bbc's democracy or stupidity?

BBC's democracy or stupidity?

By David Verveer

Late in the evening, last night, the BBC broadcasted the Doha Debates, with as guest Dr. Mahmoud Al Zahar, the foreign minister from the Hamas regime in Gaza.

The audience and participants, asking questions were mostly young Arabs from all over the region, including Palestinians, Jordanians, from the Gulf States, and a few non Arab Journalists.

The debate was chaired by BBC's Hard Talk Tim Sebastian, who tried to be objective and impartial, however, without any success because the guest speaker, Al Zahar did not answer questions, but retorted again and again, that the culprits were the Americans and the Israelis, and that the terror actions of Hamas were legitimate actions of people fighting for freedom.

When Sebastian asked him why he does not answer the questions from the audience, Al Zahar answered that that was his trademark. And indeed, with this he represents fully the Palestinian argument, which does not try to persuade the West of their cause, but with phraseologies, shouts down any opposition from the inside and outside.

When asked, why the Hamas kills also fellow Palestinians, he again evaded the question and claimed that the Americans kill thousands of Iraqis' and the West keeps silent about it. Asked if killing innocent Israeli women and children with terror attacks doesn't bother him as medical physician, he retorted that 3000 Palestinians were killed since the last Intifada.

The disturbing part in watching this debate, was the fact that the audience applauded every time Al Zahar said something provocative against the West and Israel, and smiled when he proclaimed statements which would have landed him in prison as terrorist and racist, if stated this in the UK or for that matter, anywhere in the West, but the democracy in Doha is much more advanced that Europe, there you can say anything unpunished, and broadcast it into the free and patient world.

When asked why they are fighting Israel, he told the audience that the town of Maalei Adomim was built on Palestinian soil and 30 km away from Jerusalem, following the sentence with the demand that the Israelis settlers should abandon all settlements outside the borders of 1967 war, after that, they "the Hamas" is prepared to consider peace talks. The fact that 2.5 years ago Israel returned the entire Gaza strip to the Palestinians, without getting anything in return, but instead received a continues barrage of rockets on the towns and kibbutzim on the Israeli side.

This broadcast explained clearly to the Israeli, that with the current Hamas regime in Gaza, there is no possibility for peace, and only severe punitive actions, killing (yes I mean killing) the Hamas leadership and followers, which includes unfortunately also innocent people, can return the moderate Palestinians to save the Middle East from turmoil, as Hamas radicalism is a danger for the entire region, and even might endanger the democracies of the West, who are already losing ground in their fight against the Islam.

Our problem is that our philosophy (Judeo-Christian) is not coping with the Islamic belief of spreading the religion by sword, sacrificing your life, will provide you with non-stop orgies in afterlife, primitive but extremely effective by the ignorant masses.

Al Zahar claimed that "eye for eye" revenge is the only Muslim way of life possible.

One word about democracy, and the BBC broadcast of these debates. Are we certain that with allowing this type of racist propaganda, we somehow serve the case of peace, or do we in actual fact help the extremists to spread their garbage?

The time for gentlemen British defending the underdog (poor weak Islamite) has passed away, long before 19/11.