Never before have I had reason to complain about poorly researched, badly put together, biased, and opinionated news coverage by the BBC. In particular the determination to call the intervention by the Egyptian army a ‘coup’ rather than what it was, a timely decision to prevent a blood bath by attempting to force reconciliation. No matter what happens next that was the only action to take at the time. Only now are the BBC beginning to get a grip on what has been happening in Egypt, not just over the past week but throughout the past year. Could it be that they are actually catching up? Have they begun to understand the feelings of the Egyptian people, at least those who have been frustrated and saddened by what has happened in Egypt since Mohamed Morsi came to power? Ex-President Morsi stumbled to power with a mere 52 percent of the country’s votes; that he got that number of votes was primarily due to the revulsion the Egyptian people felt against electing Ahmed Shafiq¬—a symbol of the old regime. It needs to be stated, and is yet another fact ignored by the media, that Morsi only gleaned 24 percent of the nation’s votes during the first round of the elections. Shafiq, Moussa, and Hamdeen Sabahi collectively brought in 54 percent of the votes—‘divided we fall’ should have been the lesson learned. It remains to be seen whether the Egyptian nation has taken that lesson to heart or whether they can now unite and start again. For the majority of Egyptians then both choices up for election were anathema, viewed with revulsion, and the nation went to the polls knowing it had to use its voice but reviling its choices. When the results came out for the most part people tried to put away their foreboding and live with the result. It was not until November 2012, when the president issued a decree awarding himself judiciary powers and illegally forced through the constitution that those who had voted him into office realized that democracy under Morsi was on a level with democracy under Mubarak. There is so much more to say, but this is not the time or place. Events are snowballing at a speed that makes us unwilling to move far from our trusted sources. Unfortunately, the BBC has lost some of its credibility during the current crisis, however, we in Egypt are used to gathering out information where we can, sifting off rumour, and opinion from fact. I trust the BBC will remember that in the future.
Posted on: Mon, 08 Jul 2013 15:06:11 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015