GPJA Letter To TVNZ’s Ian Fraser

To: Ian Fraser Chairperson Television New Zealand Hobson Street Auckland

Dear Mr Fraser, TVNZ News and US War Propaganda

We have been increasingly angered at TVNZ coverage of the US invasion of Iraq. We are quite used to TVNZ - along with much of the world's media - displaying a "US centric" view of the world in its coverage of international affairs. However since the invasion began the coverage has slipped from merely poor quality, unbalanced reporting to the spreading of unashamed, blatant "pro-war" propaganda on behalf of the US. We are deeply disgusted at the extent to which TVNZ has - through its news service - become a mouthpiece and visual portal for an unrelenting stream of bald US/UK propaganda and blatant lies.

TVNZ has simply set aside the fact that the US invasion is illegal, immoral and unsanctioned and has portrayed it over the past 3 weeks as a "war of liberation", undertaken on behalf of the Iraqi people with barely a nod towards the great mass of humanity - and a clear majority of New Zealanders - who oppose this organised aggression against the people of Iraq.

Some of the key elements of this propaganda onslaught are clear.

TVNZ has taken uncritical footage from so-called "embedded" journalists who were chosen in the first place for their willingness to have their stories and pictures censored by the armed forces of the aggressor countries.

Unrelenting. uncritical coverage of American politicians as they proclaim their "war of liberation" and the desire to bring humanitarian aid to the Iraqi people in front of sycophantic US journalists. Where has TVNZ reported on the $5.4billion in humanitarian aid which was paid for long ago by Iraq through the UN "food for oil" programme but which has but which has been withheld from the Iraqi people by the US?

The portrayal of American casualities as being of far greater significance than the huge numbers of Iraqi civilians killed. Where are the TVNZ interviews with US soldiers who freely admit in interviews to have "taken out" civilians and "chicks that got in the way"?

We want TVNZ to receive a delegation from GPJA to discuss the points above along with your unbalanced, uncritical coverage of the US invasion. The propaganda onslaught from the US has many willing conduits but we expect and deserve better from our television news services.

We look forward to a quick response and an early meeting.

Yours sincerely,

Geraldene Peters John Minto Mike Treen For Global Peace and Justice Auckland

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