nyssa@abnji.UUCP (nyssa of traken) (08/08/85)
The British government recently coerced the BBC into banning a television program about Northern Ireland. Leon Brittan, Home Secretary of Great Britain, asked that the special be removed from the broadcast schedule because it depicted the IRA in a humane light. (People who know me know that I am vehemently opposed to the tactics of the IRA.) The board of governors of the BBC easily gave in to the government's demands. In response to that action, to-day the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) staged a 24 hour strike. I support this action in defense of press freedom. The final word of the documentary was: (IRA supporter): There are causes where I support the use of guns, freedom for Ireland is one of them (IRA fighter): All Ireland wants peace, the only way we'll have it is when all the IRA is killed. Harold Evans (former editor, "The Times", on "MacNeil Lehrer"): Mrs Thatcher has said that "Publicity is the oxygen of terrorism", well I say "Free Speech is the oxygen of democracy." (The title of this posting is also a Harold Evans quote.)