This is not the first time that the @BBC “fell short of high standards of integrity and transparency”, in order to try to get a scoop, with serious consequences. #Sudan #SouthSudan
https://twitter.com/bbcbreaking/status/1395367772499193861
In 1991, the then @BBCWorld correspondent, Colin Blane, erroneously reported on a live @bbcworldservice broadcast that a coup had taken place within the Sudan People’s Liberation Army/Movement (SPLA/M); and that John Garang De Mabior had been removed from his leadership position.
Blane reported the coup claim without any confirmation; and simply after being invited to interview Riek Machar & Lam Akol - the 1991 coup leaders - in Nasir after Blane’s visit was arranged by Emma McCune, an expatriate British aid worker who had become married to Riek Machar.
Blane never attempted to speak to the then Commander in Chief of the SPLA, John Garang, in order to corroborate the claims made by Machar and Akol. This had deadly consequences for thousands of southern Sudanese - it led to the infamous “1991 Bor Massacre”, and its reprisals.
The consequences of Blane’s & the BBC’s actions in 1991 are still being felt and reverberating in both #SouthSudan and #Sudan to this day. That “chosen trauma” is repeatedly exploited by domestic and foreign actors both within and outside of #SouthSudan for sociopolitical gains.
The fake Nasir “radio coup” in 1991 prolonged the 1983 #Sudan civil war for a further decade longer than was necessary; with the deaths and suffering of millions of innocent southern Sudanese people. The 1983 civil war was about to end in 1991-1992 if not for Blane’s broadcast.
A similar “radio coup” was again attempted in 2004 just before the signing of the 2005 CPA in January. This time, however, it was blocked.
Once discovered, the @BBC reporter at that time - it was not Colin Blane - was told to speak to John Garang to corroborate whether the coup claims were true or false before their @bbcworldservice broadcast. The reporter did that, and reported appropriately.
Form the Hybrid Court for #SouthSudan Now
@YourAnonCentral:
Who is the adopted son of @IntlCrimCourt-indicted Omar Al-Bashir & the #Sudan National Congress Party, #TutKewGatluak, really working for?
@YourAnonCentral:
Who is the adopted son of @IntlCrimCourt-indicted Omar Al-Bashir & the #Sudan National Congress Party, #TutKewGatluak, really working for?
@threadreaderapp, please unroll. Thanks.
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