Should BBC apologize for the Ethiopia famine Aid theft report? VOTE on the right.

(JT) The controversy over the BBC report about a 1980s aid scam by Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi's TPLF continues to attract the attention of much of the world. The famous activist Bob Geldof has asked for three BBC employees to be fired because he believes millions of dollars raised by his LIVE AID concerts and NGOs were not stolen by the TPLF rebels. Geldof and many international NGOs have accused the BBC for using "disgruntled" ex-TPLF officials as well as bias and unreliable sources for its article. But supporters of BBC say its sources, including a CIA report, were credible and the Tigrayan People's Liberation Front (TPLF) has a long record of blocking food aid, putting civilians in harms way and creating affiliated organizations to expand its rule.  Just recently, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has accused the Meles government of abuses and food aid restrictions in the Ogaden and Oromia regions of Ethiopia. Since 2006 TPLF has been accused of blocking food aid to pro-opposition areas in southern Ethiopia, it has been blamed for using innocent Tigrayans in Hawzen as human shield in 1988 battles and it has used its NGO-wing Relief Society of Tigray (R.E.S.T.) and business-wing Endowment Fund For The Rehabilitation of Tigrai (E.F.F.O.R.T).  

If the BBC apologizes for the article, it can set a bad precedent in Journalism history, where the media will be pushed into self-censorship if its sources of information are not flawless and fully independent. In many warzone situations in the horn of Africa, International NGOs and media have been using one-sided allegations as a source of information about human rights abuses both by government and by rebels. And the TPLF is not the only organization in the region using the techniques, as the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) rebels have an NGO and human rights wing called the Ogaden Human Rights Committee (OHRC). ONLF's OHRC wing is assigned with the task of making the international community be aware of events in Ogaden from the point of view of ONLF supporters and with the job of tainting the image of the separatist Somaliland government in order to keep the dream of "Greater Somalia" alive. Like TPLF's branch REST guided many Tigrayans to Sudan in the 1980s and provided much of the source of information for the world about an alleged "Genocide" during the Mengistu government, the OHRC and ONLF supporters in Kenyan refugee camps do similar work under the current Meles government regarding what they call the "Ogaden Genocide." The BBC apologizing to the NGOs for using one-sided sources last week could lead to similar problems for other news agencies like the New York Times (NYT), which carried a 2007 article story about "army brutality" in the Ogaden from the point of view of the ONLF rebels and their supporters.  The only difference is, this time, it is the powerful international NGOs who are accusing the media in order to protect their reputation, and thus, source of finance.

The NGO world is facing another problem this week, this time coming from Somalia. Over 20 years after the Tigray famine in 1980s when the technology for monitoring aid distribution was much weaker,  today, over 50% of the food aid sent to Somalia is still being stolen, according to a leaked UN security council report.
  
In general, both sides of the story make a credible argument and a case regarding the controversial BBC report. The reputation of the international NGOs will improve if the BBC apologizes for its article and many critics believe the BBC sources that claimed that upto 95% of aid was stolen by the TPLF were unrealistic.  But, This controversy has big impact on the future of how the media operates as well.  Have your say, Should the BBC apologize for its article?

• VOTE on the right Poll and have your say