to-war type of idea of journalism. Christiane Amanpour, of
course it was her show that Vitaly Churckin’s remarks were cut from,
this is obviously a kind of censorship Amanpour has formed during the
Yugoslav war apparently, she is reputed to have walked out of
Yugoslavia’s main TV network to have her makeup applied, knowing that
NATO were going to bomb it, so she hasn’t changed, she presumably has a
degree of blame being an anchor of this program, completely wrong as a
matter of morality because of people’s lives in Syria, so many tens of
thousands have died in this conflict and it is a matter of poor judgment
with regard to journalism.
Why is this kind of censorship allowed? Does this mean that US media is actually not free?
Throughout
the Syrian conflict and let alone the conflict in Libya, the big
corporations that have been responsible and are responsible for the way
most people in NATO countries get their news have done exactly what any
Atlanticist, NATO supporting general or politician would want them to
do. There is very little descent from the view that it is important for
NATO to bomb countries into a subservient to their ideas of freedom, of
their ideas of culture and their ideas of liberty. So, it is yet another
example of the way media companies will deliberately try and subvert
the message for their own purpose.
Is this the first time CNN is accused of censorship? Were there similar cases in the past?
I
held a relatively senior role in the London office of CNN. I was a copy
editor, the person last in charge of things going out on the CNN
international news and it was obvious during my time with CNN that the
journalists nearly copy and paste what they see on Reuters and other big
news agencies. So, CNN news journalists they can’t be blamed for
deliberately trying to subvert news, they just mainly drawn operators as
it were doing copy and pasting what other agencies do.
However,
when it comes to flagship programs like Amanpour this is obviously a
case of editing out a senior United Nations diplomat for a purpose that
it is clear, that in fact president Assad should have no role, that
somehow Russia doesn’t believe he should have a role, and that there is
no possible way that Al-Qaeda related rebels had been supported by CNN
throughout the conflict.
CNN censors Russian Ambassador to UN assessment of Syrian rebel activities
The
US CNN TV channel has dropped from its interview with the Russian
Ambassador to the United Nations his appeal for the need to take into
account the will of the Syrian people, who mostly support the incumbent
President Bashar al-Assad, and also Churkin's statement that the Syrian
opposition is stonewalling humanitarian activities, the ITAR-TASS news
agency reports.
The
interview is accessible on the CNN website. The final edition of the
programme by a prominent host Christiane Amanpour lacks Churkin's
answers to some key questions, one of which was about Assad's role after
the start of the transition period.
"This is for Syrians to decide", Churkin said in the full version of the interview, which has been posted on the website of the Russian Embassy to the United Nations. According to Churkin, "the reality is that many Syrians, in fact the better part of the Syrian population, back up President Assad, and this should also be taken into account".
"So, let's launch a dialogue and make it possible for Syrians to make their own choice of the path towards ending the conflict", the diplomat said.
CNN
has likewise dropped Vitaly Churkin's remarks that any preconditions by
the Syrian opposition for the Geneva-2 conference are inadmissible.
Geneva-2 is due to kick off on January 22nd . The opposition earlier
made certain demands even when the date of the expected conference was
only being agreed.
Vitaly
Churkin deplored the fact in a conversation with the ITAR-TASS news
agency that CNN had broadcast a downsized version of his interview. He
claims that CNN has dropped "the more acute issues" of a Syrian
settlement.
CNN
has, besides, cut out the Russian Ambassador's assessment of the
rebels' activities, as well as moves by the countries that support
rebels as regards the provision of assistance for the population of
Syria. The Russian diplomat said specifically that a high level working
party is currently holding consultations in Geneva to react to the
humanitarian situation in Syria.
Churkin
also said that there is leverage over Damascus concerning humanitarian
issues, but "nobody knows who actually influences the hundreds or at
least dozens of armed groups" preventing humanitarian aid from reaching
the Syrian population. "We must find out what these countries are, and
they should assume responsibility for settling problems with the groups
in question so the latter will not hinder the evacuation of the
population from besieged areas. The opposition has prevented the
evacuation of people from such areas on several occasions in recent
months, whereas the government in Damascus was prepared to move people
out", the Russian Ambassador to the UN said.
He
also pointed out a curious fact that had also been dropped from the
broadcast version of the interview. According to Churkin, "each time
that the population leaves a besieged area, they move to territories
under Syrian government control". "I think this speaks volumes about who
the population pin their hopes on as regards the provision of
humanitarian assistance", the diplomat said.
Alexei Mukhin, General Director of the Centre for Political Information in interview to our source said:
"The
US media, probably, guided by patriotic considerations, are trying to
support the country’s leadership, which, to put it mildly, has lost face
during its efforts aimed at settling the Syrian crisis. And now it has
got involved in the information confrontation with Russia, aiming to
help Washington to save face. I believe that such moves – once the
public, including the world public becomes aware of them - are
compromising the US media, which are considered to be exemplary from the
point of democracy and freedom of speech. I believe that such moves are
doing damage to the US, undermining its reputation, which has already
been tarnished."
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