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 You should try to ensure that any life-threatening, anti-social, or criminal behaviour portrayed in programmes does not encourage copycat actions. Excessive violence should be avoided altogether. Portraying violence on air in Uganda - by Robin White, Editor, African Service For the past decade a little reported but vicious civil war has been raging in Northern Uganda. From bases across the border in Sudan, the rebel Lords Resistance Army has been attacking government military positions and army convoys. Victims of the war But the real victims have been civilians. Thousands have been driven into protected villages. Boys have been forced to join the LRA and girls have become sex slaves for rebel fighters. At regular intervals the Ugandan government of Yoweri Museveni announced that the war was over. It wasn't. Mr Museveni even made a deal with the Sudanese government to allow his men to cross the border to attack LRA bases. It made little difference. In August 2002, the LRA attacked the Acol-Pii refugee camp, housing Ugandan and Sudanese refugees. Taking hostages They killed scores of civilians and took away United Nations staff as hostage. At 1000 GMT on August 2002, from somewhere in Northern Uganda, an LRA officer called BBC World Service's Focus on Africa programme. He said they would kill the hostages unless we broadcast a statement from them in full in our 1500 GMT edition. The statement outlined the LRA's aims, called on the Ugandan army to withdraw from Uganda and demanded that the United Nations help look after the LRA's refugees in Sudan. They also put on the line one of the hostages, Paul Kilama, who pleaded with us to help, otherwise they would certainly die. I told the LRA officer that there was no way that we would broadcast their statement - that would go against BBC regulations. Nor would they be allowed to make any threats on air. "So you're ordering me to shoot them?" he said rather ominously. I told him I needed time to consult my superiors and I asked him to call back in three hours time. I had little doubt that the LRA meant what they said. I also thought we should do all we could to save the hostages' lives without compromising the BBC's principles. The decision at the BBC We decided to interview Paul Kilama about his experiences and summarise the LRA's demands in a cue. Paul described his capture and long march into LRA controlled areas. We asked him not to mention the threats on his life. He was magnificently cool. I then read to the LRA officer the cue we were going to read on air. He said he would wait and hear the 1500 GMT edition of Focus and then decide whether they would carry out their threat or not. We heard nothing for three days. I had given up hope when late on Friday evening Paul called up from Gulu to tell us that he and his colleagues had been freed shortly after the Focus broadcast. It had taken them all that time to walk to safety and find a telephone. |
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