Geldof and BBC at loggerheads
Mar 08
The singer and political activist Bob Geldof has lashed out at the BBC, accusing the BBC World Service of failing to substantiate a report which stated that donations raised through the 1985 Live Aid campaign were diverted to support rebel groups in war-torn Ethiopia.
The report, by the BBC’s Africa editor Martin Plaut, was aired on the BBC World Service as part of the regular radio documentary series Assignment. Plaut’s item contained interviews with former members of the rebel Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), who detailed how rebels deceived charity workers in order to obtain aid money raised in the Live Aid concerts.
According to the report, the money - designated for famine relief - was then diverted to support military and political campaigns, including through arms purchases. One of the rebels said that as many as $US95 million ($A105 million) may have been siphoned off, leaving only five per cent of the received funds for relief efforts.
Geldof and the World Service’s news and current affairs editor Andrew Whitehead participated in a fiery debate on the World Service last night (Australian time). Geldof expressed his anger at the report, claiming that it was “not credible”.
“Produce me one shred of evidence and I promise you I will professionally investigate it, I will professionally report it, and if there is any money missing I will sue the Ethiopian government for that money back and I will spend it on aid.
“There is not a single shred of evidence that Band Aid or Live Aid money was diverted in any sense, it could not have been.”
He told The Independent that “this is a Ross/Brand moment in BBC standards for me”, arguing that the BBC had been deceived by individuals with “a political axe to grind”. He and several notable charities – including Oxfam, Unicef and the Red Cross – are drafting a letter of complaint to Britain’s broadcasting regular Ofcom and the BBC’s governing body the BBC Trust, complaining of “disgracefully poor reporting”.
“There is overwhelming evidence that tens of thousands and even millions were saved by these efforts, which were in fact spurred by reporting by the BBC,” the letter states.
But the BBC has given strong backing to Plaut’s report, which the reporter says was based on a wide range of sources over a nine-month investigation. In a post on the BBC’s website, the director of the World Service Peter Horrocks said that the report was well-founded and included a suitable range of opinions, including those which conflicted with the claims of the rebel leaders interviewed.
“Sir Bob Geldof was given every opportunity to express his point of view while the documentary was being made, but declined to be interviewed.
“Some relief agencies – including Christian Aid and Cafod – pointed us towards their staff involved in directing food supplies 25 years ago, and those voices were included.”
Media Spy discussion: BBC World Service
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Cyril Washbrook March 8th 2010